What Bothers Me About the CEO Killing
Recently a guy killed the CEO of a healthcare insurance company.
And in an exceptionally rare moment of bipartisan unity, all of America seems very happy about this fact—from Reddit’s left-leaning forums to right-wing populist circles.
Unfortunately, as an ignorant outsider unfamiliar with the nuances of the American healthcare system, I’m trying to understand why the CEO killing is a good deed.
To be clear, I’m not being facetious or ironic. I understand that healthcare insurance companies are widely perceived as inefficient and predatory—just the concept of private healthcare feels a bit dystopic from my European perspective. But is there something specific this CEO did that caused extraordinary harm?
Did Americans push for meaningful healthcare reforms only to have insurance companies block them through lobbying, effectively worsening public health outcomes? It doesn’t seem like Americans even want public healthcare, a fact that remains mysterious to my—no doubt—indoctrinated mind.
Perhaps the CEO’s company had exceptionally high denial rates? Perhaps it’s something else entirely.
I’m not sure, and that’s what’s bothering me.
If a man is executed in broad night-life, I would expect clear, well-articulated, and overwhelming reasons for why so many people are calling the act justified—reasons that almost anyone could explain quickly and concretely. Something more substantial than vague outrage like “everyone knows insurance companies are evil.” I would expect these reasons to be front and center—consistently invoked by those praising the shooter as a hero—to justify their actions and to outline future steps needed to honor the hero's sacrifice, advancing his perceived vision.
But so far, I’ve seen very little of that.
So, in the end, I remain ignorant about why this act is a good deed. If there’s a concrete explanation—something more than vague frustration with the healthcare system—I’d like to hear it, so that I too can get onboard with the celebrations for this rightful act of justice.
Post-scriptum
On a related note: If someone chooses to engage in extreme political action—like the Unabomber or this guy—I would encourage them to provide a clear, data-driven manifesto. The manifesto shouldn’t be a collection of vague philosophical musings about abstract grievances or ominous futures looming on the horizon. It should present what should be overwhelming evidence justifying certain actions, laid out in a way that leaves little room for doubt—preferably resembling a well-researched scientific paper, complete with data, analysis, and clearly stated conclusions.
Doing this exercise before the killing-people part might even help test and refine one’s own ideas—or possibly reveal that there are better, more effective ways to try to change the world.
I am also European and related to this post a lot. What I find most fascinating about the manifesto is this part: ”Obviously the problem is more complex, but I do not have space, and frankly I do not pretend to be the most qualified person to lay out the full argument.”
Somehow the guy is not that confident he has a complete grasp of the problem, yet is confident enough to commit murder!? A natural conclusion is that this guy’s bar for how sure you have to be before committing Murder is way lower than it should be. Scary stuff, when you think about it, and scary to see his fans replicate the same vibes-based analysis.
I think the best argument in favor is that since consumers have no choice in health insurer it is evil to take advantage of that market power by skimping on claims and overcharging premiums such that profit is elevated.
My opinion would be very different if it was the CEO of Aetna that was shot. UHC seems particularly bad and seems to give its customers a particularly bad deal. As for where the line is, I'm not exactly sure, but I think you can make a coherent defense.
A lot of people were pushing the angle that UHC has killed people by denying lifesaving medicine, but I've seen no numbers or even singular anecdotes to back this up.