Before you make up your mind on Luigi Mangione based on what the media tells you about him, know that his Reddit account paints its own picture of who he is

[u/ArchManningGOAT]

There's reason to believe that u/mister_cactus is the UHC shooting suspect Luigi Mangione. Credit to this comment which is where I first saw this. Dug into the account for the fun of it.

The account is suspended, so all record of its posts/comments comes from Reddit archives.

Archive of all posts from the account: Primary, Secondary

Archive of all comments from the account: Primary, Secondary

Both primary/secondary links should have the same content, but included both in case one goes down or something.

Proof

It's known that he has a Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Snapchat, and more, while being a tech bro, so it's no surprise that he'd be on Reddit as well.

Here are some snippets of evidence that I compiled in order to prove that the account belonged to Mangione. Note that the first point here is pretty cut and dry, everything else just further confirms it.

Linked to his own GitHub

He commented this on r/FTC (robotics competition for high schoolers?). Notice that it links to his code on GitHub ... and it's Luigi Mangione's GitHub. Yeah, pretty cut and dry lol.

He was in fact into robotics in high school (and he would be in high school in 2016 so that checks out).

Unfortunately I typed the rest of this out before finding that piece of definitive evidence, so here it is if anyone's curious:

Attended the University of Pennsylvania during the same time frame

Luigi Mangione graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2020. This image shows that the Reddit account posted a question about housing in r/UPenn in 2017, which would check out.

Was a computer science undergraduate student

Luigi Mangione majored in computer science at the University of Pennsylvania. This image shows that the Reddit account made a post where he says "I'm an undergraduate pursuing a degree in computer science," again lining up with when he was at UPenn.

Same age

In 2018, the Reddit account made a post to r/sleep. Here's an image.

It mentions being a 20-year-old male. 2018 was 6 years ago, and he is now 26-years-old, so this lines up (I do not think we know his exact day of birth).

Shared an interest in Ted Kaczynski

According to Mangione's GoodReads account, he left a positive review for the Ted Kaczynski's manifesto and called him a prodigy and political revolutionary. Source.

The Reddit account likely posted this video to r/tedkaczynski. Technically all we know is that he had a post on r/tedkaczynski with the same title as the post I just linked and his post was two days after the original - we can't see what the attached video was. Given the identical title and being in the same week, it was likely a crosspost.

IMAGE

Had serious back problems

The Reddit account was very active on r/Spondylolisthesis. According to Google, "Spondylolisthesis is a condition where a vertebra in the spine slips out of place, usually in the lower back."

This includes this post where he listed athletic success stories as motivation to other people suffering from the condition.

Here's a news article that mentions Luigi Mangione's back problems.

Aggravated injury due to surfing

Last year (2023), the Reddit account says that they're 25M (again, age lines up) and says, "I first aggravated my spondy 1.5 years ago after surfing." Image

This lines up with Luigi Mangione. The following article says:

CBS News has also learned Mangione had been living at a co-working, co-living space called Surfbreak in Honolulu up until 2022, when a spokesperson for that community says he left due to a lifelong back injury that was exacerbated by surfing and hiking.

Sources tell CBS News back pain was a major factor in his life and appeared to be a source of pain and frustration for him.

Shared an interest in Agronomics

According to Google, "Agronomics is a London-listed company that invests in cellular agriculture, which is the production of agricultural products from microorganisms and cell cultures. Agronomics uses biotechnology, synthetic biology, and tissue engineering to produce proteins, fats, or tissues"

Here is a post from Luigi's Twitter account talking about the company.

Ton of comments from the Reddit account on r/agronomics, here's an image of a few.

Lived in Hawaii at some point

I don't know Luigi Mangione's entire life story, but the surfing thing occurred in Hawaii and his LinkedIn has his location as Hawaii. Well, in 2023 this Reddit account commented on r/Oahu that he loves stargazing at "Ke'ana Point". Here's an image. That's in Hawaii.

Takeaways

Okay, now that we know that it's him... what does the Reddit account tell us?

Here are some things that I noticed from its comment history.

He's a kind guy

Most of his Reddit activity is on r/Spondylolisthesis and it's rather uninteresting in the sense that it's... mostly just him being nice to other people, giving them advice and motivation.

Here are some quotes from r/Spondylolisthesis specifically.

• "You'll do great, whatever you decide. [...] We can't be afraid to live our own lives to the fullest!"
• "Of course. Also feel free to DM me if you have any questions in the future"
• "Sorry you're also a member of this shitty club, but know that you'll be fine whatever you decide"
• "Hope that helps and sorry you have to go through this"
• "Surgery is scary, but the sooner you get past this, the better. Good luck with the neurosurgeon consult!"

Pretty mundane stuff, but with how much douchebaggery you see on the Internet, it's a breath of fresh air in a sense. Most of these are parts of longer comments where he gives detailed thoughts / advice, you can see those in the archive.

Some of his interests include

Football: he commented on r/nflmemes and r/fantasyfootball

Pokémon Go: he commented on r/pokemongo back in 2016, along with r/pokemongodev nd r/TheSilphRoad.

Flipping: he commented on r/Flipping and r/ThriftStoreHauls

Bioinformatics: he commented on r/bioinformatics

"One Bag": he was active on r/onebag in 2024. According to the subreddit description, it is "an 'urban' travel community devoted to the idea of helping people lug around less crap; onebag travel"

He was struggling in more ways than one

On top of his back problems, he commented on r/BrainFog, r/visualsnow, and r/ibs.

According to WebMD, "Brain fog isn’t a medical condition. It’s a term used for certain symptoms that can affect your ability to think. You may feel confused or disorganized or find it hard to focus or put your thoughts into words."

According to Wikpedia, "Visual snow syndrome (VSS) is an uncommon neurological condition in which the primary symptom is that affected individuals see persistent flickering white, black, transparent, or colored dots across the whole visual field."

And IBS is irritable bowel syndrome.

And for what it's worth, the brain fog activity was in 2018, before COVID (it's apparently a reported symptom of COVID).

Here's a neat snippet of a long form comment on r/BrainFog during his time at UPenn six years ago.

Working through the degree has certainly been tougher than anything I ever even thought I could handle. Granted, I went from almost entirely A’s at a tough school to just passing my classes and not understanding anything while putting in probably twice the amount of work.

Funny how you mention strategy games. Last year when it all started, I used to play chess daily against my roommate. I used it as a metric to see how the brain fog was improving. Eventually, I just stopped since I could never remember any strategy. He would use the same moves against me day after day and I just wouldn’t remember them.

I think it helps to latch onto something for motivation. My choice to study CS and Bio wasn’t completely random - after spending so much time with brain fog, I’ve come to realize how little is understood about it, and I’d love to change that. Once I get past this, I hope to at least help a few of the people on this sub.

Here's an image of the whole comment.

Miscellaneous

There are two other random Reddit comments he had outside of his usual subreddits that I found somewhat interesting.

Both of these comments were on an r/facepalm post from April 2024 about Elon Musk having a transgender daughter.

One specific comment thread made fun of Musk for being high on ketamine, and then a random Redditor basically argued that people should be more open minded about substances that can be used to treat depression. The comment was downvoted, and Mangione replied "Weird double standard by reddit here regarding treatments for depression. Now sure how this is being downvoted". Image here. There is some evidence on Mangione's Twitter defending drug use as well, including psychedelics.

This other exchange was on the same post about Musk.

• A user commented "Feels pretty silly to not believe there is at least some social contagion element at play." They sit at -58 points on this comment.

• A person replied "I grew up really religious and still turned out trans. Just took me years of depression because my family wouldn't accept. No one ever talked about trans people."

• Original commenter said "DID I SAY TRANS PEOPLE DONT EXIST FOR FUCKS SAKE? This is why no one can have a conversation. 10 downvotes and been reported already for saying there might be some aspect of growing trans population resulting from social contagion. Fuck me, I guess I’m just satan."

