The murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thomas coupled with the overwhelmingly gleeful public reaction thereto has corporate executives at evil companies thinking twice–not about their actions, but upping their personal security.
Taking Stock
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication and WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a contributor to Centerclip and co-host of "The Final Countdown" talk show on Radio Sputnik. He is a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "2024: Revisited."
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Reread Darwin and Marx. The predator/prey equation is out of whack with the current iteration of owners/workers (bourgeoisie/proletariat). The only option left to the prey-proles? We saw it on December 4. I’m thinking that somewhere in the Senate there is at least one thinking elected representative who realizes that going after the politicians is the next logical step, at least from the playbooks of Darwin and Marx. It would be a supreme irony if Donald Trump ends up being the president who gets us universal healthcare. (Of course, doing so would be smart on a bunch of levels, mainly that once it’s done, the democrats have no more rallying cries left to dupe the proles with.)
Yeah.. if you’re happy about this, it tells me more about you than it ever will about Brian Thompson.
As far as “going after politicians,” I think someone hasn’t been paying attention
If this becomes a trend, then so much for “How Americans Resist,” eh?
Abducens, Why are so many people gleeful about this? Because so many people know somebody who died or suffered grievously because a for–profit health insurer denied legitimate coverage, and sent the money it saved by that denial to its shareholders–and its CEO. It’s a profitable, thoroughly legal way to kill people. The solution? Not heightened security, but a national health care system.
Sure, go ahead, be happy – it just means you’re a scummy person
Q.E.D.
The reasoning is faulty.
Being broke is a full-time job. You constantly have to push back against being victimized and it’s exhausting. It isn’t, “Well, learn coding. Work smarter, not harder.” It’s a system DESIGNED to wear you down. No matter what you do, if you aren’t a rare talent, if you’re just — God forgive you — an ordinary person, the person with the connections will get all the goodies.
Got stomach pain? Well, time to choose between a co-pay of $50 and getting stuck with the cost of tests the insurance company automatically rejects OR just take some antacid because you need that money to get a birthday present for your daughter. Oh, yeah, surprise, not just bloated CEOs have wives and children.
Am I happy that the trophy wife who hasn’t lived him for years will probably get an enormous insurance payout? Am I happy that his two kids (who, I guarantee you, are never going to be working retail) will have to go off to their Ivy League education (no student loans for those bros) without Dad there to hand them the keys to their new luxe automobiles? Happiness doesn’t enter into it. I’m sure, at some point, his erstwhile wife was able to possibly genuinely feel fondness for him, and not just because he was rich or a good bet. I’m sure the kids probably loved him at some point as something other than an ATM.
My emotions don’t arise from seeing other people made unhappy. In this case, the emotional response comes from knowing what this guy’s job was. If Mangione gets to trial and there’s discovery, we’ll see it in black and white — Thompson’s orders, which he followed, like a good CEO, were to cut “expenses,” with “expenses” being defined in part as “medical care provided to the rubes who are forced to use our company through their employers.” This isn’t hypothetical. This isn’t theoretical calculus. This guy’s decisions led to people’s deaths. It’s the same cold equations used by the cigarette companies.
Am I happy that a sociopath who got paid handsomely to advance policies that directly killed people is out of the picture and, just possibly, the CEOs have learned that their time is just about up at the trough?
I am delighted. Why? Not because the surivors, possibly, are feeling something akin to human sorrow, but because it means I now have a slightly greater chance of living because the company might, for a little while, ease up on the screwing over.
I suggest you consult a psychiatrist. Whether your health plan covers it or not.
“When the facts are against you, argue the law. When the law is against you, argue the facts. When the facts and the law are against you, try an ad hominem attack.” You’re trolling me. Fuggedaboutit.
Someone needs to TLDR the Tired Alex faculty lounge blog post for me – yikes!
Fact remains, if you find Mangione a sympathetic figure, you’re a bad person. I’m sorry to be the one to deliver this news, but the upside is that you now have an opportunity to do something about it!
Glad to help
Different Americans and different resistance (to a different phenomenon; one that probably really is more substantial than Trump et al, and therefore inspires a more serious reaction).
