"I’m not saying that everyone is now going to (or should) rise up and kill all of the insurance executives, but I am saying that our society is playing with fire in trying to keep this going forever."
He. Is. A. Murder. Plain. and. Simple. Got they morons? We can all agree that our healthcare system sucks, so hammer your local government, write call email your congresspeople and senators!
But dear God, DO NOT KILL ACA until something urgent and final and permanent can be enacted by the 🎼Fools on the Hill.
"so hammer your local government, write call email your congresspeople and senators!"
Because that's worked so well in the past...
we re where we are because that DOESN'T work...In fact it has NEVER worked
whether one condemns or condones this is a moot point...it is simply what happens when people and systems are pushed beyond the breaking point. And whether one likes it or not, this murder has done more to get the conversation going on the criminal extortion and theft committed by the entire insurance industry than all the protesting, pleading, voting has done in decades
COLD BLOODED PATHOLOGICAL MURDER IS NEVER THE ANSWER. Abut at this point in time, ACA serves those who have no other recourse to healthcare. I have 3 chronic issues and I quit doctors because they were a-holes, one was my primary of 30+ yrs and the other the pain doc who was incapable of a straight answer.
I had worked with my EA for about 5 months before the subject of where she was from came up. We had become friends by then, I do not recall whether I asked or it just emerged. She is a Frenchwoman of Algerian ancestry, interestingly she is treated as more "French" in the USA than in France. She also has people come up to her in the stores jabbering at her in Spanish, not a word of which she knows.
I'm starting to think that when Mango Mussolini and the GOP start tanking the economy and slashing Medicare and Social Security there might be some unrest.
As an aside from the article (well written, thanks), over the course of three surgeries and 20 years, I've had 15 discs reconstructed in my back (lumbar and thoracic spine). The discs are connected with a long metal rod. I have seen multiple pics of my hardware. The screws in my back do not extend beyond the spine anywhere near as far as in the pics in this article. So I am wondering if either these pics are faked or exaggerated, or if Mangione had a really bad surgeon. The hardware should not extend this far away from the spine into the soft tissue. If this is real, then it's no wonder he's in pain.
The anger on the populist right is legitimate but misdirected. They have been led to believe that government corrupts capitalism, not the other way around. Of course, this is because of woke.
Not making a prediction, but wondering out loud --
Might this turn out that all of this was, in a sense, in this alleged murderer's head?
His pain, for sure is real. But he had the surgery. He even posted an post-procedure X-ray. We have conflicting partial statements from people who know him. One (I think garbled by reporters) seems to sound like he had the surgery, but then tried to surf, and then had terrible pain. But another, perhaps also garbled in transmission, seems to say that he tried to surf, had an injury, had surgery, recovered well physically but not emotionally.
This may seem like diagnosis at a distance, but it is not. It is pure speculation. My intuition (which is an emotional response, very much prone to error) snapped on upon seeing images of the accused being taken into the courthouse -- resisting, and -- could this be telling, or are we reading too much into it? -- twisting around to face the assembled members of the press. There's that picture from Altoona PD of the guy standing in what appears to be a cell (or another room outfitted with a stainless steel toilet.) Then there are the reports, some of them at best informed speculation, that this individual walked, then rode a bicycle, then sat on a bus for some hours.
There are many effective medicines for managing constant pain. And the human mind can summon tremendous will to overcome seemingly insurmountable pain and injury. Citations for the Carnegie Hero Medal and the Medal of Honor are replete with examples.
Yet, I wonder if this alleged killer, at least during the reported commission of this crime and its aftermath, is in fact dealing with debilitating chronic pain.
I also wonder if he personally faced any significant issues with the financing of his treatment, which by some reports that while invasive was at least minimally successful.
Are we seeing in this case, as well see with the outcome of the Election of 2024, and the entire Trumpian oeuvre vain attempts to impose some rationality on what are perhaps a mostly, or totally, irrational events and persons? Are we all complicit with the news media, with law enforcement, etc in a mass effort to provide a reason for these events, this killing and the alleged escape of its alleged perpetrator when there isn't one?
