3 reasons behind the unstoppable glory of Luigi Mangione

In the days since Luigi Mangione was charged with murdering the chief executive of one of America's largest health insurers, an unknown number of people online have hailed him as the hero of the today.

A fundraiser for his legal defense raised thousands of dollars before he was removed. Online stores sell T-shirts with his face and messages like, “In This House, Luigi Mangione Is A Hero, End of Story”. On TikTok, users posted videos with phrases like “free my man” and “my sympathy is reserved for people who deserve it.”

Mangione, 26, is accused of shooting Brian Thompson, 50, from behind as he walked into a midtown Manhattan hotel to prepare for his company's annual investor conference on 4 December. His lawyer said he plans to plead not guilty.

It usually goes without saying that murder is one of the most heinous crimes. And Thompson's killing has certainly sparked a lot of shock and outrage. But experts in online communication, clinical psychology and health care reform believe there are three main reasons why so many other members of the public identify with an accused person instead – and they says that some of these factors have been gathering in clear view.

“I think it's easy to see what's going on, almost to the point of being obvious,” said George Bonanno, a professor of clinical psychology at Columbia University Teachers College in Newtown. York.

First: Shame on health insurers

The first reason, Bonanno said, is that a level of anger and frustration with the US health care system “has been simmering for some time. ”

Americans pay more for theirs health care than residents of any other high-income country. But data also shows that spending on insurance premiums, out-of-pocket costs, medications and hospital services have all increased over the past five years, according to The Associated Press.

Health insurance companies can embody so much of what, for many, they feel is heartless and broken about the system – they can be cold, remote and impossible to navigate. may seem like a reason.

The honor is not unanimous – Public opinion polling data shows that most Americans are satisfied with their insurance plans – but when the bitterness is there, he is careful.

“If the health care system treats you unfairly, you have no chance at all. … The End of Trauma.

Then, “this one will come and do it.”

Second: A CEO makes an easy villain

Given their contempt for insurance companies, Bonanno said, many online saw Thompson as an easy villain and Mangione as an easy hero.

“(They) were completely ripe to be complete stereotypes,” the psychologist said.

Thompson led UnitedHealthcare, which brought in $281 billion in US revenue in 2023. His own compensation package, worth US$10.2 million, made him one of the highest-paid executives at his ' company.

“Here's a CEO of one of those companies, who makes $10 million (US) a year. And then he is killed by a young man who is not really known. (The gunman) looks rather handsome. It is secret. It is secret. on a bike,” Bonanno said.

“It was kind of Robin Hood-y.”

It soon emerged that the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” were carved into shell casings found at the scene of the murder, mimicking on the title of a 2010 book: Delay, denial, defense: Why insurance companies won't pay claims and what you can do about it.

The killing was also widely criticized and Gov.

Thompson, who lived in Minnesota, left behind a wife and two high school-aged children. Andrew Witty, CEO of parent company UnitedHealth Group, called him a humble man with working-class Midwestern roots.

“BT didn't forget, as we knew it… for the New York Times. He also clarified that Mangione was not one of the company's customers.

Former NYPD detective sergeant Felipe Rodriguez also criticized the online response supporting an alleged killer.

“They have made him a martyr for the problems people have had with their own insurance companies,” he told Reuters.

Third: Who is Mangione

The online conversation about Thompson's death took another turn Monday when the public learned the identity of the suspect.

Mangione can be described with a number of adjectives, including young, healthy, wealthy and masculine. Valedictorian of an elite private high school with two Ivy League degrees, he comes from an upper class family in Maryland and has maintained an active online presence.

In addition, he also suffered from chronic back pain that affected his daily life, according to friends and online posts, although his specific treatment and coverage history is unclear.

“This, in fact, is framed as, 'He is one of us,'” said Ioana Literat, professor of communication at the same college as Bonanno.

“One of us' is a social media user, 'one of us' is a young person and, importantly, 'one of us' is someone dealing with this system that doesn't work for ordinary people.

And the crime mirrored the Hollywood way of solving problems: A rogue vigilante — usually a young, muscular, white man — swoops in to break the rules and save the day, often with drama and violence laid on thick.

Literat said Mangione could be considered particularly attractive to Gen Z. Another Canadian professor who studies health care reform said many teenagers and 20-somethings have lost faith in the social institutions that are supposed to help them and that could be related to finding justice through their own activity.

“I think that youth and young adults, I think, have a reasonable disdain for people in positions of power, political power, commercial power,” said Julian Somers, a professor at Simon Fraser University in in Burnaby, BC.

Several experts said the answer would likely be different if Mangione didn't look the way he does.

“In the comments, there was a deep conversation about 'Well, what if he was Black? What if he was poor? What if he wasn't like that?'” said Literat.

Dark humor helps people cope, a psychologist says

In his comment, Witty said he understood the public's frustration with the “flawed” US health care system, but he mourned Thompson's death and criticized the “vitriol directed at our colleagues which are hindered by threats. “

In addition to the bad intentions of insurers, dark humor has been prevalent online. Literat said tone is part of the “TikTok language,” but Bonanno believed it goes deeper.

He said these jokes are a way to deal with the harsh reality of what's become dubious in America: Someone in their mid-20s who felt the only solution to a common American pain point was to shoot him. another human being – a married father of two. – in cold blood on a public road.

“The idea that if we're not happy, that we're going to go out and kill somebody, it's not a good idea. It's not a good precedent to be supportive,” said Bonanno.

“Pushing it away with humor makes it easier to live with.”