Summary
Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was fatally shot in a premeditated attack outside the New York Hilton Midtown before speaking at an investor conference.
The gunman, still at large, fired multiple times, leaving shell casings marked with the words “deny,” “defend,” and “depose.”
Authorities suggest Thompson was targeted but remain unclear on the motive. His wife confirmed prior threats against him.
Analysts speculate a possible vendetta tied to his company. The case raises questions about executive security, as Thompson lacked personal protection despite known risks.
Well, I saw it more as the government is failing by allowing them all this unreasonable influence in the first place.
I’m familiar with these arguments. My general issue is that people get really invested in supporting arguments that seem reasonable on the surface without really having much knowledge of the full situation. Headlines are visceral. The nitty gritty of the story is often much more nuanced. Of course there are worse case examples and they make the headlines. Then something else seems similar and people assume they’re all the same kind of story.
I just don’t blame the billionaires. I don’t blame the corporations. I blame the governments and indirectly the voters. Neither the corporations nor congress are going to go out of their way to reduce harm.
America has been brainwashed since the Reagan administration that capitalism is king. I’m cautiously optimistic that this is coming to an end but I don’t see anything prepped to take its place. Americans are consuming more than ever before. We’ll see what happens in the next administration when no one can afford anything.
The people have to be broken free of the brainwashing before they start speaking out and getting congress to change regulations. I don’t think killing a CEO is going to do any good.
I understand that corporations do what they do to further their prime directive (profit maximizing, as I figure), but blaming the government for not sufficiently innoculating itself against them is kinda wild to me. Yes, Citizens United is an abomination, but even if it weren’t the current meta, corporations would still do their utmost to influence the levers of power to their own ends.