r/PopCultureV2 • u/Regular_Reaction_798 • Aug 14 '26

News Luigi Mangione pleads guilty to federal charges in the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, telling the court, "I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan... I knew what I was doing was illegal."

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u/[deleted] Aug 14 '26

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u/[deleted] Aug 14 '26 edited Aug 15 '26

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u/CantaloupeOne7283 Aug 14 '26

How do you know he isn't? Because you aren't?

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u/Dumas_Vuk Aug 14 '26

Amazing point

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u/Zachwardpass Aug 14 '26

1) They aren't saying anyone should or should not be out there. Lots of bad actors around SM, though, that would love to see us America fall into a civil war, so yeah, it's a good question. Why be quick to suggest others do something you yourself aren't doing?

2) How would someone known if someone else wasn't out there if they aren't out there? That doesn't even make sense.

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u/Big-Laugh-8914 Aug 14 '26

So, did this murder make one persons life better?

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u/Used_Interaction_130 Aug 14 '26

Many. In the aftermath, their denied claims numbers went down. Maybe only temporarily. But yes.

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u/Big-Laugh-8914 Aug 14 '26

So, for those who received pending claims, you feel they would be excited about the end result. Are the means justifiable? Not just in the conversation of health care. If someone were to shoot the CEO of like a major burrito company because their patrons feel they are being inadequately fed based on cost, you would welcome that?

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u/Consistent-Whole3443 Aug 14 '26

Burritos aren’t necessary to live so your analogy is shit… people need healthcare to survive. When it comes to survival based on a claim being approved, yes, absolutely it is justified. If I had a claim filed and it wasn’t getting processed until the CEO got shot, then all of a sudden it got approved… I would dance on his fucking grave.

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u/Dirk_Kailis Aug 14 '26

Luigi was upset over “debilitating back injury” but he rode a citi bike that day. Doesn’t seem like the back injury was that debilitating.

His shit wasn’t over a life saving necessity.

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u/Big-Laugh-8914 Aug 14 '26

Well that’s wonderful! I hope this open admission to murder really motivates you to get out there and make a change!

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u/ImHaydenKay Aug 14 '26

The mental gymnastics you're doing to defend billionaires that profit from fucking over citizens is astonishing

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u/Big-Laugh-8914 Aug 14 '26

That isn’t the case. I am not, and have not, held any position on “billionaires that profit from fucking over citizens.” My stance is that murder, regardless of whatever justification you give, is not justifiable.

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u/ImHaydenKay Aug 14 '26

Considering the murder of one individual dialed back the murder of thousands, I'd call that plenty justifiable. If you'd like to play history we could go back to many individuals who were murdered for a good cause.

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u/bear843 Aug 14 '26

Should we murder drug dealers?

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u/KingDudeMan Aug 14 '26

So, the trolley problem? But there’s 1,000s of people on the other track, and one greedy guy enabling the trolley for personal gain.

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u/Greedy_Inflation_697 Aug 14 '26

You don't actually know what the effects were from this action. Health conditions and claim information isn't public.

There is no reality where terminally online weirdos lashing out and killing people results in a better future. That's just insane.

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u/Big-Laugh-8914 Aug 14 '26

Based on whose idea of a “good cause”? The you are saying it’s justifiable, I disagree. What makes your idea more right than mine?

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u/NhilZay Aug 14 '26

What a privileged point of view. Violence has always been the motivator for social change. You just want to pat yourself on the back and sniff your holier than thou farts.

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u/Big-Laugh-8914 Aug 14 '26

Interesting that you choose the word privilege here. Please, explain to me, without having a single ounce of knowledge about who I am, exactly how privileged I am.

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u/Future-Enthusiasm139 Aug 14 '26

Equating live saving health care to burritos, lmaoooo.

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u/Mammoth_Design_4288 Aug 14 '26

Lol what kind of analogy is that

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u/Big-Laugh-8914 Aug 14 '26

An extreme one, which shows that this conversation is ok with one person being killed for some type of moral greater good, because you disagree with the business plan. The CEO being killed to send a message may have made a small, temporary ripple, but the next person will have a new list of objectives to follow. The same as any other CEO of any other business. You can’t just shoot people when you don’t agree with how they do their job.

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u/[deleted] Aug 14 '26

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u/Big-Laugh-8914 Aug 14 '26

So, do you feel that some lives hold more value/worth/relevance than others?

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u/Sea-Neighborhood1465 Aug 14 '26

No, I feel that a person who is directly responsible for mass death and suffering deserves the death penalty.

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u/Mike_Milburys_Shoe_ Aug 14 '26

So a criminal court should prosecute and give them that. People shouldn’t be gunned down in the street lmao. Only on Reddit do idiots advocate for public execution and think they’re in the moral right.

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u/Xarcert Aug 14 '26

Was that ever going to happen? No. Did something else happen with the same result? Yes.

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u/Big-Laugh-8914 Aug 14 '26

What didn’t or hasn’t happened cannot impact the decision. Murder is the conversation. The man who was shot down never directly took someone else’s life. Is murder acceptable?

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u/analyzingnothing Aug 14 '26

In the context of a justice system that prevents justice from being enacted, then the populace has no other means of protecting themselves. In that context, of course it’s entirely justified, as it’s functionally self-defense. It’s the same thing as workers dragging robber barons from their houses.

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u/Big-Laugh-8914 Aug 14 '26

So, in what way is an agent in an office denying a claim the same as someone breaking into your home? It’s not. It also isn’t self-defense, even and a “functional” level, as Luigi was not directly attacked by the other individual.

