December 10th 2024.
In the past 24 hours, there has been a lot of buzz on the internet about someone named Luigi Mangione. But this isn't your typical Hollywood heartthrob or sports sensation. No, this is a man who has been arrested and charged for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City last week. And the online community can't seem to stop talking about him, not for his alleged crime, but for his good looks.
Within minutes of his name and photo being released by authorities, the internet was flooded with information about the 26-year-old suspect. It's unsettling how much we now know about him, from his favorite Pokemon to his Spotify activity. We even know the last book he reviewed on Goodreads. But what we don't know is what led this Ivy League graduate to allegedly commit such a heinous act of violence. Instead of discussing the possible motivations for the murder, people are more interested in lusting after the suspect's appearance.
Mangione's mugshot has sparked a whole new level of internet thirst, with a parody account @LuigiCrave gaining over 40,000 followers. Some may find this humorous, but to me, it feels like taking internet jokes a step too far. Before he was even arrested, Mangione had already started to gain a following based solely on CCTV footage showing his mostly masked face. At first, I found the jokes and memes mildly amusing, but the obsession that followed his arrest left me feeling sick.
It's not uncommon for people to be attracted to problematic figures, as we've seen with the "hot felon" Jeremy Meeks and the TikTok fangirls of Ted Bundy. Research has even shown that we instinctively trust attractive people. So it's no surprise that Mangione's good looks have captivated the online community. But in the midst of all this obsession, we seem to have forgotten the bigger picture.
This crime has shed light on the dire state of US healthcare and private insurance, with people from all political backgrounds expressing their rage towards Thompson's death. Many have shared their own experiences of fighting for adequate healthcare, overshadowing any empathy for the victim. This conversation about healthcare is important, but it's being cheapened by the discourse surrounding Mangione.
I can't help but wonder if there would be the same level of interest and frenzy if the suspect was old, overweight, and balding. Has the internet poisoned our minds to the point where we equate looks with morality? Are we so shallow that we're willing to forgive the worst crimes because the perpetrator is conventionally attractive? It's a disturbing thought.
Social media has always been a place for jokes and memes, but it's now become a place where nuance, empathy, and basic decency are lost. Instead of focusing on Mangione's appearance, we should be examining the human side of this incident and the larger context. Rather than digging into his past and speculating about his brat summer, we should be asking what led this young man with so much potential to allegedly commit murder.
The constant discussion about Mangione's looks is obscuring the real question - why are we celebrating the death of a healthcare insurance CEO? It's time to shift the conversation and start looking at the bigger picture. This is a story that deserves more nuance, empathy, and humanity. Let's not let the superficiality of the internet distract us from the real issues at hand.
[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]