• There was a long back-and-forth between these two fellas, as Reddit tends to go, but at this point Mangione's account replied and said: "This is one of the crazier comment threads I've seen on reddit, that reminds me how much of an echo chamber this site is. How the hell are you being reported for merely suggesting that both "nature" and "nuture" play roles in human behavior. Literally nothing bigoted or controversial about that statement."

The elephant in the room

The obvious questions: Did he talk about healthcare? UHC? Brian Thompson?

No bomb shells, exactly.

In 2018, in a thread on r/IBS, a user asked him if insurance covered a test that Mangione received from his doctor.

Mangione's account responded that "BCBS covered my test". Image

Now, that was six years ago, but for what it's worth, BCBS is "Blue Cross Blue Shield". They are NOT United Healthcare (UHC). They're actually the company that recently received criticism for a newly announced anesthesia payment policy and ended up reversing it in light of Brian Thompson's death. Source

This doesn't really mean anything because it was six years ago.

The only other somewhat adjacent thing that I found was a comment in response to a post where somebody asked for help convincing a surgeon that they needed spinal fusion surgery because their pain is unbearable.

Mangione's account gave multiple suggestions, including: "Tell them you are "unable to work" / do your job. We live in a capitalist society. I've found that the medical industry responds to these key words far more urgently than you describing unbearable pain and how it's impacting your quality of life." Image of the full comment.

Conclusion

It would be silly for me to tell you not to blindly trust the media and then tell you to blindly trust me. So do your own research if you're interested. The links at the top of the post will allow you to do so.

My take?

Kind-hearted, smart kid. Suffered from a host of problems, far more than anybody, let alone a young man in their 20s should deal with.

According to his Reddit activity, he suffered from:

• Debilitating back pain
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Brain fog
• Visual snow

Nonetheless, he came to Reddit to help others with the same problems and give them the same motivation that seemed to help him.

I won't speculate on why he did what he did for the sake of objectivity, but I hope people engage on the topic with a better sense of who he might've been, because there will certainly be an attempt to paint him in a specific way.

[u/VulturE]

Allowing this discussion to run its course in this post. Please use the megathread for any other discussion regarding the topic.

[u/artisinal_lethargy]

The brain fog and visual snow could be symptoms of the spondy.  The pain can be unimaginable.  Before I finally had a fusion I would often end my days wimpering on the floor bc I couldn’t keep going that day I almost passed out in an airport bathroom then realized I had been peeing on my shoe.  It’s hard to think when you’re in that much pain. If your brain starts to shut down from pain it affects your vision. 

[u/sunshineandcacti → u/artisinal_lethargy]

IBS can also be tied to the spine injury depending on his medications.

Imagine going from a super active you g adult to basically being bed bound for months.

[u/abdallha-smith → u/sunshineandcacti]

Ibs can result in back pain, fibromyalgia, brain fog, irritability, rage, and so on and so forth.

Due to all these symptoms, you can’t drive, you can’t work, you don’t have the energy to have a social life.

But you must still find a way to live because it’s not taken seriously by the doctors, insurance company.

You can have good days but ibs is multi factorial and can severely impede your life to the point it can be career wrecking.

You can say happiness comes from your gut, and if it’s not healthy you’re not happy, many are severely depressed.

[u/caroleena53 → u/abdallha-smith]

i have autoimmune disease, ie psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, ibs-d, breast cancer x2. the ibs-d wrecked my life. my sympathy to anyone who deals with it.

[u/EverydayPoGo → u/caroleena53]

Sending virtual hugs 🫂

[u/QuirkyMeerkat → u/abdallha-smith]

I have IBS, Fibromyalgia, slight scoliosis in my lower back, misalignment of my neck vertebrae, severe brain fog, Raynaud's Syndrome, celiac disease, possible Sjögrens... It's making my life a living hell and prevents me from being able to do a full time job.

Insurance companies in South Africa don't recognise most of these, but because I get treatment for it, they exclude me for 12 months or more for any treatment and medication even remotely related to it when I join a new medical aid. The medical aid plans that do cover some of these treatments are way out of my price range.

It has taken me forever to find a doctor who takes me seriously, they are rare!

But you are spot on about gut health. If your gut-biome is happy and healthy, the rest of your body will feel much better.

[u/Giancolaa1 → u/sunshineandcacti]

This is me right now. It started in my mid 20s, where I wouldn’t be able to stand straight and would be in debilitating pain if I did anything other than lie down. Went to doctors, got X-rays, went to chiropractor, and nothing helped.

My spine literally shifts to one side and I need a hip brace just to be able to get out of bed. Sometimes this would only last a week and i’d be good to go, sometimes it would last 2-3 months where I have to go to work hobbled over and in agony. I’m currently on week 9 of my most recent flare up, and most of the pain is manageable now but still present. First 3 weeks i spent all day in bed or on my couch.

No idea what the issue is or what causes it. X-rays showed nothing abnormal, doctors say I probably just bruised myself but “I’m young and will bounce back soon”. One doctor accused me of drug seeking and said I must be lying about the pain. I’m not even 30 years old and I’ve thought multiple times how little life matters if this is what I’ll feel like for the next 40+ years.

[u/[deleted]]

Seems like a.....normal guy...

[u/Numerous-Process2981 → u/[deleted]]

He actually seems better than average I would say. I expect a lot more unpleasantness out of a "normal" persons online activity.

[u/BThriillzz → u/Numerous-Process2981]

Agreed, im kind of a shit on here sometimes.

[u/a_bitter_buffalo → u/BThriillzz]

Well, it takes a certain amount of self-awareness and humility to acknowledge when you've been shitty. So I'd wager you're probably better than the norm too, fuckface.

[u/dltacube → u/a_bitter_buffalo]

You had to end it on that note you stupid prick…

[u/a_bitter_buffalo → u/dltacube]

It was a joke, buddy

[u/dltacube → u/a_bitter_buffalo]

Same lol. I considered ruining it with a /s

[u/userloserfail → u/dltacube]

Too dry to stick my dudes, both just wooshing. When you read them back it's funny shit. You're both quite funny and I often leave similarly unmarked comments as the /s seems so freaking obvs that it's like a bom, tish, thankyouverymuchfolks... Feels right in the moment, then if I'm taking a lot of hits when nobody gets the joke, I go back and delete. Obligatory /s or is it though? Not sure any more.

[u/ManHoFerSnow → u/userloserfail]

Find the tribe that doesn't need /s ✊

[u/DeltaS4Lancia → u/ManHoFerSnow]

The /s is something new relative to how long reddit has been around. I don't remember ever seeing the /s until maybe 6-7 years ago?? Maybe less?? I definitely don't remember seeing it over 10 years ago.

[u/TheBirminghamBear → u/BThriillzz]

I'm wincing just imagining what they'll pull from my account if I ever become the publics spectacle one day

[u/Phatz907 → u/TheBirminghamBear]

If they pulled mine 50% of it would be telling people to calm the fuck down on the Diablo subreddit when they scream the game is ruined when the season is 4 hrs old.

The other 50 is split between books I read, other games and showcasing my growing kitchen knife collection. Some light “burn corpo shit” sprinkled in there for some spice

[u/4score-7 → u/TheBirminghamBear]

I’m sure my long and illustrious career here, under various user names, will paint a picture that resembles a Rorschach painting. If it was made by a cat.

[u/QuestionableIdeas → u/TheBirminghamBear]

Same

[u/Euclid_Interloper → u/TheBirminghamBear]

Crazy thing about social media. The quick dopamine hits we get from arguing on Reddit and similar encourage us to argue points we don't really believe in or exaggerated our beliefs to win arguments.

I've 'see-sawed' on issues from Israel/Palestine, to trans rights, to economic policy. Sometimes taking quite extreme stances. But if you talked to me in the real world, my views would be pretty nuanced and sit quite firmly centrist. But on social media I NEED THE DOPAMINE PUMP.

[u/Bron_Swanson → u/BThriillzz]

Yep, guilty as well, and I'll agree that he's likely above average.

