General Discussion

Last edited Thu Dec 12, 2024, 12:43 PM - Edit history (1)

even the outright glee over it- on the ground that health insurers, and that one in particular, cruelly and unjustifiably prevent many people from receiving the health care they need, effectively killing them; therefore Brian Thompson had it coming. I'm not about to sing the praises of the late Mr. Thompson, UHC or the health insurance industry in general. All of them suck. We have a horrible health care financing system (the health care itself is usually good, if you can get it) that focuses on profit to the detriment of actual health care. But does anyone actually think murdering a CEO will change that situation in the slightest? It will not. Security will be increased (likely causing premiums to be raised and more claims to be denied), but nothing else will happen because the health insurance industry is rich enough to buy the agreement of our legislators, both federal and state, not to regulate its practices. Killing a CEO will do nothing to improve the situation, and celebrating his cold-blooded murder is only a stain on the soul of those who celebrate.

I don't recall anyone expressing joy over the murders committed by the Unabomber, Ted Kaczinski, who was motivated by his opposition to industrialization that was causing the destruction of the natural environment and eroding human freedom; he argued that his bombings were extreme but necessary in attracting attention to these issues. Many of us have been advocating for exactly these ideas, and even more now that climate change has become such a serious concern. But who was applauding for ol' Ted when he was planting bombs that killed people? I don't recall even the most ardent environmentalists claimed his acts were justified, and of course those acts didn't change anything at all. What's different now? Someone please explain to me how Luigi Mangione - who, it turns out, is a fan of the Unabomber - is qualitatively any different from him. Like the Unabomber he decided he needed to kill in order to draw attention to some flaw in society, and likewise appointed himself judge, jury and executioner. Nobody (except Luigi) loved Ted, but Luigi is getting a lot of love. Have we become so hardened to political violence that we applaud it, or at least try to concoct a justification for it, when the target is someone or something we hate?