As 2024 wrapped up, Luigi Mangione became the most popular man in America for allegedly killing Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare. He quickly became the new “It Boy” that Americans began to romanticize. Some believe his actions against Thompson were justifiable because of the controversies around health insurance. The more significant issue is how, this last year, Americans have begun to praise individuals committing crimes and downplaying their actions. We saw this when Gypsy Rose began to go viral around the time she was released from prison; the same issue occurred when a TV series came out surrounding the Menendez Brothers, and people started to praise them and their actions. While the victims of all their crimes are not individuals that I would consider to be saints, we cannot praise people for resulting in violence.
KFF released a poll in March of 2024 where they gathered data on different individuals’ opinions on healthcare. This data showed that over half of adults in America find it very difficult to afford healthcare, with many also stating how they had to delay or skip receiving care because it was not affordable to them. This was most present among 18–29-year-olds, the age bracket Mangione fell into. These results make it understandable why he can be considered a hero to some individuals; frankly, when I first heard of this situation, I did have respect for him for opening a dialogue on the issue of healthcare access. But at a certain point, you must sit back and reflect to realize that the rise in violence in America is concerning. While the frustration towards elites in America is growing, we must begin to discuss how to work out the differences between social classes without turning to violence to solve problems.
Mangione may be responsible for creating more open discussion around the issue of unaffordable healthcare. Still, the support he receives shows a shift in the principles and morals of Americans. Americans are shifting towards taking more violent routes to achieve what they want instead of trying to communicate with others or even peacefully protest. This specific case is interesting in that Mangione could be considered an elite himself, growing up in an extremely wealthy family with a grandmother who left his family with up to $30 million after passing in 2023.
The reality is that considering and carrying out this sort of act makes you wonder about the underlying mental health struggles that Mangione must have been facing. Especially with most evidence showing that Mangione comes from a wealthy family, it brings mental health into the conversation as a possible motive because it does not seem that healthcare affordability was a problem for him specifically. Americans must start paying more attention to the growing mental health crisis going on in America, especially if we want to see a decrease in violence in the coming years. Since COVID-19 occurred, many studies show that there has been a significant increase in young adults struggling with mental health issues. Some relate it to the pandemic, while others blame it more on economic stressors like housing and healthcare affordability.
Mental health is rarely covered by insurance, with most doctors, treatment plans, or medications requiring a sizeable out-of-pocket fee for anything relating to mental health. It makes it difficult to seek help because of the stigma and the high costs of receiving assistance. These high costs cause many to brush off receiving care or convince themselves they do not need it. It makes you wonder if Mangione committing this crime could have been avoided if he reached out to a mental health professional before deciding to act against UnitedHealthcare’s CEO.
This is not the only recent event where a young individual carried out a horrific crime. The one thing that I see in common with all these individuals is a struggle with mental health and feeling alone. Implementing different free programs in communities could be very beneficial to helping people who need care so they can feel less lonely and feel that they have support. Along with ensuring that mental health treatment effectively improves people’s health, it should not used as more of a money grab for providers without any data showing that the care has genuinely helped individuals.
Donald Trump has spoken on the issue and pushed for the death penalty to be used for Mangione, and I do have to disagree with him. I believe the use of the death penalty is seen as unjust in most situations and used unfairly across different cases. It seems that since Thompson was dead, people have pushed for extremes in the punishments for Mangione, which further backs the idea that the elite’s lives are seen as more valuable than everyday Americans.
Improvements must be made between social classes to minimize the gap between them instead of trying to continue to widen it. I hope that Trump can work towards closing the wealth gap when he takes office, even though he is a very wealthy individual himself. While he ran to be president for all Americans, especially the working class, I hope his actions in these next four years can support that. While Mangione’s actions will never be justified, we must continue to consider how we can achieve successful healthcare reform that benefits all Americans, not only those who can afford it.
Photo Credit: AP
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