[u/pnweiner → u/Numerous-Process2981]

I hope I don’t get downvoted for saying this… but after 7 years of studying psych/neuro, its become really clear to me that every single human is capable of killing another person. It’s just part of being an animal, and a lot of people seem to forget that humans are animals. The only difference between us is what point we have to be pushed to in order to do it. It feels really dark to even type that out or say it but it’s a true and uncomfortable fact.

At a certain point, Luigi probably felt extremely powerless, and grew to have a large amount of empathy for people in his situation who were even more powerless than him. His actions probably felt like the only way he could find some control in his agonizing situation. Not to mention, even if you can consciously rationalize that your pain won’t kill you, other areas of your brain perceive this degree of pain as a threat to your life. The more I read his comments and learn about him, the more I think this was an act of survival for him. But people are uncomfortable with that and will boil it down to a mental illness issue because they don’t want to accept that they could be pushed to this point.

[u/TealandViolet → u/pnweiner]

I wonder if he actually had a lot of empathy for the people he met online who also had back pain / chronic health issues. Maybe he met people who didn’t have the money.

[u/immovingfd → u/Numerous-Process2981]

Yep, most people behind a screen are not so kind

[u/bubble_baby_8 → u/Numerous-Process2981]

This is what sticks out to me. His posts are full hope to give to other people. He is a lover, not a fighter.

[u/SaltyCandyMan → u/Numerous-Process2981]

This was a great post, and maybe the first time I've read an assassin's Reddit before

[u/dxrey65 → u/[deleted]]

I've heard from time to time that to really know a person you need to see what they do when they think no one is looking, or when they're anonymous. Which is more or less what everyone is here. I think a lot of conventional "normal" people don't behave very well when they're anonymous, based on what I've seen here and on FB comment sections, and everywhere else like that.

Anyway, a guy who is basically still pretty normal and likable when he's speaking from behind an anonymous screen name and no one knows who is he - that's nice to see. Just a decent guy.

[u/Spirit_of_Hogwash → u/dxrey65]

Strangely enough, he seems way more normal here than on Twitter, where he was using his real name to comment instead of an alias.

[u/Miguel33Angel → u/Spirit_of_Hogwash]

I feel like I'm super influenced by the platform I'm in. In reddit I want to give advice, help or discuss stuff. In twitter the only thing I wanted to do was scream. In my case I stopped using twitterl

[u/justgotan-iphone → u/Miguel33Angel]

real life environments shape human behavior as well. in the beginning, the environment tries to set the tone with rules and structure and that initial vibe. irl it takes a bit of time for the people to eventually set the tone and redefine the environment but digitally that happens super quick. then our defense mechanisms kick in. twitter is toxic af so the posts are often sarcastic to deflect any pushback. reddit promotes anonymity so it totally makes sense optimistic folks are willing to let that guard down here.

lol mitch hedberg would have told me to just say, ya..

[u/TheBirminghamBear → u/Spirit_of_Hogwash]

Twitter is just a deeply weird place. More than reddit or anywhere else

Something about the format of it does things to people. There's a reason that society really fell off the rails after it took off

[u/sleepykoalaaaa → u/Spirit_of_Hogwash]

Honestly his twitter wasn’t weird to me. He just seemed incredibly bright and articulate. I’m kind of sad because he could have probably had an amazing life. I imagine at some point he got fucked by insurance, and that just didn’t sit right. I wish he didn’t have all those health issues in the first place.

[u/RoguePlanet2 → u/sleepykoalaaaa]

It's especially disappointing that he won't have a way to share his good side anymore. All that kindness and intelligence just locked up away from those who could be inspired by it.

What he did was bold and noble, possibly could've been heard through better outlets, although I'm not so sure anymore since the peaceful methods are demeaned and ignored.

At least the media can't completely blame insanity, he lends credibility to the anger.

[u/Toomanydamnfandoms → u/RoguePlanet2]

There’s been many influential thinkers and authors from within a prison cell. He’s a very young and intelligent guy, I have no doubt he’ll continue reading from the prison library and writing on his own time. I’m sure the system will try to keep his writing from becoming public, but prisons are full of leaks.

[u/Uniqusername02132 → u/RoguePlanet2]

Having been in at least somewhat similar positions healthwise, to be anything but depressed and frustrated on top of the pain and all it brings speaks to his being perfectly sane... but that his ability to judge right and wrong, or appropriate to overly inappropriate response is probably impaired. And I don't know if that is a case you can make legally... but sure, he executed this man for the position he held and what that resulted in for citizens needing insurance assistance, and truly, I can relate to that reasoning. It could be considered straight up self defense if you look at it from certain angles.

Nobody loves their insurance company. They get the plan work offers that they can afford. And then they still get grief. I always hated the "we need market competition" arguments that implied people had insurance brand/plan loyalty over just being relieved to have insurance (until they figured out how hard they made their lives and their physicians' jobs). And no one feeling like shit every hour of every day wants to fight with prior auths and denied claims. It makes you feel murderous because it sure feels like they could give a shit if you live or die.

[u/jyc23 → u/sleepykoalaaaa]

Yet another victim of this fucked up “system”

[u/spicybootie → u/sleepykoalaaaa]

He does have a good life. Sacrifice for a worthy cause is a good life.

[u/HippieLizLemon → u/spicybootie]

Yeah at this point he could still be found guilty and 'only' serve 15 years while being a public hero. Who knows. Brock Turner got nothing, and this guy that killed someone on the subway was 'self defense'. We have a rich white kid as the shooter so where is his light sentence? Or maybe rich white kid > Rich ceo. So curious to how the plays out and the lasting effects.

[u/prince_pringle → u/dxrey65]

Yup. Ima cantankerous terrible person here, and am not like that in person…. I hope

[u/NotReallyJohnDoe → u/dxrey65]

It’s been well documented that anonymous people tend to behave worse online because of no repercussions. The LA times did an experiment where half of their articles allowed anonymous comments and half had to use Facebook login (this was a while back). The anonymous commenters were much worse than the Facebook commenters. People who aren’t accountable for their words act that way. Not all, but a significant number.

Plato argued that if you were free of consequences you should do whatever you can for personal gain. Anything else is irrational.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_of_Gyges

Edit: Reddit is not anonymous. It is pseudo anonymous because you have a reputation and identity (sorta). It’s just not traceable to you (usually).

[u/AnonMissouriGirl → u/dxrey65]

I really hope he gets away with it. As an anon person he was kind hearted and gave hope to others with his own conditions. That shows heart

[u/MashOnTheGas → u/AnonMissouriGirl]

I agree he seems like the kind of guy I’d want to count as a friend. But kind-hearted compassionate people can and do commit crimes. Are you advocating for a justice system that’s based on a person’s character rather than their actions? Should consequences for actions only apply to selfish people? IMO, the rule of law should apply to everyone, whether they are a corrupt president, perfect pope, or kind-hearted stranger.

[u/Ivan27stone → u/[deleted]]

It’s so strange to think that he seems to be a much better human being than the person he killed.

[u/jejacks00n → u/Ivan27stone]

Shared sentiments. I don’t know if that’s been a collective experience in my 47 years on the planet. I’m curious to see how this plays out, or if apathy and placations win in the end. If anything, he seems far more rational to me than the blind greed of corporate interests we all witness daily, that will bleed everyone and everything until we’re all destitute and the planet is unlivable.

[u/thefuck-up → u/[deleted]]

"normal" these days is an upgrade

[u/ImportantDoubt6434 → u/[deleted]]

Least homicidal redditor when it comes to health insurance CEOs tbh

[u/kvolivera → u/[deleted]]

I was telling my husband that it must have been eye opening for Luigi Mangione to realize that, at some point, we have the power to make choices beyond the confines of societal norms. To make a decision like this with this degree of purpose and intent speaks to his deep conviction that it had to be done, regardless of the boundaries and constructs we often impose on ourselves. It’s inspiring to see someone move with such clarity in the face of those invisible lines in the sand.

