The strangest thing to witness is how such a huge part of the US population have come together on this. There seems to be less divide on this matter than on other serious issues. Ive not seen so much unity on something in a very long time. I dont condone killing by any means but I also understand, if history tells us anything, that when broken systems desperately need to be destroyed, there are lives that also get destroyed in the process. If there was a peaceful path to cause this level of disruption then of course that should have occurred- but I'm not sure there would have been a peaceful way and this upheaval so needed to happen. The oddest part is how the collective doesnt see this as a senseless killing but rather as a murderer of innocents being brought to justice. Almost as if they're rejoicing the death of Hitler. Are these health insurance professionals becoming the modern day evil, committing eugenics by letting the poor die and the rich be healed?
Most of the systems in our society are there to oppress us under the guise of protecting us. When these seismic events happen at the hand of a fellow human, it awakens the notion of people power. Of course anarchy isn't the ideal answer and I'm sure there are many psychopaths taking notes but I have a strange feeling that this monumental historical event may be the first domino of change- although we may not see that change for a long time to come. I also understand the outrage people feel around the murder. It's not a pleasant thing but I would be interested to see a poll on what kind of health cover people had. If one feels safe and comfortable it is easy to feel outrage for the murder but I think for a lot of people who have been denied care or gone into unmanageable healthcare debt, the murder offers respite. Someone has been held accountable. I can observe and understand both sides of it. I dont think either side us unjust in their feelings.
The murder brought up such complex thoughts and feelings for me. I had to question, did I consider this CEO to be an innocent victim? And I'm still searching but I'm not sure I do. I had confront the sense of justice I felt surrounding his death even though I knew it wasn't a positive thing. It's easy to feel safe in the arms of a vigilante when you feel so unsafe in the arms of the government or the police. Since covid, the veil has dropped completely and people cannot unsee or unlearn all the corruption and lies that make our world go round. I'm not sure where this is all going but when things have hit rock bottom, and there has been no hope or optimism for so long, perhaps this will be the starting point of our brave new world.
Ditto and well said, Lauren. If we’re going to live in the nuanced world, we can say murder is wrong *and* most of us can understand how people oppressed by so many systems of power would reach a breaking point. I think the more surprising thing is that we haven’t seen more of this as the inequity has reached such astronomical levels.
What does it say about us that we’re all talking about it too? Mangione brought about more honest coverage of our healthcare crisis than an entire presidential campaign. And did you see that health insurance denial rates are down 15+ percent since the murder? Even my more offline friends are having conversations.
I also keep thinking about how history judges past breach moments to use Beiner’s phrasing. We often see the bigger picture looking backwards, but it begs the question of how the people living through it judged the perpetrators.
I agree it's surprising we haven't seen more of it. My hope is that others don't get the idea that gunning down a defenseless man on the way to work is the way there.
Honestly, I read the title as "Why Luigi's Mansion haunts us" while quickly scrolling through my inbox XD (For those who don't know, Luigi's Mansion is a kid's "horror" game...)
Other than that, I am completely out of the loop on what's happening in the US, including this, so my apologies for not commenting on the actual content of what you wrote Alex. 😘
My first thought about the Mangione story was the consonance of his trajectory with that of Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment - the idea of murder breaching upon reality in a kind of fever dream, the criminal imagining himself as a romantic hero and idolised as such by people consuming the crime as a form of spectacle. Thank you for bringing such nuance to a complex story 🙏
As mentioned in other comments, I too recognize there is a nuanced perspective that acknowledges murder is wrong and inhumane while also acknowledging the failings of the healthcare system as wrong and inhumane.
It is easy to toil over the complexities of this “breach”, but for me it all boils down to love vs hate. Ted Kaczynski is an exceptionally brilliant mind (seemingly more so than Mangione based on his manifesto), but he gave way to letting hate consume him and for that he ultimately failed.
When I was younger, angrier at the world, and less in control of my mind and emotions, I used to side with Kaczynski and Mangione in their justification of violent acts. Now as I have grown older and wiser(somewhat), I believe that violence and atrocities only breed more violence and atrocities on any historically relevant timescale.