Humans, a mountain of evidence shows (proves, really), are *predictably irrational.* They make economic decisions against the own self-interest. They believe things at odds with obvious fact. They develop pet theories for events and trends that are disconnected for the fact pattern available to them. Con games in use for centuries, which the mass of people should have learned by now to avoid, continue to entrap people day after day after day.
Perhaps it doesn't "make sense" because there is no sense to make. Is it possible this fellow, if indeed guilty as authorities in PA and NY allege, has no rational reason for a grudge against insurers, or this insurer specifically? He has a grudge, but having the grudge makes no sense -- is that possible, highly probable, probably the answer?
And, if that is true, will this guy predictably join a pantheon of similar cases from our history where either:
* The mass of people agree by a rough consensus to pick one of the popular "causes" and stick with that for generations, even though upon review by future generations they instantly see how dumb and factless that consensus is. Example: That disagreement over 'state's rights" and not slavery was the primary cause of the Civil War, or
* The civilization agrees that the event, which, because it has no rational cause, spawns dozens and dozens of possible explanations for causes, is a kind of Rorschach inkblot that each individual can interpret for themselves, regardless of the facts. Their interpretation, of course, telling more about their own biases, blindspots, irrational fears and ingrained hatreds, than anything about the event. Example: The assassination of President Kennedy.
[I am also, as you can tell, developing a theory that the Election of 2024 is also an event highly influenced by mass human irrationality. I know it seems like a cop-out. But it is not, in my mind. It's actually brutal honesty. It's the victims of Plato's Cave, entranced by the shadows Trump makes, voting to stay in the cave and keep watching the show. No amount of excuse-finding (She didn't raise enough! She didn't spend enough! She should have been Josh Shapiro!) overcomes the mountain of evidence that mass irrationality is at the heart of the event (I'm an immigrant-citizen, he won't come after me! I'm not white, and Trump is racist as fuck, but he represents the kind of masculinity I like! I'm white and rural, and Trump is a goddam liar, but I do believe he's sitting on 'medbed' technology, an easy answer that will cure all my lifestyle illnesses!) Etc etc ad infinitum ad nauseum]
I have thought this. He is also very, very fit, which you can see by his numerous bod pics. How are you doing all those abs when you have excruciating back pain? Maybe this guy is just plain “crazy” and blames all his “crazy” on some villain he doesn’t even know. Maybe the problem is he went off the deep end and had easy access to a gun he could make by using a printer that’s easily accessible at some libraries? Just some thoughts.
Yes, and to be clear -- I'm not saying he's insane (which has clinical and legal definitions which don't comport with colloquial uses of the term), and certainly not saying he is not culpable for the murder of which he is accused.
I'm using the word "irrational," which I employ to mean the same thing as "not logical or reasonable." A murder based on not logical personal beliefs is still murder, if that killing is not justified under the very short list of justifications provided in law and historic codes of morality.
I further state, and re-state, that irrationality is a natural part of the human condition, that it is often indistinguishable from the human concept of 'evil,' and that it is a cause of a significant portion of suffering throughout human history.
A lot of the anger on the populist right is legitimate but misdirected. The believe government corrupts Catherine private, sector and not the other way around, and of course its because of woke.
I'm not surprised either...IN FACT I would have been MUCH more surprised if he HAD been a lefty. This is just more proof that violence simply isn't in the liberal/progressive wheelhouse...
"and that it is irrational for anyone to think that they can simply go on forever pushing people past their threshold for pain, poverty, hunger, oppression or injustice without them eventually pushing back,"
THIS is what I've been getting at...condemning or condoning this murder is a MOOT POINT...It is simply what happens when you keep throwing rocks at the hornets nest
I saw a video where Ben "Whar WAP?" Shapiro ranted about the horrible assassination of a revered job creator and most of the comments expressed opposition to Ben's take and were on the side of hating corporate assholes who get rich on the back of human suffering.
Surprise, surprise.
Honestly, I believe the bipartisan public reaction to the murder of Brian Thompson has revealed some real opportunities.
There's a dangling populist thread to be pulled here, and it's called Universal Healthcare.
Democrats need to yank that fucking thing every day right up until the 2026 elections and beyond.
We just need one, or more, of the high profile, popular young Dems to take the bull by the horns.
