Abstract
The polarized reaction to the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO in December 2024 underscored the potential of ideologically framed acts of violence to undermine societal cohesion and challenge democratic norms. While many condemned the killing as an unjustifiable attack on a private citizen, others celebrated Mangione as a “folk hero,” glorifying him and his act as a symbol of resistance against an industry perceived as corrupt and dehumanizing. Using data from a rolling cross-sectional survey in the U.S., we causally tested partisan differences in support for political violence before and after the CEO’s assassination and the perpetrator’s subsequent arrest. While Democrats initially condemned violence against Republicans, their support for partisan violence increased following Mangione’s arrest. These results underscore the role of public discourse in shaping attitudes towards political violence, raising concerns about the normalization of politically motivated aggression, even among groups traditionally less inclined to endorse it.
“Polarized”? I can’t recall anything since 9/11 that has united left and right as much as this event.
Oh, you mean polarized the rich from the poor.
I don’t think that’s what happened. Conservative and right leaning people are calling for the death penalty for mangione and for him to be made an example of. They’re. Fully against him and everything he allegedly did.
The front-facing pundits, maybe. On the ground, if you strip away the MAGA cult there is some understanding that the wealthy are fucking over everyone else, even if the conclusions drawn from that are confused and distorted. And it’s not like we’re talking about pacifists disgusted by violence here. “Rich Men North of Richmond” didn’t come from nowhere.
If you go to any right leaning or conservative forum, you’ll easily see that right wingers hate the guy and chalk him up as “saviour of the left”. I don’t buy that he’s created unity for a second.
No stake here, just observation.
A man that murders another man, and is found guilty by proof of evidence in court, deserves the judgement administered.
However, the way they’ve been parading around this man, especially with that “perp walk” stunt, and demanding judgement before trial has even started, they are now turning him into a martyr, which the populace who feel slighted in the same way as he was will side with him instead of the rule of law, especially since current events have significantly eroded the value and authority of law.
Had they been impartial and just about this, handling this murder case like any other, maybe the media attention wouldn’t have gotten to this point. But the need to “rub it in” seems to be too tempting to resist, and now we are here.
Violence begets violence.
Story as old as time
“The ingredients you got bake the cake you get”
“Take the road that reaches your destination.”
