Elon Musk bought 2024. Luigi Mangione stole it.
The USA has reached the point where we honor a killer and shame his victim…and it all seems fine.
I hope the killing on December 4th, 2024 inspires no copycat killers. Not one. And the killer is going see his day in court, which is a good thing. It means the system is working.
I want the system to work. For everybody. The post-killing outpouring of disgust over the healthcare system has been beautiful to see. Violence would only ruin the non-violent expressions of rage, new songs and pictures — the whole range of art — and real dialogue. This bullshit has to change and people are saying it.
Look at it this way: Brian Thompson took one for the yachts. Predatory capitalists need martyrs, too and Healthcare-Bro Bri is pissing in the tall weeds with the big dogs out there in the Great Beyond somewhere.
The crazy part about the reaction here on Planet Earth is that it feels natural to point out a truth: this murdered man made his living by causing early death and unnecessary pain. And it was all for the investors, the class of citizen that is currently the country’s biggest problem.
The post-killing gaslighting by the moneyed folk is stupid. But, instead of writing more about United Healthcare, I’d like to bring up a few recent news stories that show examples of the same problem from different angles. In these instances, no executives died or got maimed in any way.
A few days after Donald Trump’s election, Forbes magazine ran this article, These Stocks Are Outperforming Tesla As The Biggest Trump Trade Winners.
Call me nutty, but I think the tone of voice sounds giddy. I like these bullet points:
“• The only S&P 500 company to top Tesla is Taser stun gun parent Axon Enterprise at 40%, while shares of multibillion-dollar private prison companies CoreCivic and Geo Group — which are Immigration and Customs Enforcement contractors — are up 76% and 75% since Election Day, respectively.
• And a slew of cryptocurrency-related stocks have shot up over the last week as the world’s largest digital asset rocketed to a record of over $86,000 as traders reacted to Trump’s embrace of the industry on the campaign trail.”
Tasers. Private prisons. Crypto. Along with Phony Stark’s car company. (I still think Putin has that guy.)
Speaking of crypto, The Atlantic article from 11/19/2024, The Three Pillars of the Bro-Economy, calls it one of its “pillars” as well. Know what the other two are?
Day trading and sports betting, muthafuckas!
Suck it, Gamblers Anonymous.
Yeah…stun guns, private prisons, crypto, day trading, sports betting. And Tesla, a company named by its original owners after a man who possessed a rare, world-changing intellect. All of which brings to mind landlords spiking rent far above what it should be, corporate price-gouging, year-end layoffs — I’ll stop now.
Kakistocracy, right?
I’ll repeat my opening for this one: I don’t want another CEO to get killed. No copycat acts inspired by Luigi Mangione. The fact that he is incarcerated is a good thing. Death is tragic, life is precious. I still do believe that and commit to it even more as I hope for the best while preparing for the worst in this new year.
But tragic deaths happen because investors want yachts. So many industries besides healthcare play a part. And if a CEO’s killing terrifies the nation’s wealthy who exploit the masses, I got no issues with their saddy-sads. When they cry crocodile tears about the fact that Brian Thompson was a father, he indirectly hurt and killed many fathers, just to keep the passive-income contingent happy.
The question for the new year: will the investors develop the ability to look inward?
Also posted on my site. Earlier posts:
• A gigantic thank you, from me to Rush Limbaugh.
• Predatory capitalists need martyrs, too.
• World events since I released my first book.
• Open letter to a picture of myself back in cubicle life, 2003-ish.
I also write fiction. I have two dark comedies available, Fearkiller (Volume 1) and Notes from Trillionaire Island: Fearkiller (Volume 2), as well as Revolutionizer Alpha, the first book in a sci-fi series. I also wrote a story about God. It was weird, but then I decided to make the story and its sequel free. And all of the sudden, it didn’t seem as weird. Writing about God is much less weird when you write about God without charging money for it.
