‘My Empathy Is Out of Network’

When UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed in a targeted shooting Wednesday morning in New York, politicians in his home state of Minnesota sent messages of sympathy on social media. But those responses of support quickly took on a much different tone, as people shared horror stories of being denied by a health insurance company and made crude jokes comparing the CEO’s death to the ways they’ve been mistreated by America’s health care system. system.

A Facebook post by UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, “We are deeply saddened and shocked by the passing of our dear friend and colleague Brian Thompson,” he said. But that post has garnered more than 11,000 laughing emojis as of the time of this writing, which far outnumbers the sad emojis used to convey condolences. Comments are closed on that post, but sharing includes comments like “I would offer thoughts and prayers but they are not included as they are outside the network.”

Instagram posts from the company were similarly blocked, preventing average users from commenting directly, but other posts on the platform also had scathing comments. In last week’s post, which discussed ways to manage stress during the holidays, the commenters didn’t mince words: “My sympathies are out of line with this one.”

“I’m sorry. But my insurance and Medicaid don’t cover Thoughts and Prayers,” read one comment with hundreds of likes, echoing the sentiment that has become a meme.

“Looking at the public reaction I think the bigger issue should be why this doesn’t happen more often,” read another comment.

Some of the comments were personal, with people sharing their stories of being denied by UnitedHealthcare and having to pay large sums of money to survive: “My uncle paid you for 22 years without missing a single payment and then when he died you refused his money. life insurance application. He even had the nerve to write her a check the week she died. Bags of scum. Sometimes you get what you deserve. I hope you are all suffering the way my mother went through last year she had to endure the nightmares of losing her brother and then almost filing for bankruptcy because of your denial of life insurance that was paid on time and faithfully for 22 years. Then you turn around and spit on his body. Your claim for sympathy has been denied. I hope you all find what is to come.”

Others made dark jokes: “it seems that the hole in his chest was a pre-existing condition.” You will have to deny coverage.”

UnitedHealthcare insures more than 49 million Americans, and the company made $281 billion in revenue last year, according to the Associated Press. The insurance giant is notorious for denying coverage, using an artificial intelligence tool with an estimated 90% error rate, according to a lawsuit filed last year.

There were also videos on Instagram noting the fact that the UnitedHealth conference in Manhattan started on time at 8:00 am ET, despite the fact that Thompson was killed around 6:45 am The conference ended up being canceled after 9:00 am And others. tweets on X celebrating the CEO’s death, with videos promoting the killer’s fashion choices and backpacks.

But the reaction was not pleasant. There were a lot of people who were against celebrating the murder. Thompson reportedly had two children with his wife, who told NBC News that he had recently received death threats, possibly related to a “lack of security.”

“For those people who laughed at this post, it’s a shame for you that the family has lost love, but you should be a stick, just remember that karma is a dog,” read another on Facebook.

The reaction sounds like a big change in the world’s direction, however social media perceptions may be wrong. Usually, trolling and sadistic glee at a person’s death has been relegated to the fringes of dangerous sites like 4chan or iX since Elon Musk bought the platform. But Wednesday’s wave of anger and frustration at the health care system could be seen all over the Internet.

It makes sense that Americans may be more relaxed with their sense of decor these days. Donald Trump’s re-election to the presidency has shown a form of right-wing nihilism as the Republican leader embraces conspiracy theories, threatens to go after his political enemies, and demonizes immigrants in racist ways. The sometimes celebratory mood of many Americans on Wednesday felt like an acceptance of that kind of nihilism.

The history of the US is one of great violence, but the last two decades have been relatively stable when it comes to domestic bloodshed for political purposes. The US was averaging five bombings a day in the early 1970s, according to the FBI, a simple fact rarely remembered here in the 21st century. And a hundred years ago, it was common for large numbers of people to be killed at once during labor actions in the US, as workers and management fought for control. All of this means that this may be the beginning rather than the end of people embracing political violence, especially as Trump prepares to take office with promises of retaliation. Peace and stability are not common.

Brian Thompson’s shooter is still at large, and the NYPD is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. But that news also created another opportunity for people on social media to express how they were hurt by UnitedHeath’s policies. As one user wrote on Bluesky, “The reward from the person who shot the CEO of United Healthcare is not enough to cover 1/9 of the bill we received for 28 days of radiation.”