Is there any doubt that the targeted assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was wrong and tragic? It’s almost inconceivable that a cold-blooded murder, caught on video for all to see, would be anything but. And yet, the very online left fringe sees the murderer as a hero and the murder as an act of bravery against an evil billion dollar business that makes its money by denying health care to those who need and deserve it, causing the deaths of many.
“How could people be so mad at a guy that runs the biggest insurance corporation that makes billions of dollars by denying claims for basic healthcare at the highest rate of any company?” Yea is a real head scratcher
There is much to be critical about, even hate, when it comes to health insurance in general and UnitedHealthcare in particular. That’s not in issue. But taking the leap from hating health insurance to murdering a chief executive is another matter altogether. What happened to people’s brains that some can no longer distinguish between things that are bad, even awful, and the act of murdering an essentially random person to make their point and get their way through terror.
The wrongfulness of murder would seem too obvious to require explanation. And yet, not only do they fail to grasp it, but they applaud the act as an acceptable means to achieve their goal. This has been happening for a while now, although this murder crystalizes the problem most clearly. Consider those who have taken the position that the murders, rape and kidnapping on October 7th was a justified, even laudable, act of resistance against colonialism?
Consider those who have thrown paint or soup at great master paintings in museums. Consider those who blocked highways. The consequences of these acts of intentional harm differ greatly in magnitude, but they all share a common theme. that there is righteousness in employing any act necessary to achieve a goal.
Even murder.
No matter how bad it was that they shut down a highway or threw soup at a painting, taking the life of another person raises the stakes way over the line. And yet, these are our children, friends and family who are now of the belief that murder is not merely fine, but heroic. We’re not talking about going back in time to murder baby Hitler, but walking up to a man in midtown Manhattan and putting bullets into him to take his life. After going to Starbucks, of course, because even killers get hungry and thirsty.
Should the senior managers of major corporations live in fear of some bullet with “deny” written on its casing? If these corporations don’t do as the unduly passionate believe they should, as they believe their rights demand, is the solution to murder them? It’s a huge problem that it happened. It’s an even worse problem that there is a cohort in this nation that sees no problem with it, that applauds the murderer as their hero. Will they march or set up an encampment next to extol the virtues of the murderer? Will others, seeing the murderer’s reception, take up arms themselves to find someone to hate, and thus to kill?
The actual motive of the shooter is not yet clear. Perhaps he had a personal grievance. Perhaps he just hated UnitedHealthcare for its denial of coverage. Perhaps he suffered from mental illness, aside from the normalized mental illness that would cause any person to believe that murder was an act of bravery.
But we do know how the very online left has taken this murder as a cause for celebration. Their contention is that healthcare insurance companies are evil, putting dollars ahead of lives. And that is certainly a defensible position, shared by a great many of us. But murder? Bad businesses make murder acceptable? This cannot be, and yet there are a shocking number of people on the fringe who embrace this ethos. How did they get this way, to believe murder is the answer and murderers are heroes? Now that we know they believe this, what can be done about them?
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IMO, violence by an individual is justified only when defending oneself or an innocent third party.
That said I can understand, and to some degree empathize with, those who see violence against someone like Thompson as justified. The wealth/ income imbalance in this country is enormous. Nick Hannauer has written that it’s the greatest in human history and that in every instance he could find where/ when there has been anywhere near such a great imbalance it has resulted in either a revolution (read civil war) or a police state. I don’t know that he’s right, and hope we are able to avoid either fate, but there’s a widespread sense of hopelessness and despair, as well as a great deal of anger and resentment toward “the elites”. That the reaction of so many people is approval/ a willingness to justify this assassination serves to underscore this.
While I have little patience for the sort of “social justice” espoused by some progressives, I fear that if we don’t manage to become a more just society and address the wealth/ income balance (FWIW, I’d increase taxes on the wealthy, and institute a “wealth tax” on the uber wealthy and spend more on social programs and public health initiatives) we will see more violence like this… likely a great deal more.
On a related note, I’ve read that UHG denies nearly a third of all patient medical claims and have to wonder if, in Mssr Thompson’s case, the shots were approved and whether the provider was in network.
Somewhere in this moss-covered hotel, there’s a hat for you.
So according to the tax foundation, who gets their information straight from federally reported data, the top 1% of income earners paid more taxes than the bottom 90% combined. And the top 50% paid almost 98% of taxes in 2024. Tax Foundation.org (if Scott lets this link survive). Where are you getting your data?
