Greetings,

It seems like something I shouldn’t have to say but please hear me out: murder is wrong.

When Luigi Mangione shot United HealthCare CEO Brian Thompson, it was murder, and it was wrong. We’re still learning what motivated him and what his goals were; however, so far it looks like a clear statement about the criminal health insurance cartels in America. It also seems the shooting has started Luigi down a path to hero status. He wouldn’t be the first outlaw hero, and this phenomenon isn’t limited to America. Robin Hood and Guy Fawkes spring to mind from England, and Pancho Villa rides out from Mexico. DB Cooper and Billy the Kid are just a few of the many problematic heroes here at home.

As humans, we’re apparently comfortable with ambiguity in our heroes. The civilized part of us understands the impact of violent crime and condemns the criminal, while the primitive, sub-vocal part of our brain still takes pleasure in the downfall of those who cause us pain. We know we wouldn’t (and shouldn’t) do the same things ourselves, but some part of us might still sympathize with the motives of the criminal. We may know it would feel good to go after The Man with pitchforks and torches, but we also know we can’t. Shouldn’t.

Not every criminal becomes a hero, and I find comfort in comparing Mangione to an outlaw who didn’t become a hero… Timothy McVeigh. McVeigh believed the veneer of civilized society hid a simmering racial hatred that just needed one bloody poke to let it out. 168 people died when he poked the Alfred Murrah Federal Building, but no helter-skelter race war materialized because McVeigh was wrong. There was no broad-based underlying hatred. It was just him and his bigoted compatriots all along. Since there was nothing for most of our lizard brains to sympathize with, McVeigh died as the ignominious criminal that he was. Case, thankfully, closed.

Mangione, on the other hand, is becoming a hero because the underlying fury against health insurance companies is so real and pervasive. Virtually every American has a horror story of themselves or a loved one being abused by an insurance company; therefore, the pain is very real for each of us. “Karma” or “he had it coming” were two representative reactions to Thompson’s death. Grim humor showed in responses like “my condolences are out-of-network” or “thoughts and prayers require pre-approval”. Over 90,000 people commented with laughing emojis on United Healthcare’s condolence post. Ben Shapiro learned a lesson when he tried to pretend Mangione was representative of “Marxist, leftist, radical evil” and his audience fought back. Just a few of the typical responses were “Right-winger here, you are wrong Ben, this man [Thompson] denied 35% of claims. One was my dead parents’ heart surgery we couldn’t afford. He opted to die instead of giving us the debt.” “I’m not buying this ‘left vs right’ s*** anymore Ben, I want healthcare for my family.” “According to Ben I went from Trump voter to revolutionary leftist in the span of a month.”

Maybe the worst thing about Thompson’s assassination is its uselessness. As United Healthcare’s CEO, Brian Thompson was the public face of the pain we face. His murder might make our lizard brains happy; however, our civilized brains should know better because Brian’s death isn’t even a speed bump to the Corporate Person he served. United Healthcare is on track to ‘earn’ another 23 BILLION dollars this year, DENY ANOTHER 33% OF CLAIMS, and (not coincidentally) dump another $4.7 MILLION dollars on lobbying. UHC is part of the most expensive health care system in the world ($4.5 TRILLION), which delivers the lowest life expectancy, highest death rates for treatable conditions, highest maternal and infant mortality, highest rates of obesity and chronic conditions, and highest suicide rates. These Corporate vampires will keep on sucking so long as there’s profit to be drained… the deaths of interchangeable and disposable CEOs be damned.

Listening to our lizard brains is exactly the wrong reaction here. Aside from being morally and ethically repugnant, it plays right into the hands of the insurance companies that can cast people rightfully angry at being robbed as manifesto-scribbling whack jobs. The high road and the effective road is to channel the wrath of our fellow Americans into trashing the whole deadly and exploitative system. Get out, talk with your friends, write your representatives, donate to and support SINGLE PAYER groups wherever you find them. Assassinate the system and not the people because, at least for now, we’re much better off when our civilized brains make policy.

Make a great day,