Stunning That This Needs To Be Said: Cheering The Assassination Of A CEO Is Dangerous And Wrong — Full Stop

(TAPS MICROPHONE) (INTONES BRAVELY): Cheering on the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson is dangerous and wrong!

Please clap.

Thompson was fatally shot Wednesday morning in a shocking crime that is still the subject of an intense manhunt. There has also, in the wake of Thompson’s murder, been a stunning outpouring of anger at the healthcare industry, and even celebrations of his death. And while the motive has not yet been confirmed, there is a major clue: the words “deny,” “depose,” and “defend” were carved into ammunition found at the crime scene.

As of this writing, the killer is not only still at large, but the subject of widespread adulation from people who are frustrated, disgusted, pissed off, and every other kind of fed the fuck up with our healthcare system, and probably some who just find themselves appreciative of a homicidal thirst trap.

Chatter about the suspect has morphed from talking about how cool and professional he was in the immediate aftermath of the shooting to the abroad assumption that he was enacting revenge for some harm that Thompson‘s company had done to a loved one.

That’s a pretty good guess, although if I were a hitman looking to cover his tracks, scrawling anti-health insurance slogans onto my bullets would be a good misdirection.

The face and voice of the CEO murder fandom is Taylor Lorenz, who remains atop the social media barricades standing by her stream of defiant celebrations of Thompson’s death, decrying “pearl-clutchers” who object.

But beating up on Taylor Lorenz is not the point — or helpful. If anything, she is a useful condensation nucleus for this phenomenon. Those who object to these celebrations on grounds of decency and morality, you have my sympathy. But it is a free country. Personally, I have always considered it to be a matter of personal taste, whether or not to express satisfaction at the death of another.

A lot of people got mad when liberals celebrated the death of Rush Limbaugh, for example. I personally wouldn’t do it, but I understood people who could clearly articulate harms and were glad to see him gone. My mom raised me differently.

But this is quite a different thing. This is celebrating the death of a man by assassination, and the aftermath has included not-so-subtle singling out of other CEOs on social media, which has reportedly prompted plans for increased security.

Lorenz has tried to draw a distinction between what she considers to be a natural feeling of satisfaction at the death of someone who people believe has caused them harm and actively encouraging violence.

That is a distinction that falls apart under the slightest bit of scrutiny. Imagine Donald Trump had said, after a hypothetical massacre of migrants whom he considered to be criminals, that he was glad those people were dead, but nevertheless insisted he wasn’t promoting violence. We would all clearly understand that he was promoting violence. We would all understand that he was encouraging others to do the same.

In fact, there have been many times that Trump has said things that were construed as an incitement to violence that were degrees more oblique than what Lorenz has been saying — yet still plain in their reckless meaning.

It’s a safe bet, as well, that whatever she is saying is mild compared to the rest of the murder fans have been saying, examples of which abound.

But the danger in the reaction to this crime isn’t so much in the shockingly widespread explicit celebrations of it. It’s in the adult in the room reaction to it.

On Friday’s edition of CNN This Morning, anchor Kasie Hunt and her panel of regulars took care to condemn the murder — then discussed the “frustration” fueling those who have cheered it on:

KASIE HUNT: Annie Linskey. You know, we’re going to be clear here about the tragedy that is Mr. Thompson and his family, right? And set that aside.

But what we do see in the wake of this is an outpouring of anger around the way people have been treated by these companies.

Now, we’re again, going to be clear, we are not saying that this justifies any sort of violence at all. But this conversation has really exploded. I know–. I mean, my family is talking about it.

ANNIE LINSKEY: Absolutely mine is too. I mean, of course, vigilante justice is not the answer to that problem. But– what I should say is and this incident and the reaction to it ought to be a wake up call to this industry, which has, you know, many there have been many, many big, really good investigative pieces about UnitedHealthcare in particular, and the issues that that that its customers have, getting the health care that’s promised, getting the the response as promised.

And if it’s not a health it’s not a wake up call to the industry, it certainly will be to Congress. And they are going to have to have there will be laws.

KASIE HUNT: In a CNN story that was just published about this. They note that a Facebook post that was put up by UnitedHealth Group expressing sadness about the CEO’s death, it received 62,000 reactions. Hyma, 57,000 of them were laughing emojis.

HYMA MOORE: I mean, that’s it’s sad to think about, but look at this. I mean, you’re right. Most of these health care issues are life or death. And I have a sick day at home in Louisiana. And we go to the doctor all the time. And sometimes we get denied for things and it doesn’t feel good, you know.

And so I think people have a personal issue with the way their health care has been administered. And I think to your point, Annie, over the next few weeks, few months are going to have to have a conversation about this.

If Congress has to take action, I think they will have to. But we hope that these private companies can come to the table and be a little bit more consistent in the way they administer health care. I think that would be helpful.

BRAD TODD: UnitedHealthcare has already been the focal point of ire for Congress because it’s vertically integrated. They’re buying up doctor’s offices. They own the largest PBM, which controls the price of prescription drugs in the country. And they’re the most aggressive on denying claims. I think united Health care will get more scrutiny.

KASIE HUNT: And, of course, we don’t know the motivation yet of this killer. We just know that these two words were found on these bullet casings. But, Elliot, this is something the fewer means you have, the harder it is to fight back against some of this stuff. And it is something that happens. It seems like this is a universal experience for people.

This was a surprisingly astute panel discussion. That’s the problem.

They correctly identify the deep and searing frustration people have with the healthcare system. They predict correctly that this will likely lead to changes. If indeed, this was motivated by a tragic policy outcome, then that’s probably exactly what the shooter intended. That other health insurance CEOs, and the government that oversees them, will think twice before they screw over somebody else.

That’s the most dangerous aspect of this crime, because the list of people who run companies or other organizations that have harmed people, or who people think have harmed people, is endless. If this murder results in changes that wouldn’t have been achieved otherwise, it will touch off chaos.

This isn’t just some philosophical permission structure argument, this is a practical one, especially if this guy gets away with it. But even if he doesn’t, if the world sees that a cold-blooded murder unsticks the wheels on an intractable problem, more violence will surely follow. Some of the targets may feel worthy to the folks who are cheering now, but it is a guarantee that some will not.

The man who carried out the Planned Parenthood clinic mass shooting several years ago talked about saving the babies. Imagine if those murders had resulted in more restrictive abortion policies.

What about people who think “meat is murder?”

People rarely consider unintended consequences, or they wave them away. In addition to encouraging more violence, this assassination could lead to changes that negatively impact people in a collateral way. It’s just as likely that insurance companies and legislators will crack down with increased surveillance and law enforcement powers as it is that they will abandon heinous practices that generate profits. Those harms are never distributed equitably.

It’s stunning that this needs to be said, but here we are, reaffirming the basic truth: violence begets more violence, and celebrating assassination is a step toward societal ruin and vigilante chaos.

Let this be a call to all — let’s not celebrate murder. Full stop.

Watch above via CNN This Morning.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.