Insurance company CEO assassinated in New York

[emanymton]

Have to assume that he wanted to be caught, or at least that he didn't want not to be caught.

That in itself perhaps speaks to his mental health/state of mind. If nothing else, he has grandiose ideas. He appears to have wanted to be known. He's going to come to regret doing this, I think, one of these decades down the line. Throwing his life away.

I went down a true crime rabbit hole on YouTube a while ago. I know, I know it's slop you don't have to tell me.

And I know this is not original thinking

But leaving aside any questions of morality one thing that really struck me is how some people asses risk/reward in a way I just don't understand.

One that stood out to me was a young women who had been lying to her parents for years about graduating from high school and going to college, to the extent of buying fake certificates online. Instead she had dropped out and was living with a boyfriend and his family while her parents supported her thinking she was studying.

Eventually they found out and cut her off financially, and her solution was to hire some guys to stage a fake home invasion and murder her parents (although her father survived). Even leaving aside the morality issue, I just don't understand how you come to the conclusion that's a good solution to your problem, that will woke out well for you? It's just totally alien to me. She could have tired to get back into education or get a job and rebuild her relationship with her parents, or just move on with her life without them in it. But no murder is the obvious solution. The lying is part of it as well, I couldn't deceive people for years like that, I'm just incapable of it. Just the stress of being found out would destroy me.

Anyway the point is that while anyone can kill in the right circumstances, I think they sort of people who can play and carry out a plan of premeditated murder are fundamental differnt to most other people (certainly differnt to me) and I just can't understand them.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

That's about shame, no? The shame of living on in the world with her parents out there knowing what she did. So she either has to kill herself or kill them.

See also men (and it is invariably men) who get into debt/lose a job and end up killing their families rather than have them find out.

 

[Petcha]

Same here, I honestly can't tell if another man is handsome or not.

Lol... seriously? I'm straight but I can see Brad Pitt, Beckham, Clooney, Chamalet et al are very handsome. Surely you can see if one of your colleagues is a bit of eye candy?

 

[Artaxerxes]

Getting away with murder is quite hard because there’s so many variables and yes some people are fucking stupid when doing it

 

[emanymton]

That's about shame, no? The shame of living on in the world with her parents out there knowing what she did. So she either has to kill herself or kill them.

See also men (and it is invariably men) who get into debt/lose a job and end up killing their families rather than have them find out.

Maybe, she did go back and live with them pretending she was "sorting" her life out, while she planned the murder. It still makes no sense to me. But then I'm pretty sure I'm a bit if freak in a variety of ways so maybe I'm the odd one out.

 

[Elpenor]

Lol... seriously? I'm straight but I can see Brad Pitt, Beckham, Clooney, Chamalet et al are very handsome. Surely you can see if one of your colleagues is a bit of eye candy?

They protest too much I think

 

[cupid_stunt]

Surely you can see if one of your colleagues is a bit of eye candy?

Sadly as a result of the invention of mirrors, I can see I am not.

 

[PTK]

I have absolutely no sympathy for the CEO, and I don't belive well adjusted people end up in those sorts of positions.

But I am a bit surprised by the level of support for what it basically an act of individual terrorism. I get there is a level of catharsis, I feel it as well. But this is the anthisis of the sort of collective action genrally supported here.

It isn't just the act of coldly gunning someone down that bothers me, it is also the self destructive nature of the act, he destroyed his own life when he pulled the trigger not to mention the impact on his friends and family.

As with the assassination attempt on Trump it looks like one more expression of the fucked up nature of America society, yes there is a certain pleasure when hits out at those who perpetuate it, but I still find it rather said and depressing overall.

Good post.

 

[Petcha]

They protest too much I think

I've tried gay sex. For the kicks. Wasn't for me. Couldn't even raise the mast. Even a threesome with Pitt and Clooney wouldn't help, sadly.

No idea what this guy's sexuality is and haven't read the previous 10 odd pages but why has sexuality come into this? Presumably the old cliches about dropping the soap in the prison showers?

 

[cupid_stunt]

No idea what this guy's sexuality is and haven't read the previous 10 odd pages but why has sexuality come into this? Presumably the old cliches about dropping the soap in the prison showers?

