The most remarkable aspect of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s fatal shooting on a New York street in early December wasn’t the crime itself—it was the reaction. Social media erupted, not with shock or mourning, but with outrage at the American health insurance system. Stories of family members denied coverage for serious medical issues flooded comment sections, drowning out the horror of the killing. This collective fury was all the more striking in the wake of an election season where the topic had barely registered, save for vague references—think Trump’s “concepts of a plan”—to tweaking Medicare, Medicaid, or Obamacare. Directed anger at insurance companies like UnitedHealthcare had been conspicuously absent.
As historian Elliott Gorn, who has explored the creation of folk heroes might observe, the arrest of Luigi Mangione—indicted on charges including first-degree murder—has transformed an abstract, systemic issue into a potent moral tale. In an instant, jargon about in-network providers and annual deductibles gave way to a stark narrative of heroes and villains. Mangione became either a cold-blooded murderer or a culture warrior; Thompson, a ruthless CEO draining Americans’ wallets or a devoted family man left bleeding on the street. Suddenly, an opaque corporate giant, shielded by labyrinthine policies and faceless bureaucracy, stood exposed—stripped bare in the public eye as a symbol of unchecked greed.
To see Elliott Gorn’s December 18 article in Slate, The Latest Icon: How Luigi Mangione joined the pantheon of American Heroes. which expands on this topic, click here.