CEO murder is nothing to celebrate

We would have supported calling United Health CEO Brian Thompson before a congressional panel to face questions about his company’s treatment of its sick clients.

But his murder on a New York street is a horrific, indefensible act that no one should cheer.

And people have taken to social media to celebrate Thompson’s murder. They see it as revenge for United Health’s callousness in denying claims. Some argue executive fear could now be harnessed to push for reforms.

They’ve made the man charged with murder, Luigi Mangione, some sort of handsome hero after cowardly shooting Thompson in the back.

Who have we become? How did we become so desensitized to violence that we cheer a cold-blooded murder on the public street? What does it say about those of us who see this killing as a means to address problems faced by the nation?

Why stop at health insurance CEOs? Who else needs to die to make a point or fulfill our desire for revenge? Where does the violence end?

“What we are left with is tragic,” Maddy McGarry, who grew up in Jewell, the same hometown as Thompson, wrote in a column published in the Des Moines Register.

“A CEO, husband, and father killed. A community in mourning. A young man with a promising future, now charged with murder. And the underlying issues remain,” McGarry wrote.

“The public’s rejection of basic moral principles is damning. We owe it to Brian to not only restore our civility but redeem basic morality. Or else we might as well tell every small-town kid that their hopes and dreams may very well be shot down,” she wrote.

Thompson was an Iowan, named valedictorian in both this high school and his class at the University of Iowa. Maybe his work as CEO tarnished his story. But he didn’t deserve to die.

This is a chance, as McGarry urges, to reconsider our conduct as we debate solutions to fix the health care system and other high-stakes issues. Our win-at-all cost, scorched earth mentality isn’t solving anything. The losers are us.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com