Luigi Mangione’s alleged assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024 was widely divisive among Americans of different political, social, and economic groups. With a new president and new big headlines, one must wonder how long this debate will last.
Mangione, a wealthy, Ivy League graduate allegedly targeted his attack on what he saw as a ‘Mafiosa,’ Italian for mobster. He believed UnitedHealthcare oppressed customers for immense profit. The attack drew near-universal condemnation among established news organizations and politicians but was seen with admiration from some younger demographics.
An Emerson College poll of Americans aged 18 to 29 found 41% of respondents deemed the killer’s actions ‘acceptable,’ compared to 17% of the general population. Another 40% of Emerson College students deemed Mangione’s actions ‘unacceptable.’
Comparatively, a Gallup poll of the U.S. population produced a 51% unfavourability rating of the American Health Care Industry, the lowest since after Covid, suggesting mistrust in the American Healthcare System.
However, when asked about how this assassination may impact the future of the U. S., Skyline history teacher Ryer Ulland drew attention to the short attention span of the American populace, who seems to turn from one event to another, hardly remembering each past crisis.
“I can see it becoming just a blip in pop culture and that it will not have a lasting legacy at all. It’s just kind of the topic of the day.” Ulland said. “If anything, I think this is reflective of today’s zeitgeist. It’ll very quicky be forgotten and this thing will be a thing of the past and we’ll move on to the next conflict.”
This phenomenon isn’t new. Cultural moments, no matter how divisive or shocking, often lose their immediacy in the face of constant media pressure and the perpetual news cycle. This is especially so in a divided country recovering from the recent presidential election.
When remembering historical events, Ulland said that it is often “the impact of [history],” which is most important.
As an example of how historical happenstances only later become recognized as important after their impacts are evident, Ulland cites the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who would have been a footnote in history had his death not led to World War I.
As such, it remains to be seen how or even if Mangione’s actions will be looked at by history.
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