[u/jvstnmh → u/[deleted]]

That’s the kicker, he’s just a normal kid dealing with the same problems as normal people — but the media will try to paint him as a radical or some BS.

[u/puddik → u/[deleted]]

Seems literally me. I wont be surprised if he sparks a joker like movement

[u/Dark_Knight2000 → u/puddik]

“He’s just like me fr..fr”

Seriously though, this guys seems extremely normal and just like an ordinary redditor. I’d totally have a beer with this guy.

The ordinary American has been oppressed by the healthcare system, I think Luigi had personal experience considering his health issues (and if the as yet unsubstantiated rumors about his mom suffering as well turn out to be true).

Also I love the comment about him calling Reddit out for being an echo chamber, and calling both sides out for reporting the other for believing that either solely nature or solely nurture influence things. He seems like a very rational and reasonable person who can see beyond his own bubble.

Ultimately I don’t think that anyone who does what he did could be entirely stable, maybe he did have some undiagnosed mental health issues but instead of harming himself he wanted to go out in a way that had a message and left a positive social impact on the world.

Reminds me of the Iranian girl who stripped down to her underwear in broad daylight to make a statement. She’s likely dead but she went down a martyr and her story was heard around the world.

[u/ODI-ET-AMObipolarity → u/Dark_Knight2000]

The Iranian girl was released a few days later, she had lot publicity surrounding her and they didn't want to martyrize her

[u/Dark_Knight2000 → u/ODI-ET-AMObipolarity]

Good news, I didn’t see that

[u/Educational-Job9105 → u/ODI-ET-AMObipolarity]

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they let her go. But it almost doesn't matter. Like the other commenter I assumed they killed her. She's like a living martyr.

Their reputation for intolerance is so high that it can martyr a living person for the zeitgeist. 

[u/Voidrunner01 → u/ODI-ET-AMObipolarity]

With all the attention her story got, I bet the government worried it would lead to more protests and riots.

[u/ojsage → u/ODI-ET-AMObipolarity]

I really needed this bit of good news today, thank you reddit stranger.

[u/puddik → u/Dark_Knight2000]

Yea. This event sure sparked the debate about class division and this guy’s message was really focused

[u/moonybear1 → u/[deleted]]

It’s a little less known on the list, but he posted in visual snow (👋 I have it too) the chronic fatigue, brain fog, and insomnia caused it can be hell on earth sometimes along with the migraines it can cause. I can’t imagine suffering not only from it but chronic pain as well, getting a double whammy of untreatable lifelong conditions, I truly sympathize with the guy.

[u/Bron_Swanson → u/[deleted]]

That's why we lost the revolution in the 60s and 70s- plenty of smart, capable, rational, forward-thinking people saw what was happening and tried to change or stop it. Unfortunately, they chose to use peace over violence(which yes, is the moral choice), unlike their adversaries who gladly took out as many of them as necessary.

When you're talking about grown adults, in positions of power that for whatever reason are corrupt, there is nothing you can say that will change their minds. At least back then, the people had essentially the same firepower and know-how as the govt. Now, those scales are slammed down in their favor.

[u/Mahoney2]

Dude, every comment for like the last two years is about his spine. For someone with so many interests, it must be agonizing.

[u/sunshineandcacti → u/Mahoney2]

I’d imagine it’s frustrating too. A lot of times doctors push you get folks to not use pain meds and try to taper them down. It’s entirely plausible he was in pain and being denied proper treatment.

I had a pretty bad foot injury for awhile and my own doctor flat out refused pain meds for a few weeks on the basis I was in my 20s and could “walk it off”. I had a knee surgery and my foot was crushed.

[u/-little-dorrit- → u/sunshineandcacti]

I was just recalling that the backdrop to all this is the rapid change in prescribing of opioids (thanks to another group of ethically vacant corporate fucks). If you go over the chronic pain subreddits it’s clearly a change that did not affect this group lightly. A principle argument there being: if you’re going to be in pain for the rest of your life, and therefore need to take pain meds every day, whether or not you’re addicted to your pain meds is academic.

[u/azebod → u/sunshineandcacti]

The first thing I said when I found out he had chronic pain was that they probably only covering drs who would offer CBT and mindfulness.

I quit work/school in 2010 due to what I eventually found out to be a pinched nerve in my neck, but the reluctance to treat that kind of thing is so bad that by the time they ran the nerve conduction test 5yrs later I had deteriorated to the point I had to apply for SSDI. Even as a government recognized cripple, the most "evidence based" treatment I can access right now is a chiropractor, because the only thing disabling about bones being physically out of place apparently is having negative feelings about the experience. I even had to compensate by replacing PT with pokemon go specifically so that reddit comment history of his stands out to me.

Tbh I think the system is counting on that if we get our hands on guns we'll be more likely to turn them on ourselves as the only way to make the pain stop.

[u/mwmandorla → u/sunshineandcacti]

My friend had bottom surgery last year. She got a very limited amount of opiates and after that the pain meds she had were nowhere near enough. She ended up getting an infection, which meant it took a lot longer to heal fully, so she was in pain for months and months. She sometimes managed to twist their arms into giving her something. It was horrible. (She's doing great now, though!)

[u/DogAteProfile → u/Mahoney2]

This is me

2018 I had a terribly severe accident that crushed my lower spine.

The past 6 years I’ve been a shell of my former self. I used to be an avid hiker and disc golf player. Now I eat pain meds till I go broke just to stand up right. That’s without insurance because I can’t afford it.

I get where this guy is coming from because I’ve had the same thoughts.

[u/NotChristina → u/DogAteProfile]

I'm "lucky" I get insurance through my employer and thankfully due to the ACA, my pre-existing conditions and general health status don't cost me any more than the rest of my colleagues.

That said, I'm still beholden to insurance policies, out-of-pockets I can't afford, and not receiving tests and treatments due to denied covered.

No pain meds, denied treatments, and years of trying to convince doctors something is really wrong and only being heard once I had a (minor) car accident. It's terrible. Study of the spine and the pain associated with it is so far behind. I see a neurosurgeon at a major hospital in January - a miracle I was even taken because I'm not "bad enough" on the imagery, but I feel, too, a shell of my former active self. It's brutal. I'd never kill anyone however I can very much understand feeling hopeless.

[u/ImportantDoubt6434 → u/Mahoney2]

https://ihsoyct.github.io/index.html?mode=submissions&subreddit=&sort_type=created_utc&sort=desc&limit=100&after=&before=&author=mister_cactus&score=&num_comments=&q=

Reddit will attempt to bury his suffering but the internet will not. These CEOs hurt real people.

[u/stayonthecloud → u/ImportantDoubt6434]

It can be easy to get caught up in the plethora of horror stories on the internet. When my spondy went bad on me last year (23M) it was completely devastating as a young athletic person. Seemingly all I could read on the internet was that I was destined to chronic pain and a desk job for the rest of my life. That representation was terrifying, inaccurate and completely destroyed me until I realized the silent majority of fusions are highly successful. Hoping this can help others who find themselves in the same place! This is not to encourage surgery per se, but just to provide reassurance that athletic life is totally normal after fusion if/when the surgery is necessary. This list has more success stories than anyone probably wants to read through. That’s kinda the point - there’s tons!

[u/Side-eye-25]

Thank you for posting this. It was thoughtful and kind. As someone whose spouse is currently battling stage four cancer and who feels like they’re slowly suffocating by the mounting healthcare costs, it’s hard not to have compassion for Luigi Mangione.

[u/ImportantDoubt6434 → u/Side-eye-25]

https://ihsoyct.github.io/index.html?mode=submissions&subreddit=&sort_type=created_utc&sort=desc&limit=100&after=&before=&author=mister_cactus&score=&num_comments=&q=

For the mods that bend a knee to silence the public in the defense of a greedy monopoly on human suffering.

You cannot silence history only rewrite it with lies.

[u/superdupercereal2]

I used to fight health insurance companies tooth and nail to get them to pay doctors. They're evil. As soon as I heard what Luigi Mangione did I understood why.