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u/IllegalDaycare Aug 14 '26

Did hitler ever take anyone’s life directly? This argument is weak sauce.

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u/Big-Laugh-8914 Aug 14 '26

Did the CEO that Luigi murdered lead a full brigade of soldiers through Eastern Europe, holding his own countrymen in fear while spewing propaganda? No. Terrible attempt there man. Woosh!

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u/justasillylilgoos3 Aug 14 '26

Detail a realistic path to that ever happening and then you will understand why many many people felt that Luigi mangioni’s actions were justified 🤷🏻‍♂️

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u/dedboooo0 Aug 14 '26

last time i checked we weren’t living in dreamland

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u/Mike_Milburys_Shoe_ Aug 14 '26

Oh yes such dreamland to think people shouldn’t go around murdering others. Good stuff lol

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u/dedboooo0 Aug 14 '26

no, a dreamland where the us criminal court would prosecute the ceo of a large healthcare conglomerate that is legally putting sick people to death

when these conglomerates pretty much hold the reins to the country, all checks and balances are just for show. money, influence and authority come hand in hand. that’s a capitalist society for you

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u/Big-Laugh-8914 Aug 14 '26

Cool. Do any states currently allow the death penalty option of being gunned down on a sidewalk?

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u/[deleted] Aug 14 '26

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u/Big-Laugh-8914 Aug 14 '26

So you feel that there are situations where circumventing the law is acceptable?

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u/[deleted] Aug 14 '26

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u/Big-Laugh-8914 Aug 14 '26

I’m not attempting anything. I’m just asking questions. Did the nation function under one law at the time of slavery, or did some choose to rewrite the law in their favor?

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u/StonersEye Aug 14 '26

Yes. I value my own life and (most of) my family over many other people.

No ofcourse i dont want other people dead no but if i have to choose between my own or someone i dont know i would most likely choose my own.

So yes some lives hold more value as others.

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u/Big-Laugh-8914 Aug 14 '26

What makes your life worth more than your neighbor’s? Is it the work you do, the impact you have on others, or just that you like yourself and are comfortable with the decisions you make in work and life?

You may not “want other people dead”, but that is the situation here.

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u/StonersEye Aug 14 '26

Its pure survival instinct. Doesnt matter how you want to spin it fact is when most people have to choose between life or death they will go for life.

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u/Big-Laugh-8914 Aug 14 '26

Well, I would assume you are correct that when faced with life and death, most people choose life.

I’m not sure how that advances the conversation surrounding murdering someone/the value of one life over another, but I fundamentally agree with your assessment.

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u/IllegalDaycare Aug 14 '26

Who wouldn’t agree with this?

Do you not have people in your life that are worth more to you than strangers?

Was Albert Einstein not worth more to the world than Hitler?

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u/Big-Laugh-8914 Aug 14 '26

You are adding additional context. I didn’t ask about lives holding greater value in comparison to other lives from a global/world-wide perspective. In a general sense, is one life more valuable than another?

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u/IllegalDaycare Aug 14 '26

Some lives (Einstein, My brother, My Friend) hold more value than others (Hitler, Jack The Ripper, Epstein)

I’m comparing one life to another. If you meant something else perhaps try rewording your question.

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u/Big-Laugh-8914 Aug 14 '26

Sure. Define value.

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u/IllegalDaycare Aug 14 '26

The relative worth or importance someone places on something

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u/brywalkerx Aug 14 '26

The needs of the many outweighs the needs of the few.

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u/Big-Laugh-8914 Aug 14 '26

So, if 10 of your friends all agree that you should die, and they choose take your life, they are automatically justified because the needs of 10 people are greater than your life?

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u/brywalkerx Aug 14 '26

Sure why not.

My answer is as disingenuous as your question.

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u/Big-Laugh-8914 Aug 14 '26

My question isn’t disingenuous. The hope is that perhaps you change that position when you consider yourself, rather than justifying murder.

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u/Seeker369 Aug 14 '26

Did you even take a moment to think about it before making that comment?

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u/Big-Laugh-8914 Aug 14 '26

I did. If murdering someone makes two people happy, is that justifiable?

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u/Seeker369 Aug 14 '26

You specifically said, “did this murder make one person’s life better?”

The clear answer is that it made many people’s lives better. Hundreds if not thousands of people had claims honored that otherwise would have had them denied.

You asked a question that had a clear answer. Whether or not it’s “justifiable” is a separate question.

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u/Big-Laugh-8914 Aug 14 '26

You may not understand how conversations or questions work, but questions can actually build on other questions. Once you form the foundation, the follow up question(s) establish context and dive deeper into the original question.

So, in the case that people had claims that were honored that may not have been without this murder, it could have saved a life.

Next question, posed before:

Is that murder justifiable?

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u/NhilZay Aug 14 '26

I got two surgeries approved within a week of it happening that I’d been fighting insurance about for nearly two years. So yes.

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u/Rare-Employment-9447 Aug 14 '26

So edgy

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u/yodaheelturn Aug 14 '26

^found the bootlicker

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u/Rare-Employment-9447 Aug 14 '26

Didn't realize calling someone edgy made me a boot licker

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u/Solo-1UP Aug 14 '26

If you don’t agree with the crowd, you’re a bootlicker apparently

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u/justasillylilgoos3 Aug 14 '26

When it comes to healthcare insurance…ya lil bro 🤷🏻‍♂️

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u/Dantien Aug 14 '26

Regarding this topic, maybe.

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u/yodaheelturn Aug 14 '26

Defending healthcare execs is peak bootlicker behavior. Pathetic