No, someone posted the shirtless photo of him, with the jokey comment of 'I am not gay, but...'

 

[PTK]

For balance though, they should each time say "CEO of United Healthcare, which refuses the highest number of health claims of people insured with them including those suffering cancer and heart attacks ..."

Yes, like "Hamas-controlled ministry of health". "Head of claim-denying health insurance company".

 

[PTK]

Pity this awareness didnt extend to the Kamala Harris campaign. So fixated on boosting her own ego a mundane issue like this did not appear in her vanity mirror.

I don't think that promoting the interests of the capitalists who fund you is simply "vanity".

 

[emanymton]

Lol... seriously? I'm straight but I can see Brad Pitt, Beckham, Clooney, Chamalet et al are very handsome. Surely you can see if one of your colleagues is a bit of eye candy?

Nope, not a clue.

I do have a bit of face blindness so maybe their is a connection of some kind??

 

[Larry O'Hara]

I don't think that promoting the interests of the capitalists who fund you is simply "vanity".

The Kamala Harris campaigns obsession with self-promotion was. And my fundamental point is that it is an abdication by the political class that it took this shooting to highlight the issue. I know the Democrats are now the tools of corporate America: but shouldnt be. On these shores Labour is now the tool of genocide supporting Zionists/corporate interests, but shouldnt be either

 

[Petcha]

Nope, not a clue.

I do have a bit of face blindness so maybe their is a connection of some kind??

I suffer from that too... which actually Brad Pitt does too. I'm notoriously bad at remembering faces. I'm terrible. It's actually quite embarrassing.

 

[PTK]

The Kamala Harris campaigns obsession with self-promotion was. And my fundamental point is that it is an abdication by the political class that it took this shooting to highlight the issue. I know the Democrats are now the tools of corporate America: but shouldnt be. On these shores Labour is now the tool of genocide supporting Zionists/corporate interests, but shouldnt be either

Yes.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

I think the reaction to the killing has pretty starkly shone a light on a lot of this stuff hasn't it. The way the press immediately cranked into action with the descriptions of him as some sort of heroic leading light of the 'medical community' as if his business was treating people like a doctor rather than trying to make sure people don't get treatment. The fact that the most common reaction was obviously 'fuck him' does show that up.

Yeah, I've seen a lot of mainline news sources telling us all how we should feel. If you look closely many of the hosts on tv are related to people in power and/or went to Ivy League schools. They have no idea what it is to have to choose between food and medicine. How can you trust a news source that doesn't understand how most people are burdened by the greed of the 1%. (And, that's assuming they aren't literally on the payroll).

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

I've tried gay sex. For the kicks. Wasn't for me. Couldn't even raise the mast. Even a threesome with Pitt and Clooney wouldn't help, sadly.

No idea what this guy's sexuality is and haven't read the previous 10 odd pages but why has sexuality come into this? Presumably the old cliches about dropping the soap in the prison showers?

No, I don't think a single person has alluded to that.

 

[Wilf]

100%.

It's also possible to lack sympathy for his victim whilst being appalled by the act he's committed. Whether he shot Brian Thompson or Greta Thunberg, he's still unloaded a weapon on a city's streets and committed murder.

I'm also not getting the hatred of the McDonalds worker who reported him. I'd have grassed him in a heartbeat. You've got a armed murderer, whose mental state you know absolutely nothing about, sitting in your restaurant. Anything could happen.

Anyone who doesn't grass him is supremely irresponsible.

Can't say I'm a great fan of guns or, for that matter, using them. So, no, I can't say this is the way to go or that it's the way to get a better society or even a slightly less shit health care system. None of that will happen from this event. So no, I'm not really on board with the shooter and I'd prefer there to be an entirely different politics in the USA that takes health for all as a given. But there are certain moments, particularly after the re-election of Trump and the parade of nonces and assorted scum in his cabinet, where you think fuck it. If the shooting of a mass health denier/killer is what's on offer, I'll take it.

 

[not henry]

No, I don't think a single person has alluded to that.

well one has
on this thread

 

[bcuster]

Has the case against Robin Hood been lost already?

• Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the December 4 murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, appeared in court for the first time on December 9. During the hearing, Mangione allegedly claimed that evidence found on him, including a large sum of money and a mysterious backpack, may have been planted.

Reference:
Luigi Mangione Claims Evidence in CEO Killing Was 'Planted ...

 

[JimW]

 

[JimW]

 

[_Russ_]

Has the case against Robin Hood been lost already?

• Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the December 4 murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, appeared in court for the first time on December 9. During the hearing, Mangione allegedly claimed that evidence found on him, including a large sum of money and a mysterious backpack, may have been planted.

Reference:
Luigi Mangione Claims Evidence in CEO Killing Was 'Planted ...

Unlikely as it is, my fingers are crossed

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

Yeah, I've seen a lot of mainline news sources telling us all how we should feel. If you look closely many of the hosts on tv are related to people in power and/or went to Ivy League schools. They have no idea what it is to have to choose between food and medicine. How can you trust a news source that doesn't understand how most people are burdened by the greed of the 1%. (And, that's assuming they aren't literally on the payroll).

Yes, I think for a lot of people, and particularly those who benefit from it, the systems that are in place are just how things are. The people at the top aren't driving an inhumane system they're just performing well, who wouldn't admire them? I think that's probably more powerful than any 'on the payroll' side of things tbh. I think 'people would genuinely like you dead' is going to be an eye-opener to some of them at least - although I could see it driving a demand for more armed security as much as anything more positive.

 

[Idris2002]

The country club Che Guevara's lawyer has been appointed:


A fellow by the name of Thomas Dickey, grapple fans. Says he sees no evidence linking America's Boyfriend to the crime.

UnitedHealthcare CEO killing: Luigi Mangione's lawyer has seen 'no evidence' linking gun to New York

Luigi Mangione, 26, plans to challenge his extradition from Pennsylvania to New York, where he faces a charge of second-degree murder in connection with Thompson's Dec. 4 outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel.

abc7ny.com

 

[not henry]

This reminds me of the case where the jury accepted the argument of four women - going under the name the Ploughshare Four - that their action was reasonable under the Genocide Act. They seriously fucked up a hawk warplane but argued that their actions had prevented a greater crime from occurring.
Also in USA courts the juries of (12-14 people) only require one member to "have doubts" before a mistrial is declared. Although it nessecitates a retrial, two or three consecutive jury members could wear down the prosecution and enable defendant to leave without a stain on his character.
I think OP missed a trick when he ommitted to include a poll at the beginning, (maybe another thread?)
Could be
Would you have grassed?
yes (because i am an absolute cunt)
no (because any other reason)

 

[emanymton]

This reminds me of the case where the jury accepted the argument of four women - going under the name the Ploughshare Four - that their action was reasonable under the Genocide Act. They seriously fucked up a hawk warplane but argued that their actions had prevented a greater crime from occurring.
Also in USA courts the juries of (12-14 people) only require one member to "have doubts" before a mistrial is declared. Although it nessecitates a retrial, two or three consecutive jury members could wear down the prosecution and enable defendant to leave without a stain on his character.
I think OP missed a trick when he ommitted to include a poll at the beginning, (maybe another thread?)
Could be
Would you have grassed?
yes (because i am an absolute cunt)
no (because any other reason)

Sorry but causing damage to military equipment is not remotely the same as shooting someone. If those 4 women had killed someone they would have been looked up.

On top of that shooting this guy does nothing to save lives the company just carries on.

 

[8ball]

Yes, I think for a lot of people, and particularly those who benefit from it, the systems that are in place are just how things are. The people at the top aren't driving an inhumane system they're just performing well, who wouldn't admire them? I think that's probably more powerful than any 'on the payroll' side of things tbh. I think 'people would genuinely like you dead' is going to be an eye-opener to some of them at least - although I could see it driving a demand for more armed security as much as anything more positive.

There will probably be a few “Hans…” moments here and there, but group rationalisation will soon kick in and do what it always does.

Edit: I should say “be enforced” rather than “kick in”, since I expect all but the people in the lowest couple of levels of these companies have drunk deep of the Kool Aid.

 

[Kaka Tim]