JENI O’DOWD: Internet’s sick response to Brian Thompson murder highlights frustration with ‘corporate greed’

Some stories grab the world’s attention and refuse to let go. For me, it’s the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on the streets of New York — a chilling act that has sparked an extraordinary public reaction.

On Monday, a man was detained in connection with the shock slaying. Not a professional assassin or shooter but a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate, Luigi Mangione, who was apparently obsessed with back pain.

And he is being lauded on social media — not as a cold-blooded killer, but as a hero, where the hashtag #brianthompson has received more than 2.5 million views and counting, with posts praising the hooded gunman as a modern-day Robin Hood striking back against corporate greed.

It echoes 18th century France, when fury over crushing taxes, famine, and systemic injustice boiled over into rebellion against the ruling elite.

But this is 21st century America, and the outrage is not aimed at a king — it’s directed at corporate health giants profiting from pain and, too often, death.

Thompson, a 50-year-old father of two, was gunned down in Manhattan as he walked to a conference for UnitedHealth Group, the fourth largest company in the US with projected revenues of $705 billion.

The execution-style killing was caught on CCTV: a hooded man approached, fired two silenced shots, and delivered a third as Thompson collapsed.

The gunman’s message was etched onto the bullet casings left at the scene: “Deny.” “Defend.” “Depose.”

Those three words show the frustration aimed at an industry often accused of exploiting suffering to boost profits. They reference the notorious “delay, deny, defend” tactics allegedly used by US insurance companies to avoid payouts — a cry against an industry prioritising profit over human lives.

Thank God for the Hawke government, which introduced Medicare in 1984 to provide universal health coverage for all Australians.

The US does not have universal public health insurance, and most Americans rely on their employers to pay for health insurance coverage as part of their salary package.

However, a serious injury or illness can leave a patient and their family broke without the help of an insurer.

According to an ABC report, healthcare bills are the number one cause of personal bankruptcy in the US. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says about 100 million Americans owe medical debt of more than $US220 billion ($345 billion).

No wonder people are rebelling in a very 21st century way — through the power of social media.

The reaction to the shooting has been extraordinary. Platforms like TikTok and X are flooded with posts framing the unidentified gunman as a vigilante hero.

Many users, particularly those sharing stories of denied insurance claims, support the killer. On TikTok, women have posted videos jokingly offering to hide the suspect from the police. One video, captioned, “This man deserves sanctuary,” has been viewed millions of times.

Adding to the reaction are many comedic reconstructions of “witnesses” telling police they are blind in one eye and nearly blind in the other, claiming they saw nothing at the scene.

This response reflects outrage in America and resonates globally, including in Australia, where similar frustrations have surfaced in strikes and growing discontent with corporations prioritising profits over people.

The public sentiment in the US is similar (albeit much louder) to recent strikes by Woolworths workers, who protested with signs saying “We Are Not Robots” about a performance management system called The Framework.

The Framework system has been criticised for subjecting workers to excessive surveillance and pressure to meet stringent productivity targets, leading to concerns about workplace safety and employee well-being.

Social media users expressed support for the workers and simply took their weekly shop to Coles or Aldi as Woolworth’s shelves were bare.

Whether it’s skyrocketing healthcare costs in the US or the absurd price of a $10 bunch of grapes here in Australia, the feeling is the same: people are fed up with corporations putting profit above all else.

While Americans wrestle with the devastating costs of healthcare, we also face our own battles — like being gouged at the supermarket or facing unchecked fees and bank scams.

Frustration over a bunch of grapes costing $10 may seem trivial compared to medical bankruptcy, but it stems from the same root cause: unchecked corporate greed.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough.

We should ask, in the US and Australia, how much longer we’ll tolerate systems that prioritise profits over fairness.

The cracks are widening in everything from healthcare to supermarkets to banks. It’s time for accountability — not just from corporations but also from the leaders who let this happen.

Election anyone?