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The CEO of United Health Care was murdered in New York this week, as I'm sure most of you are aware. While I'm no apologist for the broken health care/health insurance system that really boils down to survival of the richest, and I'm sure as hell not shedding any tears about tragedy befalling an insurance industry millionaire, the reactions to his murder have been unsettlingly celebratory; like beyond schadenfreude. Regardless of whatever his role was as part of the health care problem in the US, he was still a husband and a father, and his wife and children must be utterly traumatized. I would imagine that they are avoiding any sort of social media, because who on Earth would want to read some post from somebody trashing your murdered spouse, and even proclaiming the killer to be some sort of vigilante hero. Maybe I'm just getting soft as I get older. If anything, we're robbed of this guy's day in court or testimony before a congressional panel about the obscene amount of profit made by insurance companies while their customers are denied coverage. But cheering somebody's murder just feels wrong.

When the right was in the business of killing doctors who saved mothers lives and provided abortion care, it was heralded as saving lives, it was celebrated as ridding the Earth of murderous, child hating demons who met their deserved fate.

I'm not saying that's an appropriate response here, and I don't condone killing humans as a matter of course. I am just reminding people of some important context.

Brian whats his name could have been CEO of a company that didn't profit from death and suffering. Those jobs are out there. He also could have used his position to improve the lives and outcomes of others. It was always his choice to lead that organization, and his choice to let people suffer and take away jobs, livelihoods, families savings, etc. All while making extraordinarily obscene amounts of money for him and his own family by profiting through denial of care.

His choice.

I don't blame people for feeling the way they feel. But yeah maybe the bigger internet/social media phenomenon of everyone posting every brain fart thought about everything isn't such a great thing to witness.

He absolutely had it coming and any liberal handwringing over overt violence will only allow the institutional violence of corporate America to run rampant.

You don't often see justice so brazenly, cooly served. May it serve as a reminder to everyone else in such lofty positions that they're soulless meatsacks in shared spaces, the next engraved bullet could be theirs.

NOT CRAP

It depends on how horrible the event and how much I don't like the person.

Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Benjamin Netanyahu, and/or Xi Jinping suddenly succumbing to coronary heart disease would definitely evoke a gleeful reaction from me.

EDIT: I didn't know how to vote given the description of the options presented.

Frankie99 wrote: Thu Dec 05, 2024 9:12 am Brian whats his name could have been CEO of a company that didn't profit from death and suffering. Those jobs are out there. He also could have used his position to improve the lives and outcomes of others. It was always his choice to lead that organization, and his choice to let people suffer and take away jobs, livelihoods, families savings, etc. All while making extraordinarily obscene amounts of money for him and his own family by profiting through denial of care.

His choice.

This reminds me of the scene in Clerks when they discuss whether the contractors building Death Star MK II deserved to die. Yes. Yes, they did.

To be clear, I don't feel sorry for this guy who most likely bathed in money. But I do feel badly for the people who loved him, especially his kids. I can't imagine going to school and telling your friends that your dad was gunned down because somebody felt he deserved it.

kicker_of_elves wrote: Thu Dec 05, 2024 10:18 am To be clear, I don't feel sorry for this guy who most likely bathed in money. But I do feel badly for the people who loved him, especially his kids. I can't imagine going to school and telling your friends that your dad was gunned down because somebody felt he deserved it.

Understood. The main issue is how publicly/openly those gleeful reactions are, like FM penningtron intimated.

kicker_of_elves wrote: But cheering somebody's murder just feels wrong.

I think doing this is like giving in to the dark side. You feel the hate growing within you...

kicker_of_elves wrote: Thu Dec 05, 2024 9:05 amBut cheering somebody's murder just feels wrong.

I feel the same way. Healthcare in this country is an irrevocable death spiral, but is as much the fault of our venal politicians as rapacious corporate slime.