I visited Billy the Kid’s grave last spring, while on a road trip. It is within a hundred yards of Bosque Redondo, where Navajo and Apache people were held captive after the Long Walk. It was pointed out to me, with some bitterness, that the “21 men” Billy the Kid killed were white men. No one even counted “Indians,” which he apparently picked off for entertainment. They weren’t considered people.
His grave is enclosed by a high fence. I couldn’t quite spit on it. But I thought of the story I heard at Bosque Redondo, where the Apache people escaped en masse one night, leaving a dozen or so frail elderly people to tend their fires so that the white soldiers wouldn’t notice until morning. I can’t imagine what happened to those elders when the jig was up.
Those old Apache people are more worthy of the title hero than one William Bonney.
As for this guy, I think he’s no hero— but I’m curious to find out what it was he thought he was doing.
I’m afraid that along with a post-truth world, we are entering a post-moral world, where killing someone is okay if you think you’re doing the right thing.
Dzhokhar the Boston Marathon bomber was indeed very beautiful, which was disconcerting given his horrible crime. The rest of them are a bunch of criminals romanticized by legend.
Yes, some people (women, in particular) send fan mail to jailed serial killers, but that seems like an entirely different phenomenon, not to mention totally nuts.
I think this case is very different.
This guy is also disconcertingly handsome, but the point (independently of those pictures and even before seeing them), it seems to me, is that the health care industry is so grotesquely awful that it encapsulates what's wrong with this country and makes living here undesirable, as one's life can tip over into nightmare territory with any illness, accident, or simply growing old. All so that various people can make ludicrous amounts of money from other people's vulnerabilities.
This explains why the murder of someone who embodied the health insurance industry can be seen as something to celebrate rather than deplore.
The handsomeness of the murderer, for me at least, is just a peculiar twist.
Well said and I totally agree. The "assassin" is normal white dude. Preppy with a smile and all that is well and good, but I still ask why? Only this is the kind of murder deserving an explanation, what did this man do? It was publicly on purpose. UHC is also the worst offender of declining claims. This was the shareholders meeting. So what was the message.
I wonder about that as well. The odds seem pretty good that this was a professional hit instigated by the CEO's fellow swindlers and carefully staged to look like the perpetrator was disgruntled victim of the swindling.
Sadly. The idea that it was a disgruntled citizen actually has a higher chance (albeit still slim) of doing that. If it was a hit by fellow conspirators, they’ve already made clear their thoughts on better healthcare, it would simply be self-preservation.
Bonnie & Clyde surely deserve mention here. They achieved folk hero status robbing banks at a time when so many in the Dust Bowl had suffered at the hands of banks. Robin Hoods they weren't but they offered up a potent revenge fantasy.
The shooting of Brian Thompson will probably motivate Congress to reform the US healthcare delivery system as much as the shootings of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and Congressman Steve Scalise motivated Congress to enact meaningful gun control.
And, when one considers the number of shooting victims (other than suicide) was just under 19,00 for 2023, the implications are sobering (<-- Note understatement)
how can you admire a murderer? Self defense maybe. And I don't think Princip is handsome or even good looking. Most of the rest aren't very hot either.
Jesse James rode with Quantrill during the Civil War, as did Cole Younger. Romanticizing vicious killers is inexcusable. but that trait seems ingrained in the human psyche.
Eh, I think it's much ado about what will, ultimately, be nothing. There won't be a killing spree to rid the insurance system of its cancer. The insurance companies won't take any measures to be less evil. It's a pressure valve. We are disgusted by the healthcare system and feel completely powerless to do anything about it. So when someone DOES do something--even something that will have zero effect but dammit it feels good for just a second, like scratching a mosquito bite--we celebrate. It feels good to go on Bluesky and make jokes and pretend we are proud of this guy and would like to thank him properly (no one's saying they want to marry him, man, just have a tumble! Plenty of assholes fit that job description). We haven't had this much fun since Henry Kissinger died.
I don't know why this has stuck with me all these years, but I remember grabbing a copy of The Rocky Mountain News one morning in 1980, seeing a large photo of a dapper young man in a sports jacket and bow tie on the front page and the headline "Ted Bundy Pleads for His Life."
As a friend of mine once said in her Brooklyn accent “I’m not letting them turn me into a monstah” (she was referring to trying really hard not to wish 45 would die of Covid when he had it—but I have found myself needing the reminder a lot since then) So revulsion
I don't know if I voted correctly or not. I started with revulsion/fascination, but wound up with the begrudging admiration -- not for the killing, but for the fucking around with everyone after, and maybe a little for being so slippery. I want him to be found and tried, but I'm impressed with his competence and imagination.
Of the 2 photos, one face seems somewhat feminine, leading me to speculate (no pun intended) that the shooter may be in some sort of transition and being denied the coverage to complete the process. I wonder if the authorities are including trans or trans-aspiring folks in their search. Certainly the clothing could have been worn by any gender. Crackpot theory. On another aspect of Germaine's idea, Kamala, then 47, could pardon Joe after he pardoned her the day before.
Revulsion is not a good description. I simply don't think of this guy at all.
I visited Billy the Kid’s grave last spring, while on a road trip. It is within a hundred yards of Bosque Redondo, where Navajo and Apache people were held captive after the Long Walk. It was pointed out to me, with some bitterness, that the “21 men” Billy the Kid killed were white men. No one even counted “Indians,” which he apparently picked off for entertainment. They weren’t considered people.
