Healthcare, Guns, and Extremism
Why we should be cautious about rejoicing in the death of a CEO.
For Millions of Americans, especially those who are part of marginalized communities, having health insurance is the difference between living and dying, and considering that the U.S is the only developed nation that doesn’t guarantee its citizens universal healthcare, it shouldn’t come to a surprise that’s the current healthcare system in the U.S, is unpopular among both Liberals and Conservatives. Among some of the MAGA supporters that I have interacted with in the past, reforming our healthcare system is the only area where I ever find agreement.
Back in 2019, after misusing a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (Aleve), I developed Gastritis. What was horrifying about the experience wasn’t the burning sensation in my stomach but the fact that I was uninsured. After consulting a gastrologist, he recommended that I should undergo an endoscopy, but since I wasn’t covered, the procedure would cost me approximately $9,000, not including any other hidden fees. Fortunately, because of the pandemic and the high volume of packages my warehouse was receiving, it had no other option but to offer full-time employment, which meant that my job was required by law to provide health coverage to all full-time employees who managed to get approved for full-time positions. Because of this, I received coverage, underwent the procedure, and controlled the symptoms of my condition. Unfortunately, my experience isn’t true for many Americans who can’t afford to pay their premiums or are denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
The Killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson
In the early morning of Dec 4th, 2024, CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down outside of New York Hilton Midtown. Mr. Thompson represented an insurance company that, according to Dr. Saju Mathews, a 20-year veteran physician, denies one in three claims, a trend he says is symptomatic of a broader industry problem. It should not come as a surprise that when news broke about the killing, social media users showed little empathy for Mr. Thompson and even praised the killer for taking action. Some even suggested planning a look-alike contest to prevent law enforcement from identifying the perpetrator. However, on December 9th, 26-year-old Luigi Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, for his connection in the death of Brian Thompson, where he is expected to be extradited to New York to face a second-degree charge for murder.
What contributed to this event?
A few influencers on the right have used the recent killing of a CEO to criticize the oppressor and oppress framework that is usually accepted among Liberals. The argument goes that because marginalized communities are identified as the oppressed in this framework, the use of violence is morally justified, and those who fall under the oppressor are inherently evil. However, Karl Marx’s framework is an interpretation of society and human behavior. Many of the people who identified in the oppressed class of this framework do not go on to commit acts of violence to start a revolution. Many who fall under this category live ordinary lives and are currently thinking about making ends meet, not which CEO they will gun down. In other words, blaming the oppress and oppressor framework simplifies a complex issue.
It is also important to note that this argument falls flat when one looks at Luigi Mangione’s background. He is a handsome white 26-year-old Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family. His class status can’t be used to explain away why Luigi Mangione decided to take extreme measures.
What is currently known is that the perpetrator was disgruntled about the American healthcare system. What we don’t know is what kind of information Luigi Mangione was consuming six months before the killing of a CEO. CNN reports that Mr. Mangione had isolated himself from his friends and relatives. His mother reported him missing on November 18th and hadn’t spoken to him since July. I suspect during this period, Luigi Mangione was interacting with extremist content. An ABC report suggests that the killing of Brian Thompson took its inspiration from Ted Kaczynski, a domestic terrorist who killed three people and injured 23 others between 1978 and 1995 in a nationwide mail bombing campaign against people he believed to be advancing modern technology and the destruction of the natural environment.
Another contributing factor to the killing of CEO Brian Thompson is the accessibility to firearms, an issue people on the political right will attempt to stray away from, and people on the political left are strangely ignoring. In the last 10 years, all forms of domestic terrorism have one thing in common: they all used firearms. Radical ideologies are indeed essential in finding the motivation to take violent action. However, it is the accessibility to guns that determines whether a terrorist attack will occur and considering that the perpetrator used a “ghost gun,” which is a 3D-printed firearm that is untraceable and can be made from your home. I would argue that this made committing the killing a lot easier for Luigi Mangione.
Luigi Mangione: A domestic terrorist or extremist
In their book Guns, God, and Sedition: Far Right Terrorism in America, Bruce Hoffman and Jacob Ware define terrorism as violence being communicated. This was the case on 9/11 when 19 Al-Qaeda members hijacked four planes and crashed three into American infrastructure, killing 2,977 people to send a message to Americans about global jihad, and when Payton Gendron entered a Tops Friendly Market in a predominantly black neighborhood and killed 10 to send a message about a racial genocide against white people.
If we look at those examples, can Luigi Mangione’s actions against Brian Thompson be considered terrorism? The answer is no. It is true that the perpetrator’s action was ideologically motivated and that he viewed the death of the UnitedHealthcare CEO as symbolic. As a matter of fact, three 9 mm shell casings from the crime scene had the words “delay,” “deny,” and “depose,” indicating that he wanted a message to be sent. However, terrorism is defined by Oxford Language as the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims. The keyword here is “civilians,” which is plural. This is to say that Luigi Mangione’s actions, while criminal in nature, do not meet the requirement for domestic terrorism as his actions resulted in the death of one person. If we were to charge Mr. Mangione with domestic terrorism, that would dilute the word and render it meaningless.
The Death of CEOs: A Lesson of Joy or Caution
As mentioned at the beginning of this article, I am aware of Americans’ dissatisfaction with our current healthcare system. I put myself in that category, and while I understand why people are rejoicing about the death of a CEO, I would caution about being gleeful. In their book The Violence Project: How to Stop a Mass Shooting Epidemic, Ph.D. Jillian Peterson, a Forensic Psychologist and Ph.D. James Densley, a Sociologist, discusses why gun violence is prominent in the U.S. They identify several factors, including accessibility to firearms, trauma, radical ideologies, and ineffective gun regulations. They also mention how the sensationalism of mass shooting perpetrators by the media and a sense of purpose incentivizes people to commit these crimes.
Since Luigi Mangione’s killing, many people across America have considered him a hero and even admired his attractive features. It is joked among women that they hoped to be selected for jury duty for an opportunity to catch his eye romantically. However, this reaction can give people on the Far-Right who, in recent years, have been perpetrators of domestic terrorism the message that gun violence is an opportunity for fame and purpose. Some could argue that it is already too late since the murder of a CEO has forced us to discuss how accessible health insurance should be. However, suppose this is how we ultimately obtain Universal Healthcare. In that case, I am highly concerned about how the Far-Right will advocate for anti-immigration, anti-vaccine, anti-LGBTQ, and anti-environmentalism policies using the same methods Mangione used. If Luigi Mangione can be held as a hero for killing for his beliefs, what is preventing a terrorist from thinking they can achieve this goal as well?
In the end, Luigi Mangione achieved his goal of delivering his message. It is up to us and the media to determine what we do with that message. For the mainstream media, while it should be reporting on this killing, it should also demonstrate the same outrage about how health insurance CEOs are systemically killing us. For the average American, we can understand why Luigi Mangione became radicalized but also disagree with these methods because of the unintended consequences.