In the morning hours of Wednesday, December 4, Luigi Mangione murdered UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson as he walked to the New York Hilton Midtown to speak at his company’s annual investors’ conference. This appalling premeditated murder, captured on surveillance footage for all to view, was met with equally disgusting reactions from the typical actors: journalists, the anti-Israel movement (what don’t they get wrong), and elite academics. An interesting pattern emerged. Those who are now celebrating Thompson’s murder are the same crew who have, for years, pushed anti-American and anti-Semitic propaganda. Prominent among these agitators, elite academic institutions have been at the forefront of normalizing and even promoting such behavior, and it is time to expose such glaring flaws.
Taylor Lorenz, previously a journalist at The New York Times and The Washington Post, went on Piers Morgan’s show last night and said: “I do believe in the sanctity of life and I think that’s why I felt, along with so many other Americans, joy” at Thompson’s murder. Fellow left-wing journalist Ken Klippenstein added to the fire, sharing a similar reaction on X. Becoming the party that glorifies the murder of CEOS with whom one disagrees is not a badge of honor. Of course, many on the left do not share these indefensible views. Left-wing journalist Aaron Rupar correctly replied to Klippenstein’s remarks, “Absolutely depraved to get your dunks in when the guy was just murdered in cold blood.”
The anti-Israel crowd too, joined in on the action. In a look-alike contest of the Thompson murderer (!) held in New York City, the winner pledged half of his money would go to “Palestinian relief,” before revealing his happiness that people are now willing to openly express their anger with the “system,” presumably referring to Thompson’s murder. Some in the anti-Israel movement, it seems, have expanded from supporting the murder of innocent civilians in Israel to supporting similar murders on the streets of New York.
However, even more worrisome than the deranged look-alike contest winner was the reaction of Anthony Zenkus, a Columbia professor. A self-proclaimed opponent of violence, Zenkus mocked Thompson’s death, accusing Thompson and others like him of greed that kills thousands of Americans yearly, thereby rendering Thompson and those like him unworthy of mourning. Zenkus himself, predictably, has no shortage of radical views. Only a few years ago, he tweeted that “The American Flag is a symbol of genocide.” Last year, he appeared at Columbia University’s anti-Israel encampment.
It would be easy to write off those like Lorenz, Klippenstein, and Zenkus as mere exceptions. However, details from Mangione’s arrest and the uncovering of his background indicate that we can not continue to ignore the craziness. Mangione was Ivy League-educated, having graduated in 2020 from the University of Pennsylvania. Found with Mangione was a manifesto that expressed his distaste for corporate America, and health insurance companies specifically. While we cannot rush to attribute Mangione’s radicalism to his Ivy League education, it is important to note how elite universities have morphed into breeding grounds for the radicalization of young minds. In fact, on Princeton’s anonymous social media app Fizz, students are glorifying Mangione, deeming his actions “super based,” and a “W” for Penn to count Mangione as a graduate. In fact, in a poll conducted on Fizz (with over 1,000 respondents), 28 percent of students stated that Thompson’s murder was completely justified, while another 21 percent thought that Thompson deserved to die, but maybe he should not have been murdered – whatever that is supposed to mean.
Unfortunately, the sentiments of these Princeton students are unsurprising, and therein lies the problem. Those like Zenkus at Columbia are simply the tip of the spear. The same bad-faith actors who hate America and Israel have become outspokenly pro-murder. In fact, I find it plausible, if not probable, to conclude that a majority of the 48 percent of Princeton students who fully or partially supported the murder would agree with Anthony Zenkus’ anti-American and anti-Semitic sentiments. Unfortunately, students at elite institutions are increasingly willing to affirm views similar to their radical faculty members. These radicals have no love of country, standing directly opposed to our capitalist society. Morally bankrupt, the radicals proudly and loudly stand on the wrong side of every issue, from hating our country, to supporting terrorism against Israel and Jews, and, now, to celebrating the murder of an American CEO.
Enough is enough.
Image credit: Reuters/Mike Segar
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