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Prediction - Luigi Mangione, the arrested UnitedHealth shooting suspect, is about to become an American folk hero and nexus for violent discontent? (self.futurology)

submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by Lugh to c/futurology

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The outpouring of support for the shooter in this case has sometimes reminded me a little of pre-revolutionary France. Now that he's been arrested, we can see he's likely to become a charismatic figure for many. He's good-looking, intelligent, and has a social media trail that means he'll attract support from the left and right.

Here's a Nitter link to his Twitter activity. He's hard to pin down politically. Veering from anti-trans, pro-men's rights, pro-Peter Thiel/Elon Musk, to his obvious approval for violent revolution. His review of the Unabomber's manifesto makes the latter clear too.

It seems almost inevitable he'll develop a cult following among some. Yet this will be tied to his ideas for violent revolutionary action in America. How might this impact the future?

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[–] Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 8 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Is there a betting pool on how he is going to be smeared in the media, and in what manner he will be Epsteined?

[–] Lugh 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

I don't spend much time at the DailyMail site, I find its worldview depressing and ugly, but I sometimes check out the comments as a proxy for right-wing thought among everyday people. Its striking how supportive the comments there are for this guy, and what he's done.

It's another way this moment reminds of the French Revolution. The Trump/Musk brigade has sold their victory as a revolutionary victory for the alt-right, yet revolutions have a habit of spawning further revolution, that the original people lose control of.

Worth noting, the DM comments section is reliably and rabidly pro-MAGA on everything, yet here they are supporting this guy's violent revolutionary actions.

[–] Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

reliably and rabidly pro-MAGA on everything, yet here they are supporting this guy’s violent revolutionary actions.

That shouldn't be surprising at all. This isn't a left/right issue. This is a class issue. The right supports the entrepreneur spirit, not the billionaire class. They support the farmer, the contractor, the small business. They are as fed up as everyone else with the ultra-rich, but they see more harm than good arising from the kind of regulation that would be needed to rein in the billionaire class.

Violent revolution, though, specifically targets the ultra-rich, without impact to the entrepreneur class. Of course that will have a distinct appeal to the general public on the right side of the political spectrum.

We need legislators non-violently representing the interests of those who "want" violence, because right now, that is a large majority of the populace.

[–] threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Does this fit the futurology theme? I'm not sure that it does. I prefer news on cool upcoming technological advancements.

[–] Lugh 7 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I know some people don't like political/societal discussions about the future, but paradoxically ignoring this aspect of the future is being political too. I can never separate the technological from the political, so my way of thinking about both is always connected.

[–] kitnaht@lemmy.world -1 points 1 week ago

Doesn't belong here.