Blog #25 - Deny, Defend, Depose

This week the biggest news story I have seen being discussed has to be the death of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The 50-year-old was shot dead outside his New York hotel at 6.30 am on the morning of the 4th of December. Gun violence is unfortunately quite standard in the states, someone dying this way doesn’t usually break headlines. This story is different though.

The majority of the time, these instances of gun violence are relatively cut & dry. Most people quite quickly see the shooter as the antagonist and after the customary “Thoughts and Prayers” the debate on whether the shooter or the gun laws are to blame rages on.

The most notable aspect of this story is the public reaction. The US healthcare industry is extremely problematic. A lack of public healthcare means that to feel at ease and access the basic human right of healthcare you must be employed and paying a healthcare provider. The second prong of this huge problem is that as private for-profit organisations, the entire mission of these healthcare companies is to deny and delay as many of the claims as possible. This means that many sick people who have been seeing their doctor and are awaiting lifesaving surgery are denied that surgery since the provider has managed to find a justification to deny the claim. Those who do not die preventable deaths from this system are left in mountains of debt for medical expenses.

Brian Thompson is being treated with the sympathy of a murderer. The abusive healthcare system has hurt many people across the political aisle. Many people see someone who took part in its growth and profited from that growth as unsympathetic. From Breaking Bad to Saw popular culture has told plenty of stories of those pushed to their limits by a broken healthcare system & have taken action into their own hands.

Luigi Mangione the alleged shooter has become a hero. Unlike typical perpetrators of gun violence in the US Luigi is not an incel on the right, spouting bitter hateful rhetoric, turning his weapon on innocents. Mangione is an accomplished, attractive young guy who has been described as a loving and caring friend. Wealth inequality in the US continues to grow, as that divide grows there are more and more who will find themselves able to sympathise with the preventable deaths from the industry or even Mangione more so than the killing of Thompson.

Many leading right-wing pundits in the US have been met by unexpected opposition from their typically loyal audience. The most notable example has to be Mr facts don’t Have Feelings himself… Ben Shapiro. On the 6th of December Ben uploaded a video titled “A SHOCKING Targeted Attack…And The Left Celebrates!". Following his usual formula Ben uses the reactions to Thompson’s death as ammunition against the left. This backfired though, Shapiro was unable to read the room, pickup that this was an inequality issue, not a left or right one. As someone who argues for the unity of anyone who has to work for a wage, as opposed to the divisive rhetoric shared by Shaprio, it was cathartic to read those comments. Many shared their heartbreaking stories of losing loved ones before criticising Shapiro for his bad take and divisive tactics.

The bullets that ended the life of Brian Thompson were inscribed with the words “Deny, Defend, Depose". This set of words has begun trending online, for some, it makes great merchandise and for many, it marks a radical dissatisfaction with the state of politics and economic inequality. Going on social media and then viewing established/mainstream coverage of the topic is quite jarring. There appears to be quite a large divide between what people are feeling and how the media is reporting. News reports are very selective with their language, using sympathetic language to describe Thompson and antagonistic language to describe Mangione and the support he has received. I’m not shocked with the coverage from established outlets but I do feel that the divide between what they are posting and how people feel is significant.

This killing is not an isolated event. There have been multiple close assassination attempts made on Donald Trump. To me, this demonstrates a couple of facts and an overall trend.

Firstly people are unhappy with big money, corporations, greed, and the way things are going. Regardless of the complexities of the Trump assassination attempts, to me it’s clear. A notable businessman in politics getting shot at on multiple occasions demonstrates dissatisfaction with how things are. You might ask well people cannot be that unhappy with Trump and what he represents if he still won and that leads me to my second point.

Secondly, people are losing faith in democratic peaceful solutions. To me the current rise in political violence, the worsening economic state of the working class and outcome of the US election point to this. Many people take no issue with Trump’s legal issues surrounding both his personal and political life, many also see his controversial but strong stances as necessary especially in these uncertain times. The Democrats offered voters more of the same and no strong solutions. In uncertain times people crave strong solutions. I strongly disagree with Trump’s strong stances but understand why people are attracted to them when they are scared and frustrated, just like with the reaction to Thompson’s death.

Instability builds and people move further towards violence and extremism as they grow more and more dissatisfied with the state of things. Russia saw a dramatic uptick in domestic terrorism and violent attacks against the wealthy ruling class in the decades before and during the revolution. These attacks were reflections of frustrations felt throughout society. I am arguing the same of the recent political violence that has become popular throughout the year. I am not advocating for people to pick up weapons but I am seeing a trend where people from varying backgrounds are feeling great dissatisfaction with how things are and as a result are moving to stronger and stronger solutions. Whilst economic and political circumstances continue to decline the likelihood of more violence and celebration of that violence will continue.

Thanks so much for reading. I had a blast writing this, I have wanted to say so much since all this news first broke. As you can tell I share a strong sympathy with those affected by corporations like United Healthcare. I would love to know your thoughts on the matter, please let me know below.