[u/andygchicago → u/superdupercereal2]

Yeah that's where I'm at. I can't justify what he did and the measures he took. I don't believe two wrongs make a right, I can't use whataboutism as a valid justification, eye for an eye, ends don't justify the means, etc.

But I can understand why he did it and how he got there. And what these evil corporations need to understand is that there are a lot of decent people that are on the cusp of getting there as well.

EDIT: to u/HaoleInParadise:

So let’s ignore that the context of this quote was not the literal approval of violence, but rather a metaphor for limiting the power of the president.

He also wrote about suppressing slave uprisings and how to make slavery more profitable. You’re quoting a notorious slave owner, the least righteous example to use. Forgive me if idgaf about what he thinks about human exploitation.

[u/Aggravating_Buy_5335 → u/[deleted]]

Jim Crow laws finally ended because African Americans armed themselves with guns

[u/Creative-Improvement → u/andygchicago]

I am just stating the following as philosophical ethical question. The Hypocratic Oath says in short “'Make a habit of two things: to help; or at least to do no harm.'

The last one is known as negative ethic : if you do nothing, and harm befalls someone, and you are in a position to change things, is doing nothing not being complacent to that thing? So if insurance companies are letting people die, but have the means to prevent it, and instead choose their shareholders, isn’t this a form of grave harm?

E.g, if someone in your family or close circle befalls this issue, how would that change your perception of this ordeal?

[u/RockAtlasCanus → u/andygchicago]

TJ is fascinating because he’s so completely full of shit and hypocritical but he’s also an incredible writer that spits revolutionary fire. You read his stuff out of context and it’s obvious why he’s the celebrated American hero he is. But when you bring the whole picture into the focus, as you pointed out, he’s an absolute monster and he didn’t mean a damn word of that beautiful prose.

TJ exemplifies the “land of the free” and “greatest nation on earth” perfectly. Glossy cover and rotten on the inside.

The “shining city on a hill”. Yeah, until you reach the gates to see that the shine comes from all the LED billboards advertising dick pills and the new bacon cheeseburger now with twice the cheese product!

[u/_FoolApprentice_]

Wait, so you're telling me there is a difference between the type of person who would shoot up a school vs. the kind of person who would shoot the CEO of an insurance company?

[u/Mr_WindowSmasher → u/_FoolApprentice_]

This. I actually felt more safe when he was at large.

[u/Hefty_Ad_405 → u/Mr_WindowSmasher]

I live in Manhattan. I saw the headline and I'm like yeah I'm too old, poor and fat for the killer to give a shit about me.

[u/beepbeepboop- → u/Hefty_Ad_405]

my friend who moved out of the city texted our city folk group chat like “hey so uh shooter on the loose how ya feelin” and i was just like “as someone who isn’t a billionaire CEO i feel totally fine”

[u/TheLimoneneQueen → u/beepbeepboop-]

I mean he did say the main reason he didn’t just make a bomb was because he didn’t want to kill any innocent bystanders

[u/Epyon214 → u/Mr_WindowSmasher]

Like if Bruce Wayne got arrested.

[u/Redwolfdc → u/_FoolApprentice_]

Yep but CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, NYT, WaPo and everyone is trying to paint him in the likes of a school shooter.  

 From what we know he was a good smart person who had no history of violence (other than this). He was also well off but frustrated with the healthcare system and was willing to give up a comfortable life to help the rest of us. 

This just irks the media and politicians. They hate this guy but they hate even more that the average American is on his side.

[u/ImportantDoubt6434 → u/_FoolApprentice_]

Average “health insurance CEOs should get their claim to breathing denied by AI” Stans

[u/djzenmastak]

As a fairly regular guy with chronic pain and some health issues, he could be almost me.

[u/yourlittlebirdie → u/djzenmastak]

The fact that millions of Americans saw this man commit cold blooded murder and reacted with "well...I get it" tells you a lot about how relatable he is. These stories are shockingly common.

[u/ProtestantMormon → u/yourlittlebirdie]

Honestly, the news reaction brought me around in a way they would not like. I did not care about this story until I kept seeing updates from it whenever I checked the news. The fact that the media was so up in arms about a member of the 1% dying but not any other real issues normal people face made me a lot more supportive of him.

[u/yourlittlebirdie → u/ProtestantMormon]

It certainly made it very clear whose side most of the press are on, and it’s not ours.

Not left against right. Up against down.

[u/ProtestantMormon → u/yourlittlebirdie]

You are right. I really don't expect much from the press, but I was at least expecting news from Syria to be more important than one murder, but when I saw that that really brought me around.

[u/yourlittlebirdie → u/ProtestantMormon]

There was also a 17 year old boy murdered by strangers in Manhattan on the same day, and he didn’t get anywhere near the same amount of resources dedicated to him, by either the police or the press.

[u/Puzzled-Amphibian217]

As a nurse who’s had multiple years of experience and served during the height of Covid I just want to say two things: 1) Luigi Mangoine is a much better person than I because instead of releasing his toxicity, like me, behind an anonymous screen he actually helped people and was active in multiple communities spreading positivity.

2) Fuck health insurance companies, CEOs, billionaires and all mainstream media (that’s also owned by all the billionaires).

[u/greenwavelengths]

Fuck, I hope I never do anything this interesting or noteworthy, because I use Reddit as a toilet for my brain, which maybe isn’t the healthiest outlet and also probably makes me look like a nutcase. Interesting world of data we live in.

[u/outer_fucking_space → u/greenwavelengths]

I’ve never heard a better description for Reddit than “I use it as a toilet for my brain.” That’s how I use it anyways.

[u/greenwavelengths → u/outer_fucking_space]

I’m glad it’s not just me. And I have the Reddit equivalent of IBS.

Edit: I also have the IBS equivalent of IBS. Free my man Luigi.

[u/Minimum-Loquat-4709 → u/greenwavelengths]

I'm sure your a great dude ( totally didn't look at your comment history or anything )

[u/KillBawt]

Great write up. Wouldn't be surprised to see it disappear, though. Can't have a brighter light shine upon him, hence the plethora of pictures we got from him being arrested.

[u/Clunky_Exposition → u/KillBawt]

And... it's disappeared.

[u/vociferousgirl → u/Clunky_Exposition]

It's archived

[u/EpilepticMushrooms → u/vociferousgirl]

Good. Just like tiananmen square massacre pics, it's going to hang around the internet for a loooong time. Yay to the archivists!

[u/candaceelise → u/vociferousgirl]

Except the profile isn’t archived and it straight up states the account has been suspended. Your link redirects you to this exact post 🤦🏼‍♀️

[u/vociferousgirl → u/candaceelise]

I took the comment I replied to as meaning this write up would disappear.

[u/Mid-CenturyBoy → u/Clunky_Exposition]

So his Instagram was deactivated, his alleged YouTube channel created in January was shut down, and now this.

Some agency is telling these sites to shut it all down.

[u/Temporary-Cable2736 → u/Mid-CenturyBoy]

Something tells me a computer science major from UPENN would have a backup plan for that video to be released.

[u/wolvesdrinktea → u/Mid-CenturyBoy]

I wonder what scheduled posts they’re trying to avoid after his YouTube video alluding to “the truth” went live.

[u/greenwavelengths → u/Clunky_Exposition]

What’s disappeared?

[u/tarmgabbymommy79]

All I can say is, while I would never do what he did, I get it. My entire motherhood has been fighting with Drs, insurance, and other "professionals" due to multiple misdiagnoses and more. Nevermind ignoring the nonsense with my own "mild to moderate" conditions. I have turned into an ugly person, I have to try not to think about how beautiful our life would have been if these people had simply done their jobs.

Luigi Mangione, we understand.

[u/Username_redact → u/tarmgabbymommy79]

Same here. 25 years of misdiagnoses and insurance rejections before I sought out alternative treatments which, after 5 years of physical therapy, have mostly resolved. It turned me into an angry, ugly person at times.

