Nearly two weeks have passed since the New York Police Department detained a suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson's targeted shooting – the 26-year-old University of Pennsylvania graduate Luigi Mangione.
This background detail hardly matters now, because in these mere two weeks, Mangione practically became a celebrity. The high school valedictorian was arrested carrying a 3D-printed pistol and silencer, along with a document expressing hostility toward corporate America and its healthcare system – which turned people's initial shock into an instant idolization.
It seems the first contributing factor to Mangione's glory across social media was his good looks. Despite his charge of first-degree murder, his shirtless pictures on social media have had a more prominent influence on public opinion. Across Instagram and TikTok, thousands are fantasizing about the "steamy" murder suspect – at this rate, they might as well hang his posters on their bedroom walls like some "Seventeen Magazine" idol.
"Mrs. Luigi Mangione," one video's caption read, while another set a collage of Mangione's photos to Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You," keeping with the holiday spirit.
If you thought it couldn't get more disturbing, think again. Following the initial infatuation, Americans started viewing Mangione as more than a heartthrob, but as a local hero. Not only did he gain 100K followers across his social media platforms, but protests were held in his favor, claiming his motives were just, therefore the murder was too.
The hashtag #FreeLuigi immediately emerged and became trending, and Mangione's "act of bravery" was even compared to the plot of the musical "Chicago" (is the irony not palpable?). "Luigi freed us," one banner read at a protest supporting Mangione, alongside others reading "murder for profit is terrorism," "health insurance practices terrorize people," comparing his terrorism charges with the private health insurer's conduct.
Doesn't this trend sound awfully familiar? Protesting in support of someone charged with an act of terrorism and murder, justifying these actions for a supposed "noble cause" achieved by "all means necessary"? You guessed it – the worldwide pro-Hamas, volatile protests we've witnessed this past year, and the "Free Luigi" movement stem from the same production house.
The scariest aspect of this trend is the people behind it – they are America's educated class, with many holding degrees from Ivy League institutions, coming from privileged backgrounds, representing the liberal younger generation. This is America's future – the very people who should be able to distinguish between right and wrong, who should have developed a robust moral compass.
Don't get me wrong, the American healthcare system has a lot of room for improvement, to say the least. It has subjected Americans to endless difficulties, despair, and pain, denying them their fundamental right to maintain a healthy life – a right that comes with an exorbitant price tag.
The same goes for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or worldwide crises – there is a long way to go for suffering to end. Yet the protest wave America is witnessing doesn't advocate for any of those causes, but for murder – as a legitimate tool to achieve a goal or deliver a message.
Injustice, especially when you feel powerless against it, can generate frustration that clouds judgment, leading some to believe vigilante justice might serve the greater good. It won't. The campus protests this year have yielded nothing but rising antisemitism, vandalism, and violence. Now, social media users openly joke about other CEOs meeting Thompson's fate.
Laws, even those desperately needing revision, exist for a reason. Imagine the bloodbath awaiting a society that glorifies murder as a tool for change. Now imagine what these passionate crowds could achieve if they channeled their energy – both online and in the streets – into finding real solutions.