His grave is enclosed by a high fence. I couldn’t quite spit on it. But I thought of the story I heard at Bosque Redondo, where the Apache people escaped en masse one night, leaving a dozen or so frail elderly people to tend their fires so that the white soldiers wouldn’t notice until morning. I can’t imagine what happened to those elders when the jig was up.
Those old Apache people are more worthy of the title hero than one William Bonney.
As for this guy, I think he’s no hero— but I’m curious to find out what it was he thought he was doing.
I’m afraid that along with a post-truth world, we are entering a post-moral world, where killing someone is okay if you think you’re doing the right thing.
Dzhokhar the Boston Marathon bomber was indeed very beautiful, which was disconcerting given his horrible crime. The rest of them are a bunch of criminals romanticized by legend.
Yes, some people (women, in particular) send fan mail to jailed serial killers, but that seems like an entirely different phenomenon, not to mention totally nuts.
I think this case is very different.
This guy is also disconcertingly handsome, but the point (independently of those pictures and even before seeing them), it seems to me, is that the health care industry is so grotesquely awful that it encapsulates what's wrong with this country and makes living here undesirable, as one's life can tip over into nightmare territory with any illness, accident, or simply growing old. All so that various people can make ludicrous amounts of money from other people's vulnerabilities.
This explains why the murder of someone who embodied the health insurance industry can be seen as something to celebrate rather than deplore.
The handsomeness of the murderer, for me at least, is just a peculiar twist.
Well said and I totally agree. The "assassin" is normal white dude. Preppy with a smile and all that is well and good, but I still ask why? Only this is the kind of murder deserving an explanation, what did this man do? It was publicly on purpose. UHC is also the worst offender of declining claims. This was the shareholders meeting. So what was the message.
Well said.
That CEO was also close to being hauled in by the feds. I wonder what sorts of disclosures in open court have been prevented by his demise.
I wonder about that as well. The odds seem pretty good that this was a professional hit instigated by the CEO's fellow swindlers and carefully staged to look like the perpetrator was disgruntled victim of the swindling.
Probably none that would make much of a difference in the healthcare delivery system.
Sadly. The idea that it was a disgruntled citizen actually has a higher chance (albeit still slim) of doing that. If it was a hit by fellow conspirators, they’ve already made clear their thoughts on better healthcare, it would simply be self-preservation.
Bonnie & Clyde surely deserve mention here. They achieved folk hero status robbing banks at a time when so many in the Dust Bowl had suffered at the hands of banks. Robin Hoods they weren't but they offered up a potent revenge fantasy.
Good point.
The shooting of Brian Thompson will probably motivate Congress to reform the US healthcare delivery system as much as the shootings of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and Congressman Steve Scalise motivated Congress to enact meaningful gun control.
More people have been impacted negatively by the US healthcare delivery system than by shootings.
And, when one considers the number of shooting victims (other than suicide) was just under 19,00 for 2023, the implications are sobering (<-- Note understatement)
how can you admire a murderer? Self defense maybe. And I don't think Princip is handsome or even good looking. Most of the rest aren't very hot either.
Jesse James rode with Quantrill during the Civil War, as did Cole Younger. Romanticizing vicious killers is inexcusable. but that trait seems ingrained in the human psyche.
Eh, I think it's much ado about what will, ultimately, be nothing. There won't be a killing spree to rid the insurance system of its cancer. The insurance companies won't take any measures to be less evil. It's a pressure valve. We are disgusted by the healthcare system and feel completely powerless to do anything about it. So when someone DOES do something--even something that will have zero effect but dammit it feels good for just a second, like scratching a mosquito bite--we celebrate. It feels good to go on Bluesky and make jokes and pretend we are proud of this guy and would like to thank him properly (no one's saying they want to marry him, man, just have a tumble! Plenty of assholes fit that job description). We haven't had this much fun since Henry Kissinger died.
I don't know why this has stuck with me all these years, but I remember grabbing a copy of The Rocky Mountain News one morning in 1980, seeing a large photo of a dapper young man in a sports jacket and bow tie on the front page and the headline "Ted Bundy Pleads for His Life."
As a friend of mine once said in her Brooklyn accent “I’m not letting them turn me into a monstah” (she was referring to trying really hard not to wish 45 would die of Covid when he had it—but I have found myself needing the reminder a lot since then) So revulsion
I don't know if I voted correctly or not. I started with revulsion/fascination, but wound up with the begrudging admiration -- not for the killing, but for the fucking around with everyone after, and maybe a little for being so slippery. I want him to be found and tried, but I'm impressed with his competence and imagination.
The same people who think this murderer is a hero also elected a felon to be our next president.
No.
Of the 2 photos, one face seems somewhat feminine, leading me to speculate (no pun intended) that the shooter may be in some sort of transition and being denied the coverage to complete the process. I wonder if the authorities are including trans or trans-aspiring folks in their search. Certainly the clothing could have been worn by any gender. Crackpot theory. On another aspect of Germaine's idea, Kamala, then 47, could pardon Joe after he pardoned her the day before.
As I understand it, the Fifth Commandment is more accurately translated as “Thou shalt not murder.”, not “Thou shalt not kill.”
The classic approach-avoidance situation: being able to experience a frisson of fear and danger from behind the safety of our screens.