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submitted 3 months ago by Stopthatgirl7@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

Less than two weeks after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was gunned down on the streets of midtown Manhattan, his alleged assassin Luigi Mangione has been greeted not by universal condemnation for the brazen violence -- but rather, a surge of enthusiastic support online for his so-called vigilante justice.

The Center for Internet Security (CIS), a nonprofit focused on cybersecurity that partners with government and law enforcement, released a new threat assessment bulletin warning that online support for the alleged shooter risks encouraging copycat attacks.

"Overwhelming bipartisan support for the attack" across social media "has resulted in several narratives encouraging similar violent activities directed at other healthcare executive teams," CIS analysts said.

"The narratives supporting Mangione's targeted attack likely serve to encourage like-minded individuals, particularly as Mangione continues to be viewed by the public as an 'American hero' and sympathetic figure," CIS' bulletin said.

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[-] RagingRobot@lemmy.world 323 points 3 months ago

No one attacked law enforcement for this thought. They are just fear mongering the police so they will want to protect the rich more.

[-] Bluefalcon@discuss.tchncs.de 133 points 3 months ago

That and make it sound like those supporting him are dangerous.

[-] osaerisxero@kbin.melroy.org 54 points 3 months ago

If cops start acting like bodyguards for rich people, they will for the next one.

[-] Quill7513@slrpnk.net 67 points 3 months ago

you act like they haven't for decades

[-] osaerisxero@kbin.melroy.org 16 points 3 months ago

No, i mean like literally bodyguarding, not just doing what they're told.

[-] Arbiter@lemmy.world 17 points 3 months ago
[-] Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works 26 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

He (Luigi) literally went out of his way to praise law enforcement in his statement. So yeah, this is all just bullshit, and it's bad for ya.

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[-] 2pt_perversion@lemmy.world 131 points 3 months ago

I haven't seen anyone encouraging or even so much as hinting that a copycat should target police or courts. Feels like something made up to try to drive a wedge between the bipartisan support by splintering off "back the blue" type of people.

[-] MisterD@lemmy.ca 10 points 3 months ago

This is it. Do not do class war. The rich want you to fight amongst yourselves

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[-] rumba@lemmy.zip 113 points 3 months ago

CIS assessed it "highly likely that threats will continue to target [law enforcement] and other public offices participating in Mangione's case."

Translation: South Park they're coming right for us, FIRE

[-] MelodiousFunk@slrpnk.net 46 points 3 months ago

It worked for Rittenhouse 🫥

[-] distantsounds@lemmy.world 102 points 3 months ago
[-] otter@lemmy.dbzer0.com 36 points 3 months ago

It's bastards, all the way up. Never forget.

[-] WoodScientist@lemmy.world 15 points 3 months ago

I think we should crowdfund an art project. Specifically, just to send a message, we should erect a big bronze statue of Luigi Mangione. Put it on a main road close to UHC's headquarters in Minnesota. Make the bastards drive right past the thing every day on the way to work.

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[-] halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world 89 points 3 months ago

Complete bullshit obviously...

But the fact they're worried about it says A LOT about how they view themselves compared to a piece of shit responsible for millions of deaths from denied healthcare.

[-] ChicoSuave@lemmy.world 23 points 3 months ago

I keep running through the difference between the reaction to this vs elementary school kids dying to gun violence. It's one CEO and everything in the media has galvanized to unite around a singular message of horrible violence. Hundreds of children have died and nothing changed. It's fucking infuriating.

[-] WoodScientist@lemmy.world 88 points 3 months ago

Let's compare:

Osama Bin Ladin/Brian Robert Thompson

Number killed by own hands: 0/0

Number killed through orders to underlings: ~3,000/~51,000

Reason for killings: religious and geopolitical reasons/profit motive

Cause of death: execution by gunshot/execution by gunshot

Date of trial for killings: N/A / N/A

Date of issue of death sentence for killings: N/A / N/A

Response to killing: celebration by US president on national TV, celebration by commoners and elites / celebration by commoners, condemnation by elite.

Consequence to assassins for extra-judicial slaying: national praise / indicted for 2nd degree murder

Race and class: weird Arab guy in traditional garb / rich white man in a a suit

[-] Tithen@lemmy.dbzer0.com 20 points 3 months ago

Where does the 51,000 figure come from?

[-] WoodScientist@lemmy.world 117 points 3 months ago

About 68,000 Americans die each year from improper denials of necessary care. With UHC's share of the private health insurance market and higher than average denial of claims, a conservative figure is 40 UHC customers per day dying from denial of care. Brian Robert Thompson served as the CEO of UHC for approximately 3.5 years. That comes to about 51,000 people dead at the hands of Brian Robert Thompson.

Is it fair to pin all of UHC's murders on one man? Maybe not. But he gleefully took credit for the record profits that came from UHC's soaring denial rates. He earned an obscene salary and bonuses from the record profits that those deaths produced. He took credit for all the consequences of these deaths; it is entirely reasonable to hold him morally culpable for them.

Make no mistake. Brian Robert Thompson killed approximately 51,000 people, or about 17 times as many people as Osama Bin Ladin. Brian Robert Thompson suffered for seconds. Osama Bin Ladin's victims suffered for about an hour. Brian Robert Thompson's victims suffered for months to years. And this is just deaths, not those who suffered injury, debilitation, or bankruptcy at Brian Robert Thompson's hands.

[-] nimble 24 points 3 months ago

Thank you. I have been very interested in a number of attributable deaths, and the comparison is an added bonus

[-] WoodScientist@lemmy.world 36 points 3 months ago

I would say "my pleasure," but this brings me none. It's not a perfect estimate, but it is a reasonable first order one. The real number is likely somewhere between 30k and 70k. But really, at this scale, the numbers lose all meaning.

Luigi Mangione did not have the right to serve as Thompon's one man judge, jury, and executioner. But make no mistake, according to all available evidence, Brian Robert Thompson was a mass murderer an order of magnitude worse than Osama Bin Ladin. When he hit the pavement on that New York morning, he did not stop falling. He kept falling, and falling, and falling. Right into the Pit of Hell itself. If there is a Hell behind this mortal realm, he is almost certainly burning there right now.

[-] GrammarPolice@lemmy.world 9 points 3 months ago

I like your way of thinking

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[-] Sir_Kevin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 15 points 3 months ago

Many thanks for bringing to light these facts and comparisons.

[-] Tithen@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 3 months ago

Thanks for the response. Truly despicable the state of medical insurance.

[-] catloaf@lemm.ee 10 points 3 months ago

Osama bin Laden was pretty wealthy too. His family owns a massive Saudi construction company: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Binladin_Group

[-] Nosavingthrow@lemmy.world 57 points 3 months ago

God, the police are so fucking coddled. "This shit that has nothing to do with police? A threat to police." Anytbing to direct more funding to these fucking babies.

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Welp, its officially in. Anyone who sympathizes with Luigi is officially deemed a terrorist.

Soon, some senator will announce that he/she has a list of suspected ~~communists~~ terrorists who sympathize with Luigi Mangione. This will the know as the ~~Red Scare~~ Green Scare. Mentioning the term "Green Mario" would be a death sentence.

Super Mario Bros will be deemed as terrorist propaganda, and any related media would be confiscated. There would be no-knock searches carried out across the nation, many will be shot in the process.

If you are reading this, your are already on their list. If you are reading this, you are the resistance...

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[-] orcrist@lemm.ee 42 points 3 months ago

God the police are so pathetically paranoid.

[-] Kbobabob@lemmy.world 32 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Literally shooting at acorns falling from a tree

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[-] Grandwolf319@sh.itjust.works 40 points 3 months ago

I mean, remember defund the police?

That movement fully targeted cops.

This one is targeting the ruling class, and cops are worried.

It’s like that moment when you criticize a bad thing (like selfishness) and out of nowhere someone gets offended; they are basically telling on themselves.

[-] kreskin@lemmy.world 10 points 3 months ago

That movement fully targeted cops.

I think if youd look into it you'd find its the protestors who were targetted. Not the cops.

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[-] buddascrayon@lemmy.world 40 points 3 months ago

Mainstream media playbook 101. When your narrative isn't taking hold lean on fear mongering.

[-] TheReturnOfPEB@reddthat.com 33 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

the police have a training traveling school called Killology and refer to themselves as "killologist."

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[-] beliquititious 30 points 3 months ago

In Altoona, Pennsylvania, where Mangione was captured on Monday, local police told ABC News they also faced threats and negative blowback for arresting the suspect, as did the McDonald's where he was arrested.

CIS assessed it "highly likely that threats will continue to target [law enforcement] and other public offices participating in Mangione's case."

This is just sloppy reporting. CIS says cops and other officials will receive more threats, not that they will be in more danger. But it's 2024 and ABC is a major news outlet that depends on keeping the government and (especially) His Majesty happy to keep their ota broadcast license.

This reeks of propaganda trying to sway the "blue liners" away from support for the coming class war. It makes sense. The "cop feelings > children lives" set are violently stupid and (usually) well armed.

[-] Allonzee@lemmy.world 27 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

It would be both sad and pointless if people targeted the owner's capital defense force thugs (police) and bribed middle managers (judges/politicians).

That would muddy the waters needlessly and further the cause of the owner class of keeping us at each other's throats.

Our oligarchs whole thing is keeping us hostile towards one another. They don't care who kills who, kids killing kids, cops killing poor, poor killing cops/judges/politicians, all livestock killing livestock to them, big woop. They only freak out when someone they consider a person is killed, there's only 1 metric that determines that for them, and even most of their bought politicians don't qualify on net worth.

[-] ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml 26 points 3 months ago

Gotta give it to corpo news and pigs: They got class conscience.

[-] MutilationWave@lemmy.world 10 points 3 months ago

Cops think they're rich now? Or that their masters will do anything other than use them as grunts in the class war? Cops are working class just like most people, they're just class traitors.

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[-] SpaceBishop@lemmy.zip 24 points 3 months ago

"Overwhelming bipartisan support for the attack" across social media "has resulted in several narratives encouraging similar violent activities directed at other healthcare executive teams,"

This assessment has got it all wrong. People don't want further acts of violence against healthcare executive teams. Or, I should say, not just healthcare executive teams. That thinking is far too narrow.

[-] Zaktor@sopuli.xyz 18 points 3 months ago

That's why they're all trying to reframe this story so hard. They're worried a sentiment like this will wake people up to how many other executives are sociopathic murderers.

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[-] CascadianGiraffe@lemmy.world 22 points 3 months ago

I don't see any reason to limit it to healthcare executives.

[-] KinglyWeevil@lemmy.dbzer0.com 21 points 3 months ago

Haven't judges in general been extremely gentle with prosecutions involving Trump because of inordinate numbers of threats made to judges? And yet there's no effort made to stop it? And somehow, this represents an existential threat to the courts?

[-] x0chi@lemmy.world 17 points 3 months ago

I wonder how many Luigis the 2nd trump presidency will create. I hope a lot. Call me whatever you want.....

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[-] ThatsTheSpirit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 17 points 3 months ago

Behind enemy lines folks

[-] dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 15 points 3 months ago

Is Hans finally figuring out that he might be the baddie...?

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[-] craigers@lemmy.world 12 points 3 months ago

Which one of you has a link to the image file for that free Luigi flyer? Asking for a friend...

[-] GhiLA@sh.itjust.works 10 points 3 months ago

Why would I-uh-they... target police?

Police didn't deny no claims.

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[-] chemicalwonka@discuss.tchncs.de 9 points 3 months ago
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this post was submitted on 15 Dec 2024
581 points (100.0% liked)

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