"I’m not saying that everyone is now going to (or should) rise up and kill all of the insurance executives, but I am saying that our society is playing with fire in trying to keep this going forever."
and there it is...
He. Is. A. Murder. Plain. and. Simple. Got they morons? We can all agree that our healthcare system sucks, so hammer your local government, write call email your congresspeople and senators!
But dear God, DO NOT KILL ACA until something urgent and final and permanent can be enacted by the 🎼Fools on the Hill.
"so hammer your local government, write call email your congresspeople and senators!"
Because that's worked so well in the past...
we re where we are because that DOESN'T work...In fact it has NEVER worked
whether one condemns or condones this is a moot point...it is simply what happens when people and systems are pushed beyond the breaking point. And whether one likes it or not, this murder has done more to get the conversation going on the criminal extortion and theft committed by the entire insurance industry than all the protesting, pleading, voting has done in decades
COLD BLOODED PATHOLOGICAL MURDER IS NEVER THE ANSWER. Abut at this point in time, ACA serves those who have no other recourse to healthcare. I have 3 chronic issues and I quit doctors because they were a-holes, one was my primary of 30+ yrs and the other the pain doc who was incapable of a straight answer.
I had worked with my EA for about 5 months before the subject of where she was from came up. We had become friends by then, I do not recall whether I asked or it just emerged. She is a Frenchwoman of Algerian ancestry, interestingly she is treated as more "French" in the USA than in France. She also has people come up to her in the stores jabbering at her in Spanish, not a word of which she knows.
I'm starting to think that when Mango Mussolini and the GOP start tanking the economy and slashing Medicare and Social Security there might be some unrest.
This could get very crazy very fast.
I can't believe the kid from Neighbors would do something like this
Big "Reddit bro" energy from Luigi.
As an aside from the article (well written, thanks), over the course of three surgeries and 20 years, I've had 15 discs reconstructed in my back (lumbar and thoracic spine). The discs are connected with a long metal rod. I have seen multiple pics of my hardware. The screws in my back do not extend beyond the spine anywhere near as far as in the pics in this article. So I am wondering if either these pics are faked or exaggerated, or if Mangione had a really bad surgeon. The hardware should not extend this far away from the spine into the soft tissue. If this is real, then it's no wonder he's in pain.
Why these muthufuckuhs always gotta have a "manifesto"???? No fair! I want a manifesto. How do I get one????
The anger on the populist right is legitimate but misdirected. They have been led to believe that government corrupts capitalism, not the other way around. Of course, this is because of woke.
Excellent article. I absolutely hope we can get universal healthcare in the US but it seems so far from a reality.
Not making a prediction, but wondering out loud --
Might this turn out that all of this was, in a sense, in this alleged murderer's head?
His pain, for sure is real. But he had the surgery. He even posted an post-procedure X-ray. We have conflicting partial statements from people who know him. One (I think garbled by reporters) seems to sound like he had the surgery, but then tried to surf, and then had terrible pain. But another, perhaps also garbled in transmission, seems to say that he tried to surf, had an injury, had surgery, recovered well physically but not emotionally.
This may seem like diagnosis at a distance, but it is not. It is pure speculation. My intuition (which is an emotional response, very much prone to error) snapped on upon seeing images of the accused being taken into the courthouse -- resisting, and -- could this be telling, or are we reading too much into it? -- twisting around to face the assembled members of the press. There's that picture from Altoona PD of the guy standing in what appears to be a cell (or another room outfitted with a stainless steel toilet.) Then there are the reports, some of them at best informed speculation, that this individual walked, then rode a bicycle, then sat on a bus for some hours.
There are many effective medicines for managing constant pain. And the human mind can summon tremendous will to overcome seemingly insurmountable pain and injury. Citations for the Carnegie Hero Medal and the Medal of Honor are replete with examples.
Yet, I wonder if this alleged killer, at least during the reported commission of this crime and its aftermath, is in fact dealing with debilitating chronic pain.
I also wonder if he personally faced any significant issues with the financing of his treatment, which by some reports that while invasive was at least minimally successful.
