Why Luigi Mangione Is A Coward
Yes, it’s easy to hate insurance companies. And we absolutely should. They are despicable. They are prime example of how corporate greed has infiltrated and taken over one of the most personal and human needs: healthcare.
The healthcare system in America is quite clearly fucked, and this has been long talked about. I absolutely understand the frustrations that everyday, working class people have. If they are wronged by an insurance company, what recourse is there for the common man? Organize a lawsuit that will surely fail? Contact their congressional representative that has already lined their pockets with corporate donations? Their options are tenuous at best.
However, I’ll tell you what nobody should do: shoot an unarmed man in the back on the street in broad daylight. That wasn’t brave. It wasn’t righteous. It was simply one angry guy lashing out at another in a personal vendetta, not some extreme version of Robin Hood. No matter how much you disagree with or even hate someone and/or what they represent, it is weakness to take the shortcut of violence.
It’s hard to change things the right way, seemingly impossible even, but if we give into primal impulses that are totally out of the realm of civilized society, then what the hell are we doing? Ironically, it was Luigi’s primal instinct that got him caught in the first place, lowering his mask to flirt with a cute barista who was making his pre-murder oat milk latte.
He chose the easy path. Not easy in the sense of executing the task itself, which of course takes planning and a twisted form of determination, but easy in that he skipped all the hard work of creating lasting change. Whether that is organizing protests, writing and utilizing media to cultivate a like-minded community, starting a god damn podcast (I know), or running for public office, there are paths within the rules of society, albeit difficult, that he could have taken.
First it’s a healthcare CEO shot, but who is next? Has any good come from Brian Johnson’s murder? For me, no positives come to mind other than a few decent Luigi memes. Change must come from different avenues that don’t create dangerous precedents in a civil society.