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 Reactions to the murder of a man on the streets of Manhattan are ranging from "we didn't know him but he was an insurance company CEO so it's okay he was murdered" to the suspected shooter had good reason to shoot a CEO of an insurance company because, well, duh.  Or because the shooter  maybe had mental problems (a real thing I am NOT discounting by citing here). Or maybe because he was  a tech bro.  Or because you know, there are bad cops who kill with impunity, so whaddya gonna do? Or because the suspect had a medical history that might include painful conditions?

Most of which attribute motives to a person we know nothing about, and who may, or may not, be charged with the crime (last I saw he's a "person of interest,"  That could change at any moment, of course.) And/or they wholly disregard the personhood and value of the individual who is the murdered CEO which is, ironically, precisely what the critics of health insurance companies say such companies do to patients seeking healthcare and insurance coverage for same (insurance coverage being part of the reason healthcare is so expensive.  It's a vicious cycle we can't seem to break.)

Which is okay, too, I guess, because turnabout is fair play, or the rich CEO's deserve it, or there is no justice for the "little people," or something.

The problem is the healthcare system, one that serves the needs of the few by funneling money to them, and screws the patients by ignoring their needs and denying them any rights, such as a simple right to healthcare recognized by almost every "first world" country on the planet, but not by the wealthiest country on the planet because....well, money talks, is why. 

Violence, though, won't do a damned thing to move the needle.  Dr. King, in the '60's, did what nobody thought was possible before he succeeded:  wrenched social and legal justice for blacks from the clutching hands of powerful whites.  It didn't hurt that he had a Texan from the Hill Country of Texas on his side.  But King deserves all the credit that accrues to him, despite setback and reversals in the 60 years hence, when whites clawed back some of what they were forced to give up.  Violence was the calling card of the next decade, the '70's.  If you want to remember that, consider how much of "Network" was not just outragous satire, but very close to reality.  We've buried that decade as the decade of disco and "Saturday Night Fever."  And what did the political violence accomplish?  Not as much as Dr. King's non-violence did; which is to say, nothing at all.

There were a lot of vested economic interests in slavery in the 19th century.  It did take state violence to fix that.  And a lot of vested economic interests in Jim Crow in the 20th century.  Still is, which is why "affirmative action" is such a dirty word contempt for the concept lives on as "DEI" and "woke," euphemisms for racism that apparently don't invoke as much injustice as vigilante justice (if that's what it was) against a CEO.

So sure, parse the motives you want the shooter to have and decide the scales balance because the victim was a CEO and not a homeless person (who all die anonymously) and feel like your tweets or your opinions a brave stance for justice, a blow against the machine.  Tell yourself that, and feel better about yourself for it.

It's not hurting anybody, right?

BELATEDLY:

Based on his social media profile, the man who allegedly murdered the United Healthcare CEO is an Ivy leaguer and fan of Elon Musk, Tucker Carlson, Peter Thiel and other right-leaning personalties. He also attended a $40,000 per year prep school. Guessing he could afford insurance…

Add to that:

At the end of the day, here's the thing about Luigi Mangione's online footprint: it cuts off six months ago. That means no one has any idea what he was up or the catalyst that finally got him to the point of killing someone. Anyone who claims otherwise is lost in the sauce and just speculating.

We don’t even know Mangione is the suspect who will be charged with the murder. But it already seems a bit dubious to call him a warrior for social justice, or a Robin Hood for health insurance clients. He may well be a victim of illness. I don’t mean that excuses him. I do mean it might make his motives less than grand.

If you want to say the man’s death doesn’t matter because of his job, well, I’ll tell you two churches of people felt the same way about me and my family. Whether I worked or we were homeless was no concern of theirs. So don’t expect me to see your point of view. I’ve been dehumanized. Don’t tell me it’s harmless or deserved.