This grotesque display is part of a broader trend of class rage and Internet nihilism that justifies violence by turning innocent victims into scapegoats for moral fury. The permission structure for such ghoulishness is now fully operational. What were once the disturbing mutterings of the fringe are now public, performative, and proudly cruel.
I take issue with the author in this statement. I’m not sure how I feel about the murder of Brian Thompson but characterizing someone who commits mass murder with a pen as “innocent” is just incorrect. Committing an act that knowingly and intentionally causes unnecessary death for profit is murder, even when abstracted behind illegitimate claim denials.
Like Charles Manson, who was convicted of 7 counts of first degree murder, Thompson didn’t (that we’re aware of) directly kill anyone. However, Thompson’s body count was multiple orders of magnitude higher and he was given a bonus for it, instead of life in prison.
I take issue with the author in this statement. I’m not sure how I feel about the murder of Brian Thompson but characterizing someone who commits mass murder with a pen as “innocent” is just incorrect. Committing an act that knowingly and intentionally causes unnecessary death for profit is murder, even when abstracted behind illegitimate claim denials.
I ran across the term “social murder” a while back, which seems to describe the type of murder that Brian Thompson was guilty of.
Like Charles Manson, who was convicted of 7 counts of first degree murder, Thompson didn’t (that we’re aware of) directly kill anyone. However, Thompson’s body count was multiple orders of magnitude higher and he was given a bonus for it, instead of life in prison.