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Brian Thompson’s killer has been treated like a hero.
Around the social media world, and in real life conversations, the man who shot dead the CEO of United Healthcare has been praised. Thompson’s death has been mocked. The killing has been featured in countless memes and TikToks and Reels, and in almost all of them the theme has been the same.
Finally, someone struck a blow against an evil villain.
This reaction has not been subjected to the usual partisan fault lines, either. Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals have all taken essentially the same stance.
And the guy who led the health insurance giant is receiving no remorse from any of them.
Honestly, it’s a bit strange. For a couple of reasons.
First, the reactions to Thompson’s murder show a clear and unmistakable acknowledgement by a large chunk of the American populace that corporate greed – especially in the area of health care – is a huge problem for them. They see it and they hate it.
And not just in broad, “I hate all insurance companies,” terms, either. They used specifics. They talked about specific tactics utilized by the health insurance giants, and they relayed their unique experiences in dealing with insurance companies and their employees.
It’s not surprising, of course, that a majority of Americans have negative experiences dealing with health insurance companies. We’ve all had some insurance employee deny a claim or had a doctor (or, let’s be real, a doctor’s office biller) explain that “the insurance company has refused to cover this” thing that the doctor thinks you need.
But it spoke to a larger awareness among average Americans of corporate greed, and the specific tactics that greedy corporations are using to bilk Americans out of money – up to the point of literally watching them die in order to pad the bottom line and appease investors.
And the reason that’s strange is because that knowledge doesn’t seem to carry over into politics – where the American people could have their voices heard and companies, even large monopolies, could be held accountable for their actions.
For example, take inflation.
For the last several years, the jump in prices in America has been laid at the feet of President Joe Biden and Democrats. They gave out too much “free money,” the story goes, and their reckless spending drove up prices.
Now, setting aside that prices went up globally because of the pandemic, the increase in American prices could be attributed to many factors. But chief among those factors was corporate price gouging.
This is not excuse-making for Biden and Dems. This is a fact. And even some of the companies have admitted it. Walmart, for example, announced in August that it was arbitrarily “rolling back” prices on more than 7,000 items and would be forcing suppliers to meet stricter pricing demands. This came after months of higher prices – for no reason whatsoever.
Walmart wasn’t alone. Oil and gas companies raked in record profits. Major retailers raked in record profits. Manufacturers raked in record profits.
None of that happens with true inflation. It happens with corporate greed.
So, um, what the hell, y’all?
You clearly recognize corporate greed. You’re clearly educated in the many forms it takes. You’re clearly unafraid to be bold and outspoken in your disdain for these major corporations and their tactics.
But instead of speaking out and raising hell, you just … replaced the old white guy with the other old white guy?
This isn’t the first time that your actions in this particular area have befuddled me, though. The last time dealt specifically with health insurance and health care itself.
Do y’all remember the early years of President Obama? Do you remember the health care debate?
Obama and Democrats, at the time, wanted to replace the failing American health care system with a single-payer model, similar to those used in Canada and Great Britain and many other industrialized nations around the world. The people in almost all of those countries receive far better health outcomes, pay a tiny fraction of our costs and don’t have to deal with the endless BS of health insurance companies and profit-obsessed hospitals and doctors.
Dems wanted a results-based system that rewarded doctors for good outcomes and preventive care. They wanted to cut out the insurance companies and fund the system through tax dollars, saving Americans trillions.
The reaction: People lost their minds.
Death panels were going to kill grandma. The government was going to be overriding doctors. You’d be waiting in parking lots in the July sun for routine checkups. And God forbid you ever actually got sick … you might as well just go ahead and die.
It was lunacy. All in an effort to carry the water of the health insurance industry that people hate so much they’re celebrating a CEO being gunned down on a NYC street.
Look, y’all have to start taking a stand for yourselves. Not every now and then. Not when you get so angry you want to kill someone. Not when you just can’t take it anymore.
Every day. On every issue.
Stop being led around by the nose. Stop falling for propaganda. Stop allowing people to manipulate you.
Yes, the United Healthcare CEO was in charge of a company that has done horrible things. There are stories floating around out there of children being denied painkillers while going through cancer treatments and many other sadistic, cruel decisions.
But it’s your fault that the system allows for this. Because you haven’t taken a stand. You haven’t voted for people who would change this absurd system. You haven’t spent the time.
You clearly know it’s bad. You clearly know the specifics of the situation. You clearly have the intelligence and wherewithal to boil this thing down and identify the problems.
Do something about them.