From what I’ve seen these claims about “not paying their fair share” seem mostly to come from people who think they should have the right to dip their hands into someone else’s pocketbook whenever they want. Also, IIRC from my civics classes in school, it took an amendment to the Constitution (the 16th) to even have a federal income tax and your dreamed of wealth tax is still unconstitutional.
This shooting disgusts me and race, class, affiliation based violence like it should have no place in American society. It should be answered in the strongest way allowed by the law and society. These people should be ostracized not celebrated.
This may come across as #I’m14andthisisdeep, however:
We live in a post-reality reality. Over the past 25 years we, as a society, have been less engaged with the world around us and more exposed to the world as seen through screens; our phone, television, movies, etc.
Now it has been the case since the talkies that technology is going to be the downfall of society etc etc, however the way information is accessed with the advent of the internet means that the reality we are assuming to be the ‘real world’ is further and further siloed and echo chambered. Add into that the youthful rebellion culture that is endlessly recycled unto media and you have a growing radicalized segment of our society that sees nothing wrong with the murder of a few for the greater good, because it’s been normalized in what they have seen, what they are reading and what their supposed peers tell them is normal and should happen. Wolf pack mentality and groupthink are present, along with the fractured version of reality that people are told is the end of the world, and we’re taking more extreme actions, further pushing the envelope without even being aware that they’re even extreme. To the kids there’s nothing ~wrong~ with murdering someone who’s evil, because it happens all the time in every hero fantasy they read, see and watch, and all their friends tell them this should be happening. And now it is.
1) speaking as a conservative, the fear and anger is on all sides. There are plenty of Republicans who feel the same way. And the left are not exactly the people who are pro guns…
2) it’s not that the murder is justified. It’s the anger that his healthcare would have been covered. His claims for his ambulance ride and life-saving care all would have been covered, unlike millions of Americans. The issue isn’t just the roles that these executives hold. It’s that United denies so many claims and this CEO is making millions beyond belief at the expense of sick people.
No one disputes that the flaming nutjob right and flaming nutjob left have much in common. This isn’t a good thing. When you argue “murder is bad, but…” you’re not one of the good guys.
A stupid and futile murder, which will not achieve any result beyond harsh consequences for the affected families. Before the victim’s body was taken from the crime scene, all his corporate functions were being reallocated to other executives. The corporation’s business model will continue, unimpaired by the murder. The remaining executives will be more careful. Nobody will be saved from abusive coverage decisions. For the corporation, nothing of consequence has happened.
…”stupid and futile…” maybe, but within 24 hours of the murder Anthem Blue Cross changed course on recent anesthesia coverage policy (a policy they announced 24hrs before the killing).
[Ed. Note: If you understood medical/anesthesiologist billing better, you would realize this is not the good thing you think it is. That said, you assume the two are connected, but correlation does not imply causation.]
One of the first of many comments I got trashed here over the years was when I suggested that kangaroo Title IX courts were doing their victims a small favor by being so cavalier about rights of the accused. My argument was that if they had truly perfected their evil, they could have created a paper trail that mimicked due process while still railroading their targets in the judgment. With sloppiness, there is room for appeal. Host slap notwithstanding, I still believe that. Perfect evil wears a mask. [Ed. Note: You have no idea how close I was to deleting this paragraph as off topic. But in light of how many comments I’ve trashed already this morning, I’ve decided to cut you a break.]
And that sentiment is at play here. The progressive left is doing us all a favor, revealing its core rot with their remarks. If only they could have STFU, and had been, as in Arendt’s formulation, more banally evil they’d retain the right to demand answers to arguments like Hal’s, above. With this eruption, there is no hiding who they are and what they believe; their reaction leaves no ambiguity about their values. And with that knowledge in hand, the question “what should be done about them?” answers itself. (“what can be done about them?” is sadly another matter)
Back before helical CT scanning perfected the diagnosis of appendicitis, the saying was that if all of your surgeries for suspected appendicitis were positive, you were obviously missing some cases. sensitivity/specificity trade off and all that. Similarly, if I go a month without a comment deletion, I am probably too crimped in my thinking. I will score this one (in the naomi wolf mode) as “deletion recorded”. Break appreciated.
Few men are manly enough to embrace Naomi Wolf mode.
There’s much to be said about the condition of health and the healthcare industry. But that’s not what this piece by SHG is about. It’s about murder being justified
I like to remind myself that if/ when I support murdering someone because my uninformed ultra self righteous ideology justifies it then that same twisted justification applies across the board. That shouldn’t be the society I want to live in.