The only way for us to create any facet of a utopian world is through creation and manifestations of love. We must face our inner darknesses individually before coming together as a collective to create and build from a place of love. Any other trajectory fueled by fear or hatred will continue the cycle of pain and suffering we are trapped in currently.
Thanks for the thought provoking article, Alex! Hope you and the family have a lovely Christmas and New Years!
It's difficult to respond when you don't know if you'll be heard.
The majority of humanity has been controlled by tiny numbers of people since the dawn of civilization. That small elite has played a delicate game of pretending to listen, but sometimes it becomes obvious that no one is listening. When AI is out in control of who gets rejected for life-saving procedures or who gets assassinated in foreign territory it's understandable that people feel the need to get the attention of Flesh and Blood.
Right and Wrong are concepts that only make sense when all involved in the conversation agree on the fundamental underlying premises.
Discussing it online is therefore silly, but discussing it with a member of one's ideological in-group is not.
I appealed to one such person and when he ghosted me instead of watching the very personal video I had recorded for him I felt that I had no choice but to post it.
To pour one's soul out and find out that no one has been listening is a maddening experience. The immediate sentiment is that ATTENTION MUST BE PAID, so I posted the video to the world for no reason but that one.
Like Luigi, I followed all of the rules. And like Luigi I found utter hypocrisy in the words of the rule-makers.
I am a Rabbi. I was seeking his help to solve the ongoing mass murder in the middle east. But rather than link to additional videos and articles about that, I'll make my second link (the two previous ones are identical) to the underlying principle of morality from the perspective of what came to be known as the Abrahamic Faiths.
The strangest thing to witness is how such a huge part of the US population have come together on this. There seems to be less divide on this matter than on other serious issues. Ive not seen so much unity on something in a very long time. I dont condone killing by any means but I also understand, if history tells us anything, that when broken systems desperately need to be destroyed, there are lives that also get destroyed in the process. If there was a peaceful path to cause this level of disruption then of course that should have occurred- but I'm not sure there would have been a peaceful way and this upheaval so needed to happen. The oddest part is how the collective doesnt see this as a senseless killing but rather as a murderer of innocents being brought to justice. Almost as if they're rejoicing the death of Hitler. Are these health insurance professionals becoming the modern day evil, committing eugenics by letting the poor die and the rich be healed?
Most of the systems in our society are there to oppress us under the guise of protecting us. When these seismic events happen at the hand of a fellow human, it awakens the notion of people power. Of course anarchy isn't the ideal answer and I'm sure there are many psychopaths taking notes but I have a strange feeling that this monumental historical event may be the first domino of change- although we may not see that change for a long time to come. I also understand the outrage people feel around the murder. It's not a pleasant thing but I would be interested to see a poll on what kind of health cover people had. If one feels safe and comfortable it is easy to feel outrage for the murder but I think for a lot of people who have been denied care or gone into unmanageable healthcare debt, the murder offers respite. Someone has been held accountable. I can observe and understand both sides of it. I dont think either side us unjust in their feelings.
The murder brought up such complex thoughts and feelings for me. I had to question, did I consider this CEO to be an innocent victim? And I'm still searching but I'm not sure I do. I had confront the sense of justice I felt surrounding his death even though I knew it wasn't a positive thing. It's easy to feel safe in the arms of a vigilante when you feel so unsafe in the arms of the government or the police. Since covid, the veil has dropped completely and people cannot unsee or unlearn all the corruption and lies that make our world go round. I'm not sure where this is all going but when things have hit rock bottom, and there has been no hope or optimism for so long, perhaps this will be the starting point of our brave new world.
I appreciate you bringing us into the nuance of your process, Lauren. Thank you for this.
Ditto and well said, Lauren. If we’re going to live in the nuanced world, we can say murder is wrong *and* most of us can understand how people oppressed by so many systems of power would reach a breaking point. I think the more surprising thing is that we haven’t seen more of this as the inequity has reached such astronomical levels.
What does it say about us that we’re all talking about it too? Mangione brought about more honest coverage of our healthcare crisis than an entire presidential campaign. And did you see that health insurance denial rates are down 15+ percent since the murder? Even my more offline friends are having conversations.