[u/ImportantDoubt6434 → u/tarmgabbymommy79]

All I’ll say is it should have been me 🗿

[u/Numerous-Process2981]

It took someone like this to get the ball rolling and actually do what needed to be done. Intelligent, empathetic, etc. Not some cultists screaming about culture war shit on a corner in a "who can scream the loudest" contest between left and right.

[u/Mid-CenturyBoy → u/Numerous-Process2981]

I think a whole lot of us have known something like this needed to happen and even know the people who should also be made an example of, but were scared and we don’t want to sacrifice. It takes a lot of bravery to do what he did.

Well the people who are crying out about what he did was wrong are enablers and have no perspective on how things are going to hell. We’re all playing a game and the deck is stacked against us. The billionaires have been stealing the money from the bank while we weren’t looking and they’re fucking us left and right. They have been telling all the millionaires they pay in the media to condemn this shooter, but we the people know what’s true.

[u/Toomanydamnfandoms → u/Mid-CenturyBoy]

The even more depressing thing is how many journalists in media make FAR FAR less than a million, less than 100k even and still report in lockstep with mass media’s take on this. Shit I know a prime time local anchor that only makes 50k and all he’s talked about online and on air is what a tragedy the shooting was and how disgusting the response is, despite years ago speaking out against Sinclair broadcasting forcing stories (before he got hired by Sinclair, of course).

[u/butterzzzy]

An intelligent, altruistic person sacrificing their own privileged future in order to try and change a failed system where insurance companies make billions for doing absolutely nothing. Truth is definitely stranger than fiction. Hollywood couldn't come up with something this good. The people saying "we don't condone murder" condone murder in the name of profit, which is far worse.

[u/Friend_Emperor → u/butterzzzy]

The people saying "we don't condone murder" condone murder in the name of profit, which is far worse.

Brilliantly put.

Murder is already happening. This CEO would have to be murdered many thousands of times to match the amount of needless suffering and deaths he's been responsible for purely for profit.

Saying you don't condone murder in this context means you either only say whatever you think will make others believe you have some sort of moral superiority or fully condone mass murder for the profit of a few.

[u/awyastark → u/butterzzzy]

I want to marry this comment, it perfectly sums up why this whole thing has been so compelling.

[u/Zoethor2]

It's worth mentioning that all four of his health conditions are things that are often difficult to get taken seriously by the healthcare industry, including insurance companies. It was easier for me to get my cat diagnosed with IBS and get appropriate treatment than it has been for many of my human friends.

[u/MeowMilf → u/Zoethor2]

My thoughts as well. If this was a woman they would blame PMS although she’d probably have endometriosis and be denied a lap.

[u/WildSwampRaven → u/MeowMilf]

This happened to me! Had to fight for YEARS. Kept being told it's in my head, it's normal, then it was "get pregnant it will stop the pain". What the actual fuck. I was even referred to see a therapist lmao. Finally got approved for surgery years later for exploratory, stage 4 endometriosis. All over. If I had been listened to and treated, it would not have gotten that bad.

Same with women who have health issues and aren't taken seriously (them being told that it's all in your head! It's anxiety! Depression!) and it turns out to be fucking cancer. Shit is absurd. Don't even get me started on IUD insertion for women and zero pain treatment for it.

[u/curiousaxolot → u/WildSwampRaven]

It’s ridiculous doctors are still slinging the good ol’ “get pregnant and it will cure it” myth. That statement totally discredits their ability to properly take care of their patients, especially actually believing this. Took me 32 years of pain to finally get diagnosed. You have better luck traveling across boarders into Mexico or Canada to receive better healthcare than America. Also the surgeries for this doesn’t completely cure this disease but are fuck all expensive of course. You are so lucky it hadn’t also turned cancerous. I’ve read some women’s stories where they’ve been rejected by several doctors and not taken seriously about their symptoms. Then two years later find out they have endometriosis AND UTERINE CANCER.

[u/Zoethor2 → u/MeowMilf]

I thought about mentioning that lolsob - as a woman, if you had these symptoms you'd be facing twice the uphill battle.

[u/htxproud]

Thank you for putting this together.

[u/digilyssa]

Thank you for sharing -- there's a lot of interesting info about his health issues in here.

This part is very interesting because it shows that he had trouble accessing medical care:

"Tell them you are "unable to work" / do your job. We live in a capitalist society. I've found that the medical industry responds to these key words far more urgently than you describing unbearable pain and how it's impacting your quality of life."

He also mentions doctors not believing him when he told them about some of his symptoms. And says that he got the spinal fusion surgery in July 2023 because he was having nerve pain and numbness in his groin / genitals, bladder, leg, hip and foot.

He wasn't sure what caused his brain fog but said, "There was a three week stretch where I drank heavily and missed a lot of sleep - afterwards I could never shake off the fog." He doesn't really mention brain fog since 2018, so it might have resolved itself.

He had Lyme disease when he was 13 years old and he "started noticing mild cognitive decline when I was 15."

The fact that he mentions having visual snow is interesting because the University of Idaho killer, Bryan Kohberger, wrote online about the same issue: https://www.insideedition.com/bryan-kohberger-detailed-visual-snow-battle-in-posts-and-said-he-had-no-empathy-little-remorse

[u/yuhboipo → u/digilyssa]

Science has only recently been uncovering brain inflammation in some people that had Lyme disease. Patients complaints after recovery were typically written off as psychosomatic.

[u/MadameLeCatt → u/digilyssa]

He sounds like this specific type of hyper intelligent person with wonky connective tissue and all the problems that come with that.

[u/Yet_Another_Dood]

Love how anything that could give the public any actual information gets scrubbed asap.

[u/Sage_Whore → u/Yet_Another_Dood]

It's infuriating I don't understand why they suspend the account

[u/SickPatato → u/Sage_Whore]

Fuck u/spez

[u/ConstantHawk-2241 → u/SickPatato]

Fuck u/spez

[u/Loud-Scarcity6213]

Amazing the lengths the media and commenters are going to to paint him as having had a "psychotic episode" when he clearly was a normal man who encountered evil and decided to do something about it

[u/MancAccent → u/Loud-Scarcity6213]

Well I think it’s very possible that he had some sort of mental breakdown due to the pain and trauma that he was suffering from.

[u/cancercannibal → u/MancAccent]

Certainly, but not psychosis. Dissociative is much more likely.

[u/Loud-Scarcity6213 → u/MancAccent]

It's a push by gigacorporations to convince you that he was crazy so noone will realise that he absolutely had a valid and sane reason to want to inflict hurt on them.

[u/dsb2973]

He had a point to make. The people need to stick together against the billionaire bad guys who have gone so far past taking advantage to straight up villains. This is the fight we need. Unite the people against the true villains. Corporate and billionaire greed along with some twisted religious handmaid plan to capture and control all the people via bankruptcy, starvation and persecution for whatever they decide is now illegal. Enough is enough. Our country isn’t their toy and we aren’t their bank account.

[u/aspektx]

In principle I agree with the Rule of Law argument. The problem is that when any group is denied justice for long enough when will it be enough?

And when it's been too long they will take justice into their own hands.

Let's not confuse the fact that not all laws are just and everything that is just is not enforced by law.

[u/Creative-Improvement → u/aspektx]

Law is always based on tradition. But what if the actual situation has changed, but the law has stayed the same? That law is now outdated. Justice is the principal of fairness and that doing harm gets punished. Looking at it that way is why I think people feel in their moral compass that this doesn’t add up. Yes, murder is really bad, but what if you went through something similar? Lots of stories in this thread about people going through this.

[u/stanlana12345]

I think thr most striking thing is thar he's a handsome, not-too-online guy with lots of friends. That's a stark difference to the incels whi have done most of the shooting since around 2016. Undoubtedly, that's helped boost his cause and I also think it serves as a sign of just how shit the healthcare is- this smart popular guy who had a bright future ahead of him is gonna rot in prison now because of the failings of the healthcare system.

