On December 4, United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was allegedly brutally killed by 26-year-old Luigi Mangione. Later, on December 9, Mangione was arrested at a McDonalds in Altoona.
“Mangione was found with a ghost gun, a suppressor and a fake driver’s license,” stated nytimes.com. He now faces three murder charges, “including a first degree murder count that brands him as a terrorist and two different counts of second-degree murder,” explained nytimes.com.
After this tragic event many people took to social media. But not with the typical sadness and mourning of a death, no, they took to social media with praises and excitement over the murderer. Social media praises the murderer of United Healthcare CEO, Brian Thompson. Social media users created the hashtag “#FreeLuigi,” praising his looks and supporting the murder.
“In TikTok videos, memes and group chats, a young man accused of shooting a father-of-two in the back on a New York City sidewalk has been fawned over and praised as a kind of folk hero,” stated the BBC. Many people feel that this was an act of defense against healthcare companies. However, it’s obvious the way to solve issues shouldn’t be by ending someone’s life. Murder is murder.
Murders often catch people’s attention and interest in many ways, often leading to documentaries and following the lives of the people who commit these crimes. The common exposure and frequent occurrence of these horrible crimes leads to people growing more and more desensitized to these events. The lack of sensitivity people have for these acts of violence has been showcased on social media during the murder of Thompson.
“On TikTok, people posted videos of a ‘CEO assassin’ New York City walking tour,” stated the BBC, “On Spotify, playlists dedicated to the suspect started to appear.” These acts online highlight a surplus of apathy towards violence and the obsession over the murderer. These posts online are completely inappropriate because of the detrimental impact these events have on people’s lives. Children lost their father, a wife lost her husband, and terror was driven into people’s lives.
In the end, nobody can know the true reason why this murder happened. Many can guess, but they may never know the full story. “The start of his legal battles prompted anonymous donors to chip in thousands of dollars towards his defense through various online fundraisers,” wrote bbc.com. The fact that people feel the urge to donate to someone who has killed a father of two kids is extremely bizarre.
Many feel the attack was a stand against Healthcare companies. People praise the actions taken by Mangione saying it was an act of defense. Many people have stated that this crime was an event of “symbolic take down.” This is an “attempt to highlight perceived injustices attributed to larger entities, such as an insurance company or the industry it is part of, by targeting an individual closely linked to them,” according to news.northeastern.edu. In contrast, Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro said to bbc.com, “We do not kill people in cold blood to resolve policy differences or express a viewpoint.”