Lol, yeah, you know, sometimes people think murder is the right solution. The glorious melting pot of America! You guys crack me up!
So insurance premiums will be higher for everyone (Dem’s and Rep’s) to offer private security protection for company officers and increase life insurance benefits in their company package.
To stay on the same topic: How climate risks are driving up insurance premiums around the US
@brother martin:
Don’t pay any attention to abdu[no]cens: the poor sob is suffering from tunnel vision.
According to right wing libertarians, the guy who got rich depriving people of lifesaving healthcare committed no aggression. The abuses inherent in a system which prioritizes the generation of profit above all else go unacknowledged in such a worldview. The violence of the tyrants who grow wealthy exploiting the suffering, sickness and struggle of others; who harvest the income of those who can’t otherwise afford necessities like healthcare and shelter via insurance fees and rent payments; who plunder the biosphere and externalize the costs of industry onto the ecosystem we all depend on; who leverage the exploitative sociopolitical system known as capitalism to extract labor from workers at extortionate rates; who maximize profits by crushing unions, eroding workers’ rights and fighting minimum wage increases — they are seen as entirely legitimate, making any attempt to resist such tyranny entirely illegitimate.
If your worldview doesn’t acknowledge that violence isn’t limited to the physical act of shooting someone, and that force isn’t limited to the physical act of locking someone in a prison cell, then you’re not going to see the violence and force in the way the capitalist class leverages inequality, human need, and the law to force the masses to live their lives in ways that make them miserable and unhealthy. You’re just going to see a bunch of successful businessmen peacefully going about their business, who are loathed by evil leftists for no legitimate reason. The abusiveness of the means by which those businessmen become wealthy is invisible to you.
both paragraphs written by Caitlin Johnstone
I’m not trolling anybody. Sheesh, sensitive. Unless you, personally, are actually happy this happened.
There’s a really interesting scene playing out on the left where they’re trying to say they’re happy this happened without actually saying they’re happy it happened – because they know that would be a really bad optic.
All I am saying is, you know who you are, and if you’re happy, then yeah, you’re a scummy person.
Some interesting mental gymnastics here in the faculty lounge! Keep it up guys!
TL; DR.
(Seriously, who engages in a discussion and then, sigh, can’t be bothered to read a couple of minutes’ worth of response? I read my stuff. I’m usually on topic. I’m sorry if I can’t be bumper-sticker glib. Read my lips: That’s how we got this messed up. Short attention, um, stuff.)
Oh, I’m just messing with you – I never your read your posts no matter how long or short they are
I hope some sociologist finds this thread 50 years from now. If so, welcome! Enjoy these contributions as you write up your paper “How the Murder of a Health Care CEO Caused the Left to Completely Abandon its Moral Compass.” (Feel free to use this title)
Speaking of “mental gymnastics”–let’s hear it for all the Americans who voted to support the D’s and R’s plans to further the Palestinian genocide, but are shocked, simply shocked, that somebody would assassinate an insurance company executive.
Huh? OK, whatever.
At any rate, I’m not shocked given how unhinged the left and their media allies have gotten. They are stopping just short of outright advocating for these killings – it’s really disgusting. We also two unsuccessful assassination attempts on a Presidential candidate. This is all in 2024!
But sure, something something, Palestine. Please try to stay on topic if you’re going to continue in this thread – thanks
A few comments:
That UHC CEO believed in screwing people with his orchestrated greed, and he got it back.
That’s called karma, a terribly un-American concept.
Even if they don’t fully get it, it’s really worth a look:
Caitlin’s Newsletter
The Natural Stupidity of the “moderation” algorithm screwed up most of the thread.
Nope, sorry, I’m still here! Ted rightly believes that everyone deserves a voice. Sorry you have to put up with my well thought out posts and how it places a mirror in front of you.
ab,
Your posts are wholly innocent of the trivium. Your lack of empathic capacity renders you nearly blind to the rhetorical missteps and logical fallacies you are committing.
Hey, that’s a good one. Saying I have a lack of empathy while saying (and let’s be real, that’s what’s being said) a CEO deserved to be murdered!
Nice one, faculty lounge! Keep them coming!