And Hell rang with the acclamation of the Fiends.
– James Weldon Johnson
Somehow murdering someone because you have a narrative that they benefit from creating bad outcomes (hey there’s an easy lift) is considered less harmful to the fabric of society by many people than an interaction that offends their latest identitarian taboos.
When Ramón Serrano Suñer (Franco’s brother in law and foriegn minister) was asked about the causes of the Spanish Civil War, he replied “We just hated each other”
Old Texas saying.
“Some folks just need killing. “
The Texas Tornado, Mark Bennett, taught me that was an affirmative defense.
But it has to be by the right person. One of the percolating theories is that this was a hit set up from within the company, because the victim was preparing to roll on associates relative to an insider trading investigation. If it turns out that such was indeed the reason, and the shell casings were a false flag, will the killer still be a “hero” to the very online leftists?
Pretty much every American knows someone who has been powerless after being screwed by some megacorporation. When people believe that the government and corporation collude against them, they see no alternative to vigilantism and will worship the vigilantes.
UHC intentionally caused significant harm to millions of people and Thompson got filthy rich. I believe Thompson’s acts should be criminal and he belongs in jail. Since that wasn’t going to happen, I prefer vigilante justice to no punishment. Maybe celebrating murder makes me a bad person but I have never harmed someone the way UHC did thousands of times a day.
“But there’s one thing I know
Though I’m younger than you
That even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do
Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good?
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could?
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul
And I hope that you die
And your death will come soon
I’ll follow your casket
By the pale afternoon
And I’ll watch while you’re lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I’ll stand over your grave
‘Til I’m sure that you’re dead”
Yes, you are bad, and likely seriously mentally ill. Please seek help. You are a danger to yourself and others.
This ain’t good, Curtis. You’ve got a lot of misdirected rage in you.
That would make for a great song. Might title it Masters of War and have Bob Dylan sing it..
One thing that struck me was the head of a billion-dollar company not having security. I’d have thought that would be mandatory. The other was how pervasive and thoroughly we are watched as a nation today. Based on news reports, they have a pretty complete video diary of the guy’s movements going back to his boarding a bus in Atlanta. I’d bet by now the trail goes even further. Using that video, they seem to have a cup the shooter used which could yield fingerprint and DNA clues.
That they were able to collect and collate that much video in a day’s time is kinda disturbing.
Heck, I’m surprised they didn’t just check the database for NYPD gun permits, since he had to have one to be legally packing.
The Left loves killing because they believe Utopia can be achieved by eliminating enemies. Radical feminists idolize serial killer Aileen Wuornos. The October 7 attack and atrocities were celebrated. School shooters have fan clubs. The would be Trump assassins were lionized, even the Las Vegas attack on a Country music concert was celebrated in some corners.
The reasons I suspect this was not a leftist ideological killer or revenge killer are that the murderer sneaked up behind and gunned down the victim with no attempt to put the victim in fear or announce the sacred cause that was being vindicated. I think an ideological or revenge killer would have been driven to make sure the victim knew what it was about. This killer didn’t care. The writing on the shell casings was for the media, not for the victim, who was never going to read them.
What? In this sick, depraved country?
Immediately thought of Dan White–killed Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone. What has happened since 1978? Bernie Goetz? Kyle Rittenhouse? Daniel Penny? If this guy gets caught, will he be convicted of murder?
Sorry, but this is a sickness deeply embedded in the bones of this country–we valorize humans with high body counts–think Chris Kyle and the crimes he bragged in his autobiography about committing in this country after returning from Iraq.
This guy killed a chief executive on the street and (so far) has gotten away. Dan White killed a chief executive in the mayor’s office…and got away long enough to kill another in cold blood…and it wasn’t murder. We’re too far gone.
Phil Ochs, citing (quoting?) Castro on the assassination of President Kennedy: “only fools could rejoice at such a tragedy, for systems, not men, are the enemy.”
I’m in the UK. generally, we area a dozy bunch,not much inclined to get too wound up about much. We certainly do not hail murderer as heroes. Witch said, and since both my parents lived though the war, neither of them had much to say about how it was, much as they found it exciting personally,witch they did.
That said, they could not give a shit about German cities being reduced to rubble later in the war.
I rather suspect that sentiment is similar regarding Brian Thompson.
By Any Means Necessary.
I think this is a motto of a political organization.
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants.