That CEO’s kids and other family understand one thing right now and for the rest their lives. Dad hubbie, son, bro is not coming home, ever. What did his kids do to deserve the hole their lives.
I'm with you Charlie and I don't get it...I have had wonderful experiences ( other than a few high-priced things I paid cash for when I was uninsured for a bit)...with hospitals and drs and insurance, they paid for all my cancer treatment, no exceptions, and that was a lot of money.
Generally, I don't believe killing people is ever the right thing to do, and it isn't the solution to anything..it is appalling
If you care nothing for this man’s life whatsoever (that’s fucked up) the assassination of the UHC CEO should still bother you because any time people take the law into their own hands and decide on their own what is just, you could be next. Inevitably there are people out there who don’t agree with the way YOU live, and may get so disgusted by it they decide you should die. Are you ok with that?
And they’re about to be pardoned. Not seeing a lot of decency.
The killing of Family Man Thompson (separated btw) is neither morally nor legally justifiable. But the response is a cry of anguish from the thousands whose lives have been ruined by rapacious “health insurers.” It is to be take. not literally but seriously.
If being employed by a company that does not have your personal best interests in mind (aka. a business) is cause for extrajudicial murder, then what?
Can one complain on the one hand about a for-profit system that is by definition unincentivized to care about your costs and health, but then elect people who reject aligning our health care system with the rest of the modern world? Those countries are around 9%-12% of GDP for HC costs, where the US. is at an unsustainable 18% and growing; and without statistically better outcomes.
Companies mostly work within the guidelines that are enforced, and will privatize the gains and socialize the losses to whatever extent they are allowed to. For example the 2008 financial disaster, the culmination of a a 30 year effort to deregulate the banking/insurance/Glass-Steagall protections, where millions lost their HC due to the HC/employment link in the HC system.
The rule of law is hard enough to hang on to in this era. Sure, privately wishing a few people would take one for the team and retire from their office, or life, is one thing. Cheering for and justifying violence is another, which partners with the new darkness, is worthy of Hansei, and further denigrates all.
Tangent:
I notice one of the the ok on murder folks used the handle "Frumious Bandersnatch". Out of respect for the principles of the FB founder, I mention the following:
Hugh Holub, creator of the Tucson based '60s local underground publication The Frumious Bandersnatch, was a kind, brilliant and insightful human being, and worked throughout his life on behalf of people in and around southern Arizona. He was influential in policy and politics, collaborated with Mo Udall and others on Arizona water law and other issues, and operated out of the still mostly sensible Oasis that is Tucson, located approximately a million miles from Maricopa County.
When reading the responses of many people to the murder of Brian Thompson I could not help but think of JR.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Specifically, the scene early in The Fellowship of the Ring when Gandalf is telling Frodo the truth about the One Ring and the history of the creature Gollum. He told Frodo that Gollum had once been a hobbit-like creature named Sméagol and that he had committed theft and murder times beyond count over the time of his existence. When Bilbo had a chance to kill Gollum during his quest in The Hobbit, he spared him instead.
Frodo exclaimed, “What a pity that Bilbo didn’t stab that vile creature when he had the chance!” Gandalf replied, “Pity? It was pity that stayed his hand. Pity and Mercy: not to strike without need.”
Later in the discussion Frodo said, “He deserves death.” Gandalf replied, “Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.”
Later in his quest Frodo comes upon Gollum and does pity him. He tries to redeem him, even though Gollum is past redemption. At the end of the quest Frodo, who took the Ring farther than any of the mighty could have, failed. He could not cast the Ring into the Crack of Doom and destroy it. At last the Ring took him, as it would have taken anyone.* It was then that Gollum attacked Frodo and seized the Ring before accidentally falling into the Crack of Doom and destroying himself and the Ring (he might have gotten a bit of a nudge from Eru at that point).
The genius and humanity of Tolkien’s tale is that the world was only able to be saved due to the acts of pity and mercy by Bilbo and Frodo. If Bilbo had killed Gollum when he first encountered him, Frodo would have failed and Sauron would have won. If Frodo had killed Gollum when he and Sam caught him, the quest would never have even reached Mount Doom.
The blood and violence of the war defending against the forces of Sauron was necessary, but was doomed to fail. The strength and bravery of the mighty was not enough. The world was saved not by violence and action, but by pity, mercy, and kindness.
I don’t know what type of man Brian Thompson was, but his murder does not make the world a better place. Just as in Middle-Earth, our redemption can only come through the exercise of kindness, pity, and mercy. When considering the lives of human beings there can be no addition through subtraction. We can only make the world a better place by being better ourselves; perhaps by feeling pity and sadness over the loss of a fellow human being with all his attendant flaws.
*Don’t @ me about Tom Bombadil. He was immune to the effect of the Ring, but was completely unreliable.
Its hard to have sympathy for mass murderers. That's a given. The question remains. Is UH promoting mass murder? How many people died due to these decisions? The media hasn't responded to years of requests to report this. Its not an easy statistic to get at because UH had every incentive to hide their data. What you're seeing is the yawp of the powerless in the face of those who make our life and death decisions.
The insurance companies made our pandemic outcomes much worse but if the media would report on how, people would feel less powerless. We need oversight in this arena now, while people are dying.
Although I agree the execution was wrong, everything else said matters as to why we are here as a society, it took a man to be murdered for the country to even have this discussion and I will still go to work on Monday and face the same harassment from insurance companies while I beg for patients to get cancer treatment. This subject is not as simple as “it was wrong” I do not see the insurance giants admitting any part in this but more doubling down of the same, the dehumanization continues.
Social media is getting worse. The lies are getting worse. The corruption is rampant. The gun violence continues. Rights are being taken away. We’ll soon have internment camps. Our only foreign policy goal is to accommodate Russia. And democracy and rule of law are collapsing. It will not get better.
I am a mental health provider. We have spent decades struggling with insurance companies (not least of all, UHC) for more equitable reimbursement. But this murder shocked and deeply offended me. It is the antithesis of everything I believe in as someone who is attempting to help people heal and live in ways that are mentally healthy. I’m appalled by the notion that the answer to any problem is to murder those we believe are responsible for the problem. This is both barbaric and utterly stupid. Do health insurance companies make huge profits, often at the expense of providers and subscribers? Absolutely. Do they deny a certain percentage of claims as a way of increasing their profits? Absolutely. But killing all the CEO’s - even if we could morally justify it, which we can’t - accomplishes nothing. Perhaps we could start by taking a look at who we are electing to office and whether they are receiving contributions from insurance companies to do their bidding. Congress could enact legislation to curb the reckless habits of insurance companies if they had the will to do so. Sadly, the goal of the incoming administration is to strip away as much federal regulation as possible. This will protect the profits of the wealthiest companies and individuals. We have chosen our fate through our ignorance and simplistic thinking.
My husband and I are well aware of how the hospital business works, including health insurance. Absolutely ridiculous that the voting public and our government allow this unfair system to continue.
If people had to. use their true legal names and Driver's Licence or Passport pic AND pay 1 penny postage on every like, tweet, email, etc. THAT would bring some adult order to the internet. Just sayin. Love those doggies!
The unhinged response to this assassination, along with all the crazy conspiracies around the Trump assassination attempt earlier in the year (insinuation it as a false flag op to generate sympathy for Trump, for instance) remind me that unfortunately, there are insane, immoral people on both sides. And yes, the MAGA side has generally been worse when it comes to this stuff, but if this is how we're going to be as a society going forward, it's not going to end well.
Folks my apologies for the posts I am about to remove from this page. If you find the murder of this man hilarious or are justifying murder… I suggest you find a different forum.
That CEO’s kids and other family understand one thing right now and for the rest their lives. Dad hubbie, son, bro is not coming home, ever. What did his kids do to deserve the hole their lives.
I'm with you Charlie and I don't get it...I have had wonderful experiences ( other than a few high-priced things I paid cash for when I was uninsured for a bit)...with hospitals and drs and insurance, they paid for all my cancer treatment, no exceptions, and that was a lot of money.
Generally, I don't believe killing people is ever the right thing to do, and it isn't the solution to anything..it is appalling
If you care nothing for this man’s life whatsoever (that’s fucked up) the assassination of the UHC CEO should still bother you because any time people take the law into their own hands and decide on their own what is just, you could be next. Inevitably there are people out there who don’t agree with the way YOU live, and may get so disgusted by it they decide you should die. Are you ok with that?
So the coalition of the decent needs to come from the left and center and the right gets a pass?
I guess that scans: a mob rampages the Capitol at the behest of a would be dictator, maiming and killing,
Where did he say that, he critiques them all the time...I think he was more surprised it is coming from the left now...not good
And they’re about to be pardoned. Not seeing a lot of decency.
The killing of Family Man Thompson (separated btw) is neither morally nor legally justifiable. But the response is a cry of anguish from the thousands whose lives have been ruined by rapacious “health insurers.” It is to be take. not literally but seriously.
If being employed by a company that does not have your personal best interests in mind (aka. a business) is cause for extrajudicial murder, then what?
Can one complain on the one hand about a for-profit system that is by definition unincentivized to care about your costs and health, but then elect people who reject aligning our health care system with the rest of the modern world? Those countries are around 9%-12% of GDP for HC costs, where the US. is at an unsustainable 18% and growing; and without statistically better outcomes.
Companies mostly work within the guidelines that are enforced, and will privatize the gains and socialize the losses to whatever extent they are allowed to. For example the 2008 financial disaster, the culmination of a a 30 year effort to deregulate the banking/insurance/Glass-Steagall protections, where millions lost their HC due to the HC/employment link in the HC system.
The rule of law is hard enough to hang on to in this era. Sure, privately wishing a few people would take one for the team and retire from their office, or life, is one thing. Cheering for and justifying violence is another, which partners with the new darkness, is worthy of Hansei, and further denigrates all.
Tangent:
I notice one of the the ok on murder folks used the handle "Frumious Bandersnatch". Out of respect for the principles of the FB founder, I mention the following:
Hugh Holub, creator of the Tucson based '60s local underground publication The Frumious Bandersnatch, was a kind, brilliant and insightful human being, and worked throughout his life on behalf of people in and around southern Arizona. He was influential in policy and politics, collaborated with Mo Udall and others on Arizona water law and other issues, and operated out of the still mostly sensible Oasis that is Tucson, located approximately a million miles from Maricopa County.
Link to a very different time below..
https://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/092111_hugh_holub/what-hugh-holub-taught-me/
Charlie,
When reading the responses of many people to the murder of Brian Thompson I could not help but think of JR.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Specifically, the scene early in The Fellowship of the Ring when Gandalf is telling Frodo the truth about the One Ring and the history of the creature Gollum. He told Frodo that Gollum had once been a hobbit-like creature named Sméagol and that he had committed theft and murder times beyond count over the time of his existence. When Bilbo had a chance to kill Gollum during his quest in The Hobbit, he spared him instead.
Frodo exclaimed, “What a pity that Bilbo didn’t stab that vile creature when he had the chance!” Gandalf replied, “Pity? It was pity that stayed his hand. Pity and Mercy: not to strike without need.”
Later in the discussion Frodo said, “He deserves death.” Gandalf replied, “Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.”
Later in his quest Frodo comes upon Gollum and does pity him. He tries to redeem him, even though Gollum is past redemption. At the end of the quest Frodo, who took the Ring farther than any of the mighty could have, failed. He could not cast the Ring into the Crack of Doom and destroy it. At last the Ring took him, as it would have taken anyone.* It was then that Gollum attacked Frodo and seized the Ring before accidentally falling into the Crack of Doom and destroying himself and the Ring (he might have gotten a bit of a nudge from Eru at that point).
The genius and humanity of Tolkien’s tale is that the world was only able to be saved due to the acts of pity and mercy by Bilbo and Frodo. If Bilbo had killed Gollum when he first encountered him, Frodo would have failed and Sauron would have won. If Frodo had killed Gollum when he and Sam caught him, the quest would never have even reached Mount Doom.
The blood and violence of the war defending against the forces of Sauron was necessary, but was doomed to fail. The strength and bravery of the mighty was not enough. The world was saved not by violence and action, but by pity, mercy, and kindness.
I don’t know what type of man Brian Thompson was, but his murder does not make the world a better place. Just as in Middle-Earth, our redemption can only come through the exercise of kindness, pity, and mercy. When considering the lives of human beings there can be no addition through subtraction. We can only make the world a better place by being better ourselves; perhaps by feeling pity and sadness over the loss of a fellow human being with all his attendant flaws.
*Don’t @ me about Tom Bombadil. He was immune to the effect of the Ring, but was completely unreliable.
Its hard to have sympathy for mass murderers. That's a given. The question remains. Is UH promoting mass murder? How many people died due to these decisions? The media hasn't responded to years of requests to report this. Its not an easy statistic to get at because UH had every incentive to hide their data. What you're seeing is the yawp of the powerless in the face of those who make our life and death decisions.
The insurance companies made our pandemic outcomes much worse but if the media would report on how, people would feel less powerless. We need oversight in this arena now, while people are dying.
Although I agree the execution was wrong, everything else said matters as to why we are here as a society, it took a man to be murdered for the country to even have this discussion and I will still go to work on Monday and face the same harassment from insurance companies while I beg for patients to get cancer treatment. This subject is not as simple as “it was wrong” I do not see the insurance giants admitting any part in this but more doubling down of the same, the dehumanization continues.
I’ve lost hope in this country.
Don't give up, it will get better, it always does
Social media is getting worse. The lies are getting worse. The corruption is rampant. The gun violence continues. Rights are being taken away. We’ll soon have internment camps. Our only foreign policy goal is to accommodate Russia. And democracy and rule of law are collapsing. It will not get better.
Yeah, I will keep the hope, it works for me
I am a mental health provider. We have spent decades struggling with insurance companies (not least of all, UHC) for more equitable reimbursement. But this murder shocked and deeply offended me. It is the antithesis of everything I believe in as someone who is attempting to help people heal and live in ways that are mentally healthy. I’m appalled by the notion that the answer to any problem is to murder those we believe are responsible for the problem. This is both barbaric and utterly stupid. Do health insurance companies make huge profits, often at the expense of providers and subscribers? Absolutely. Do they deny a certain percentage of claims as a way of increasing their profits? Absolutely. But killing all the CEO’s - even if we could morally justify it, which we can’t - accomplishes nothing. Perhaps we could start by taking a look at who we are electing to office and whether they are receiving contributions from insurance companies to do their bidding. Congress could enact legislation to curb the reckless habits of insurance companies if they had the will to do so. Sadly, the goal of the incoming administration is to strip away as much federal regulation as possible. This will protect the profits of the wealthiest companies and individuals. We have chosen our fate through our ignorance and simplistic thinking.
Eli is a happy dog, food and a comfy couch.
My husband and I are well aware of how the hospital business works, including health insurance. Absolutely ridiculous that the voting public and our government allow this unfair system to continue.
In the end, regardless of which end of the political spectrum it occupies, the patriarchy will always defend the patriarchy.
Murder is wrong, no matter who commits it or why...always...
If people had to. use their true legal names and Driver's Licence or Passport pic AND pay 1 penny postage on every like, tweet, email, etc. THAT would bring some adult order to the internet. Just sayin. Love those doggies!
The unhinged response to this assassination, along with all the crazy conspiracies around the Trump assassination attempt earlier in the year (insinuation it as a false flag op to generate sympathy for Trump, for instance) remind me that unfortunately, there are insane, immoral people on both sides. And yes, the MAGA side has generally been worse when it comes to this stuff, but if this is how we're going to be as a society going forward, it's not going to end well.
Folks my apologies for the posts I am about to remove from this page. If you find the murder of this man hilarious or are justifying murder… I suggest you find a different forum.