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On the 4th December 2024, Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth, was shot.

The internet's reaction to this was chaotic. Misinformation spread rapidly as people cherry-picked pieces of Luigi Mangione, the shooter, to try and make sense of him; a person with motives that fit into no coherent ideology.

Media publications and influencers, particularly those on the political right-wing, were quick to condemn the murder. Ben Shapiro, for example, was quick to ascribe tolerance of it as being an 'evil leftist revolutionary'.

However, readers and viewers of these publications responded poorly, as can be seen when reading the comments under the above video.

It's an open secret that social media platforms exist on outrage and controversy.

But this was more significant; more unusual, than run-of-the-mill social media trolling. In the aftermath Brian Thompson's assassination, it became common (and even socially popular) to openly and loudly disagree with the ethics we've been taught, even about something as seemingly universally shunned as murder. Social media users from across the political aisle felt a sense of apathy or schadenfreude.

This has been one of the few times when a large number of conservative Americans have rejected right-wing media and shown anything approaching class consciousness.

The ruling class have long been class conscious. Their ownership of most mainstream news was swiftly put to use: Brian Thompson was not CEO of the posterchild of everything wrong with the US healthcare industry; he was 'a loving husband' with a 'stunned family'.

He came from 'modest roots.'

He 'ascended to one of the most powerful roles in the healthcare industry.'

Humanising someone indirectly responsible for mass systemic violence was predictably poorly recieved, especially when published by outlets known for vilifying working-class criminals and victims alike.

Luigi Mangione is hard to pin down politically. But perhaps this is what makes him so appealing to many?

You could filter out the parts that you didn't agree with, and project your own morality onto him. In most cases, this was already done for you by the publications and people you follow.

To those who fear class consciousness, Mangione is a domestic terrorist. Worthy of considering a 'threatened CEO hotline' for. The media was a tool to push this narrative.

Our media diets have an immense impact on our view of the world. We live in a highly polarised political climate, where how much something resonates with you is often more important than how true it is. The ruling class have known this for centuries.

Mangione is eerily similar politically to the average voter -- focused on issues pushed by the media, rather than coherent, systemic action.

If this is the face of the first sparks of modern mainstream class consciousness in America, we're fucked.

This piece is a literal filtering of Mangione's manifesto through the publications you have read, courtesy of your browser history.