Are we seeing in this case, as well see with the outcome of the Election of 2024, and the entire Trumpian oeuvre vain attempts to impose some rationality on what are perhaps a mostly, or totally, irrational events and persons? Are we all complicit with the news media, with law enforcement, etc in a mass effort to provide a reason for these events, this killing and the alleged escape of its alleged perpetrator when there isn't one?
Humans, a mountain of evidence shows (proves, really), are *predictably irrational.* They make economic decisions against the own self-interest. They believe things at odds with obvious fact. They develop pet theories for events and trends that are disconnected for the fact pattern available to them. Con games in use for centuries, which the mass of people should have learned by now to avoid, continue to entrap people day after day after day.
Perhaps it doesn't "make sense" because there is no sense to make. Is it possible this fellow, if indeed guilty as authorities in PA and NY allege, has no rational reason for a grudge against insurers, or this insurer specifically? He has a grudge, but having the grudge makes no sense -- is that possible, highly probable, probably the answer?
And, if that is true, will this guy predictably join a pantheon of similar cases from our history where either:
* The mass of people agree by a rough consensus to pick one of the popular "causes" and stick with that for generations, even though upon review by future generations they instantly see how dumb and factless that consensus is. Example: That disagreement over 'state's rights" and not slavery was the primary cause of the Civil War, or
* The civilization agrees that the event, which, because it has no rational cause, spawns dozens and dozens of possible explanations for causes, is a kind of Rorschach inkblot that each individual can interpret for themselves, regardless of the facts. Their interpretation, of course, telling more about their own biases, blindspots, irrational fears and ingrained hatreds, than anything about the event. Example: The assassination of President Kennedy.
[I am also, as you can tell, developing a theory that the Election of 2024 is also an event highly influenced by mass human irrationality. I know it seems like a cop-out. But it is not, in my mind. It's actually brutal honesty. It's the victims of Plato's Cave, entranced by the shadows Trump makes, voting to stay in the cave and keep watching the show. No amount of excuse-finding (She didn't raise enough! She didn't spend enough! She should have been Josh Shapiro!) overcomes the mountain of evidence that mass irrationality is at the heart of the event (I'm an immigrant-citizen, he won't come after me! I'm not white, and Trump is racist as fuck, but he represents the kind of masculinity I like! I'm white and rural, and Trump is a goddam liar, but I do believe he's sitting on 'medbed' technology, an easy answer that will cure all my lifestyle illnesses!) Etc etc ad infinitum ad nauseum]
I have thought this. He is also very, very fit, which you can see by his numerous bod pics. How are you doing all those abs when you have excruciating back pain? Maybe this guy is just plain “crazy” and blames all his “crazy” on some villain he doesn’t even know. Maybe the problem is he went off the deep end and had easy access to a gun he could make by using a printer that’s easily accessible at some libraries? Just some thoughts.
Yes, and to be clear -- I'm not saying he's insane (which has clinical and legal definitions which don't comport with colloquial uses of the term), and certainly not saying he is not culpable for the murder of which he is accused.
I'm using the word "irrational," which I employ to mean the same thing as "not logical or reasonable." A murder based on not logical personal beliefs is still murder, if that killing is not justified under the very short list of justifications provided in law and historic codes of morality.
I further state, and re-state, that irrationality is a natural part of the human condition, that it is often indistinguishable from the human concept of 'evil,' and that it is a cause of a significant portion of suffering throughout human history.
A lot of the anger on the populist right is legitimate but misdirected. The believe government corrupts Catherine private, sector and not the other way around, and of course its because of woke.
I'm not surprised either...IN FACT I would have been MUCH more surprised if he HAD been a lefty. This is just more proof that violence simply isn't in the liberal/progressive wheelhouse...
"and that it is irrational for anyone to think that they can simply go on forever pushing people past their threshold for pain, poverty, hunger, oppression or injustice without them eventually pushing back,"
THIS is what I've been getting at...condemning or condoning this murder is a MOOT POINT...It is simply what happens when you keep throwing rocks at the hornets nest
I saw a video where Ben "Whar WAP?" Shapiro ranted about the horrible assassination of a revered job creator and most of the comments expressed opposition to Ben's take and were on the side of hating corporate assholes who get rich on the back of human suffering.