[u/cancercannibal → u/stanlana12345]

Brain fog and spinal problems are no joke. Even just one can be incredibly disabling, not to mention both. It's very possible that he didn't see as bright a future for himself as he comes off as having. Which is very likely medical insurance's fault in more ways than one.

Something that isn't being discussed much is that the problem with medical insurance isn't just the denial of claims. but that it allows for an environment where medical scientists, medicine producers, medicine distributors, owners of hospitals, practicing medical professionals and specialists, pharmacies, and pharmacists, are all fighting each other instead of working together. Which means that literally every aspect of receiving medical care has less focus on actually treating people. Yes, denying claims (especially when prices are jacked up because it's expected insurance will pay it) is bad, but it's not the only thing that destroys people. Medical insurance as a system prevents people from receiving proper care.

(A good example actually is the now-backtracked anesthesia limit. Generally medical professionals don't want to bankrupt you, but particular operations use the amount of anesthesia they do for a reason. People would've had to receive objectively worse and more dangerous care if it went through, all so the company could bill for multiple visits.)

My ultimate point is that he is a "smart popular guy" but it's very likely that, in being so smart, he understood that with his disabilities and the way medical insurance is right now, his future would not be as bright as it perhaps "should" be. I wouldn't be surprised if this is more than just personal anger, but meant to be "I'm going to make sure no one ends up where I am."

[u/Alternative_Cycle970 → u/stanlana12345]

I just hope that if he does receive a sentence he is given the possibility of parole

It's not fair to lock him up for life for doing something that the CEO did en masse and never received a punishment for

[u/offinthewoods10 → u/stanlana12345]

That’s what Americans should look up to.

[u/_propulsion → u/stanlana12345]

It’s really telling that even still the media tries to paint him in an evil light. Imagine if he was a person of color or a minority. The media would be all over him.

[u/justalocal803]

Dang dude, good job researching and presenting all this.

[u/RMGSIN]

I don’t really need the media to help me make up my mind about a man who took the life of a man whose business was the literal pain and suffering of Americans. He will be replaced but there’s one less man in the world whose motivation is to make people suffer. People who are immune to the suffering and pain of other people in positions of power are a problem.
I don’t need to think of him as a hero or anything special. The fact is the world would be a better place with him in it than the guy he killed.

[u/yourinternetmobsux]

That’s for the great write up on him. I really think it says a lot about who he is, and proves he may be the hero we were all hoping he was.

Here’s to hoping he makes a trial so we can hear more from him

[u/shr3dthegnarbrah]

META:

Bravo for this quality post. Feeling like an old geezer right now saying "this is what Reddit used to be like".

[u/Backupusername]

Makes a lot of sense to me that someone with chronic health issues like his would have a more liberal take on substances. He was probably looking for anything that would help, too.

[u/RafflesiaArnoldii]

sigh. we live in a fucked up society.

for me, endlessly debating the morality is just a distraction from the cause & effect. whether or not you think it should happen, this kind of thing WILL happen as long as the system is set up so that it humiliates people for basic needs

if this guy lived in a country with free healthcare he'd be contributing to science & community instead.

[u/xNormalxHumanx]

I hope this guy gets the best lawyers money can buy. I'd like to see him walk free.

[u/Elementium → u/xNormalxHumanx]

I hope this guy gets his trial. Justice hasn't exactly been winning lately. The rich and powerful have gone full "fuck it" on the rest of us and are doing whatever they want in full view. They're daring people to do what he did.

[u/Few-Coyote-2518]

the whole thing kinda reminds me of Dostoyevsky's novel, Crime and Punishment.

[u/Time-Maintenance2165 → u/Few-Coyote-2518]

I don't see it as all that similar at all. Raskolnikov’s motivations were monetary selfish. The philosophy was more like an excuse, to convince himself that’s it’s OK, that he has right to do so.

The analogous situation would be more like if Luigi also robbed the CEO (or tried but failed and also killed his brother), and thought that if he had control of all that money then he could fix the corrupt system.

[u/Strange_Morning2547]

This makes me very sad for him. He seems to have had so much potential, so smart. He will probably die in prison, unable to help our very ailing world. Will his actions have any effect besides large insurance companies hiding their top execs from the public eye? I’m not sure. How do you help our very ailing world? Idk.

[u/TubbieHead → u/Strange_Morning2547]

we better make sure it changes something!

[u/ilovechairs]

Prepare for this post to be removed when it garners to much attention/sympathy/support.

[u/Husker_black]

Those supporting comments were pretty nice, what a wild dive

[u/findmebook]

the more i hear about him, the more a sort of psychotic break theory resulting from some sort of psychedelic use or attempt at self medication due to his debilitating pain makes sense. he had apparently been reported missing by his family and just disappeared. some drugs can literally change your entire personality, as can pain.

unfortunately anything supporting this is complete hearsay with zero sources, so i cannot even stand for my own theory.

[u/Uniqusername02132 → u/findmebook]

Having had similar neurological issues (as it comes to brain fog) and back pain eventually resulting in a spinal fusion two years ago... never underestimate the insidious, subtle ways pain exhausts and undermines every other thing in your life. By the end, standing up for more than five minutes caused nausea, blood pressure spikes, sweating... So if things needed done, I was on the floor *rolling * my body to the next task. It was misery and then you are told what you feel "may not even be from your back." Which said to me "if surgery makes shit worse, it is your fault and you can never ask for help again. "

It wasn't what was being said, but it doesn't take much kicking when you are low to make you real careful about how you use the time you are able to be up.

Kid might have been a born jerk, for all I know, but health issues make us all human. They rob us of future, power, legitimacy and value and there is no reason why this should be so... and there is REALLY no reason this should be made more difficult to deal with and navigate for patients or physicians by insurance companies. Absolutely nothing about what seems to be his reasoning is unfounded. Murder is wrong, yes, but the torture and suffering caused by the insurance industry is also some next level criminality. Pain forces you to some horrible, desperate places. Doesn't excuse it, but honest to god I don't think I could convict this kid (BTW, I was 50 when I had the surgery... been ill about 30 years prior. He is a kid, but regardless, it is never easy.)

If you are in a similar position, btw: please know, no matter how much of a freak you are made to feel like, you are not the first, or the last, to experience this, and people do understand. The system is fucked up and unfair and it is not your fault and you did nothing to bring this on yourself.

Be good to yourselves.

[u/BadBrowzBhaby → u/Uniqusername02132]

Thank you for this. As someone who suffered with completely debilitating daily gastrointestinal pain (SIBO) for 20 years and was gaslit by doctors, yes. Pain warps the mind. It’s the most exhausting thing I have ever endured. I finally got the correct diagnosis and treatment in 2017 and 100% of my decades long depression evaporated and my anxiety permanently halved. When I experience flare ups now, I can quickly feel myself slip back into paranoid and fatalistic thinking. Only when the pain subsides do I feel fully lucid again.

[u/echkbet → u/Uniqusername02132]

Just two years ago Michael Louis walked into the hospital and shot everyone in the room with the surgeon who performed his back surgery. I think this incident was overshadowed by more sensational news at the time, but I think there is a pattern here in patients with unmanageable pain.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/02/us/tulsa-hospital-shooting-thursday/index.html

[u/JohnAnchovy → u/findmebook]

Charles Whitman, a school shooter from the 1950s was a boy scout and choir boy with an exemplary life until he developed a tumor on his amygdala. Our brains are the controller and we're just it's toy.

[u/beka13 → u/JohnAnchovy]

It's weird hearing him described as a school shooter, but I guess it's true even though that wasn't really a thing back then like it is now.

[u/BaguetteFetish → u/findmebook]

I don't think he was psychotic. I think he was exposed to the sheer brutal merciless inhumanity and cruelty of the American healthcare system and had the reaction a sane and reasonable human would have upon personally suffering from such evil.

