I’m pretty sure Luigi Mangione didn’t shoot that CEO. After all, we all know social media doesn’t lie. And according to my feed, Luigi was working a double shift at a truck stop in Idaho that day. Or wait—was he fishing with his buddies in Maine? Or maybe hiking the Grand Canyon? One thing’s for sure: he wasn’t anywhere near Manhattan. If I had to guess how one person could be so many places at once, I’d say it’s because Luigi has a face that looks like every other American’s. He looks like you. He looks like me. He looks like the millions of people who were sold the lie that private insurance means you’re covered when you need healthcare.
It’s a sad truth that, while the U.S. spends nearly twice as much on healthcare per capita as other wealthy nations, we still have a lower life expectancy. A certain indicator that the system is broken and that it’s hurting people—not just with the high costs, but with the indifference that comes from those at the top: CEOs of insurance companies who are more concerned with profits than with the lives they’re supposed to protect.
Brian Thompson’s death is tragic, but it also highlights a larger, systemic issue: the death and suffering of so many Americans who fall victim to a healthcare system driven by greed. So, what will it take to fix it? Hopefully, something less lethal. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel; we just need to look at countries like Norway, Japan, and others that have made healthcare work for their citizens. If they can do it, so can America.