I also keep thinking about how history judges past breach moments to use Beiner’s phrasing. We often see the bigger picture looking backwards, but it begs the question of how the people living through it judged the perpetrators.
I agree it's surprising we haven't seen more of it. My hope is that others don't get the idea that gunning down a defenseless man on the way to work is the way there.
Agree, of course.
Honestly, I read the title as "Why Luigi's Mansion haunts us" while quickly scrolling through my inbox XD (For those who don't know, Luigi's Mansion is a kid's "horror" game...)
Other than that, I am completely out of the loop on what's happening in the US, including this, so my apologies for not commenting on the actual content of what you wrote Alex. 😘
Hahahah I kinda new this would likely not land for my readers overseas... but now I know the surefire way to clickbait you, Jibran!
My first thought about the Mangione story was the consonance of his trajectory with that of Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment - the idea of murder breaching upon reality in a kind of fever dream, the criminal imagining himself as a romantic hero and idolised as such by people consuming the crime as a form of spectacle. Thank you for bringing such nuance to a complex story 🙏
Ah, great call there. Dostoevsky me. Thank you Nicola <3
A sad story that will continue to unfold.
Alex, spot on weaving your words together.
Thanks, Barbara. Hope you have a beautiful holiday.
As mentioned in other comments, I too recognize there is a nuanced perspective that acknowledges murder is wrong and inhumane while also acknowledging the failings of the healthcare system as wrong and inhumane.
It is easy to toil over the complexities of this “breach”, but for me it all boils down to love vs hate. Ted Kaczynski is an exceptionally brilliant mind (seemingly more so than Mangione based on his manifesto), but he gave way to letting hate consume him and for that he ultimately failed.
When I was younger, angrier at the world, and less in control of my mind and emotions, I used to side with Kaczynski and Mangione in their justification of violent acts. Now as I have grown older and wiser(somewhat), I believe that violence and atrocities only breed more violence and atrocities on any historically relevant timescale.
The only way for us to create any facet of a utopian world is through creation and manifestations of love. We must face our inner darknesses individually before coming together as a collective to create and build from a place of love. Any other trajectory fueled by fear or hatred will continue the cycle of pain and suffering we are trapped in currently.
Thanks for the thought provoking article, Alex! Hope you and the family have a lovely Christmas and New Years!
This. Kade, I think you nailed it. It does boil down to love vs hate. Thank you for this reminder.
And right back at you, have beautiful holiday!
Great insights here Alex, thanks for writing this!
Thank you so much, Brian.
TL;DR --- A Rabbi's personal video to a billionaire former friend:
https://ydydy.substack.com/p/jewish-billionaire-fraud-noah-fried
It's difficult to respond when you don't know if you'll be heard.
The majority of humanity has been controlled by tiny numbers of people since the dawn of civilization. That small elite has played a delicate game of pretending to listen, but sometimes it becomes obvious that no one is listening. When AI is out in control of who gets rejected for life-saving procedures or who gets assassinated in foreign territory it's understandable that people feel the need to get the attention of Flesh and Blood.
Right and Wrong are concepts that only make sense when all involved in the conversation agree on the fundamental underlying premises.
Discussing it online is therefore silly, but discussing it with a member of one's ideological in-group is not.
I appealed to one such person and when he ghosted me instead of watching the very personal video I had recorded for him I felt that I had no choice but to post it.
To pour one's soul out and find out that no one has been listening is a maddening experience. The immediate sentiment is that ATTENTION MUST BE PAID, so I posted the video to the world for no reason but that one.
https://ydydy.substack.com/p/jewish-billionaire-fraud-noah-fried
Like Luigi, I followed all of the rules. And like Luigi I found utter hypocrisy in the words of the rule-makers.
I am a Rabbi. I was seeking his help to solve the ongoing mass murder in the middle east. But rather than link to additional videos and articles about that, I'll make my second link (the two previous ones are identical) to the underlying principle of morality from the perspective of what came to be known as the Abrahamic Faiths.
https://ydydy.substack.com/p/brotherhood-or-the-sword-the-only
NOW we can discuss Right and Wrong.