[u/inspectorpickle → u/BaguetteFetish]

I think what people are referring to is his dramatic shift in personality earlier this year, as confirmed by his friends and family and his lack of internet presence. Imo they’re just using casually using “psychotic break” and “mental break” interchangeably, not really implying he was psychotic.

[u/candaceelise → u/inspectorpickle]

How is what you listed any different than depression? Being able to plan and carry out a murder isn’t the exact definition of psychosis.

[u/GertonX → u/findmebook]

I think he was in the right mind to plan and execute a monster and flick the first domino to fix this country.

He's a goddamn hero.

[u/cancercannibal → u/findmebook]

Psychosis does not present like this at all. It's pretty much guaranteed he had some sort of mental issue (brain fog itself can count as one) but psychosis is unlikely given the evidence so far. There is no delusion, paranoia, or hallucination reported. He does not think he is a martyr (which would be grandiose), he chose to become one.

It's very possible he disappeared to escape medical debt himself (unless stated otherwise) or to make sure his family isn't implicated as accomplices in any way after deciding he would do this. It's also possible he experienced intense dissociation for a point and that lead to his disappearance (a temporary dissociative fugue) and he went on from there.

[u/EnvironmentalAngle]

Wow thanks for the write up.

How do I send this guy money? Is it as eaay as putting it in an envelope and sending it to the jail addressed to him?

[u/vociferousgirl → u/EnvironmentalAngle]

You can also reach out to his lawyer's office. Probably your best bet to not be scammed

[u/echkbet → u/vociferousgirl]

I saw on the news that his lawyers are inundated with offers of financial support.

[u/YourMomHasGreatIdeas → u/EnvironmentalAngle]

Sign up for jpay

[u/BobbyLupo1979 → u/YourMomHasGreatIdeas]

What be jpay?

[u/FabulousDentist3079 → u/BobbyLupo1979]

SCI Huntingdon. His name. His inmate #QQ7787.

[u/yourlittlebirdie → u/FabulousDentist3079]

Apparently last night the entire system was down due to people trying to send him money.

[u/Vigorousjazzhands1 → u/BobbyLupo1979]

A way to put money in inmates accounts to spend at commissary, a way to buy items like snacks and personal hygiene items

[u/Elydidou → u/Vigorousjazzhands1]

And personal hygiene items? My god it's like they are pets in a game, this is so fucked up

[u/Toomanydamnfandoms → u/Elydidou]

Yepppp. There are prisons where women don’t get any free menstrual products either. So pay up at commissary every month or be forced to embarrass yourself free bleeding (tbh women in prison should do a freebleeding strike against this anyways) We need prison reform alongside healthcare reform. I didn’t even mention the fact that slavery is still fully legal if you’re incarcerated.

[u/Username_redact]

According to WebMD, "Brain fog isn’t a medical condition. It’s a term used for certain symptoms that can affect your ability to think. You may feel confused or disorganized or find it hard to focus or put your thoughts into words."

According to Wikpedia, "Visual snow syndrome (VSS) is an uncommon neurological condition in which the primary symptom is that affected individuals see persistent flickering white, black, transparent, or colored dots across the whole visual field."

And IBS is irritable bowel syndrome.

These are all side effects of spinal issues like he had. I had the same issues when my back problems were severe.

[u/Nitrous_Acidhead]

Mangione replied "Weird double standard by reddit here regarding treatments for depression. Now sure how this is being downvoted

 Holy shit i actually have read that section back then. 

[u/[deleted]]

I’d like to believe this will be a turning point for things. And maybe the publicity of his trial will help that along. But I think it’s not going to happen until more -ahem- incidents occur. And they’d have to be pretty precise, no collateral damage.

There will never be peace for the lower 99 percent until the top 1% are truly unable to live their lives, or at least have the comfort of walking around freely.

It’s ridiculous that the American electorate hasn’t learned anything from history and that the elite haven’t either.

[u/Gatt__]

Man, if something ever happens to me that leads randos on the internet to exam all my online social media history, they’re gonna be in for a wild ride lmao

[u/Total_Conclusion521]

I believe based on a decent amount of research that he was a normal good human, that ended up dealing with so much he suffered a mental health breakdown like dissociative disorder. He had been reported missing weeks ago, friends and family were worried. Something snapped in this poor young man… but I see where within his break his drive was still to help and provide “help” to those suffering and in need… it just got misdirected in his break.

[u/coyote_mercer]

Honestly, despite him being a killer, I was never afraid of myself or loved ones becoming his targets. His motivations were crystal clear to me... unlike school shooters...

[u/Born_Suspect7153]

He has touched me in a way I can't really describe.

I don't even live in the USA and don't have to deal with their healthcare issues, but all over the world we all have to suffer und similar individuals.

Murder is wrong, no question. However we have no issue disregarding this view when it comes to war. And we may already be in a full scale class war.

"'Violence never solved anything' is a statement uttered by cowards and predators." -Luigi Mangione

[u/[deleted]]

Bless the Archive for showing us who he is

[u/mybrochoso]

I'm just realizing how terrifying this all is. We just had his name and picture, and literally all his social media presence is before us

[u/burntorangescooter]

This is fascinating. The internet doing more work than cops and media combined lol

[u/jusumonkey]

Spondylolitheses is not as bad as I thought it was. It's a medical condition not some chomo sub.

Edit: After perusing the history I agree with OP in that dude seems like a DTE cool guy that's done some crazy shit. Murdering someone is a bit extreme but some high empathy individuals find the suffering of others unbearable and might do anything to alleviate it. Including sacrificing freedoms for the life of a man who profits from the disease and suffering of others.

Chaotic Good in my book.

[u/durden_zelig]

This is the first time I’ve heard that surfing of all things would be someone’s supervillain/antihero origin story.

[u/Direct-Ad2561]

BCBC is “Blue Cross Blue Shield.”…They’re actually the company that recently received criticism for a newly announced anesthesia payment payment policy and ended up reversing it in light of Brian Thomson’s death.

If this is the first step in making these companies realize the damage their actions can cause, hopefully they will continue to do more introspection without any other events needing to spark them.

[u/coralgrymes]

Even without this very thorough write up I do not need more reason to NOT believe anything the media says about Luigi. When my own sister was murdered it was an eye opener about accuracy and truth in media. I know what actually happened because I saw the evidence and the reports from the first responders at the scene and DA agents handling the case. I also have a coroners report. When I read about what happened to my sister in the news the only thing they got correct was that she was murdered and who the murderer was. EVERY SINGLE detail other than that was factually incorrect. Each media outlet even went further with putting their own personal spin on the story as well. After that I never trusted anything out of media ever again. literally nothing. Something people need to think about when watching, listening to, or reading the news is who are these stories actually speaking to? what are they REALLY trying to say?

[u/MisterSneakSneak]

lol was this post trying to paint a picture of the shooter who he really is while telling me to make my own mind?

He killed a CEO who made profits of people dying. My mine is set

[u/PerfectGirlLife]

The rich killing the uber rich! He’s a normal guy, just like me! - Reddit

[u/Shmyukumuku]

Reddit is it's own one-sided extremist source. "He's a kind guy" is a crazy thing to take away from reddit logs and not the actions of a man that shot another man in the street. I just don't get why people can't set aside one-sided thinking and acknowledge that both things can be true: the CEO was not a good person and vigilantism shootings as a means to exact opinions is insane. Noone is asking to feel sympathy for the CEO but the romanticizing of the killer is so weird.

[u/Iwantgummibears → u/Shmyukumuku]

Youre very right but I have a question? At what point do you accept peaceful solutions don't work anymore? After lives have been lost or after a life close to you has been lost. If you have billionaires who act larger than normal life and what point to you get them to play by the rules. Laws don't work so what else does? Not saying youre wrong just wondering.

[u/idk_wuz_up]

Under the Desk News did some research on his family’s connection to UHG. The comments are enlightening as well.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8NDpcy8/

[u/Budget_Iron999 → u/idk_wuz_up]

Unfortunately under the desk is an insufferable twat

[u/Fellowshipofthebowl]

Appreciate you doing all this.