How does a man who had all the things leading to the perfect life become the symbol of vigilantism overnight?
Luigi Mangione is a name known all across the country right now because of his alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. A man looking to be Mangione was seen on CCTV shooting Thompson on Dec. 4th at 6 am in New York City.
The story went viral overnight as police searched for the person involved. People on social media quickly took the alleged murder under their wing. People were happy that someone cracked down on a person who was using their power to make people’s lives worse.
According to The New Yorker, Thompson became CEO in 2021 and increased the profits by $5 billion in two years. The company doubled its denial rate for prior authorization requests for post-acute care between 2019 and 2022.
I thoroughly believe that Mangione is as popular as he is because of the idea of him being a vigilante. Many people in America are sick of how bad the healthcare system is and it seems, that someone finally did something about it, even if it was a bad thing.
Once Mangione was arrested, people started to make edits and thirst after him. People started to compare him to Bruce Wayne when his background came to light. Mangione is from a powerful Maryland family, is an Ivy League graduate, was valedictorian of his elite all-boys private school, and had degrees that could have easily gotten him a high-paying job.
While the reason is still unknown, it is suspected that a back injury prevents him from doing so. His former landlord is on record saying, “He knew that dating and being physically intimate with his back condition wasn’t possible,” RJ Martin said to the New York Times. This was during Mangione’s six-month stay in Honolulu.
Mangione’s family said that he cut contact with them after a back surgery. This is where it is suspected that his disdain for healthcare companies came. He was arrested in a McDonalds with a manifesto calling for the end of parasitic healthcare companies.
Gen Z has been known to have a taste for men with grey morals, but this really oversteps a line. While I do believe that the healthcare industry needs to be looked at and redone, this is a step too far for people to take.
We do not live in a world of superheroes and villains, like many believe. We cannot let the people in power win, but we cannot stoop to the level of murder. We have to use our voice and demand change.
As we do with our politicians, we need to demand change. People should not be denied necessary procedures because an insurance company doesn’t wanna pay. That is the point we are at. That is what has made people like Mangionie turn to taking these things into their own hands.
While Mangione is getting love from the internet, please know that this is not a case people take lightly. There are real people who have suffered on all sides, and while some will say it is a joke, other people will see this is an opportunity to do more things like this.
