‘It’s not left versus right’: How the public’s response to UHC murder case initiated ‘class consciousness’ discussions and what that means

The murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has highlighted common ground between the political left and right, sparking talks of class consciousness across social media.

Since Thompson was fatally shot in New York earlier this month, all eyes have been on shooter suspect Luigi Mangione. The murder case has quickly grown into one of the biggest cultural events of the year, through which the general public hasn’t held back how they really feel about insurance companies and the United States’ “broken” healthcare system. If you’re chronically online, you can’t avoid the near-unanimous celebratory comments from both Americans and folks across the globe glorifying the alleged gunman. Hundreds, if not thousands, have shared personal accounts of denied claims and stories of loved ones being left for dead by insurers, unable to address treatable illnesses out of pocket and ultimately losing their lives.

The internet often toes morally gray territories, but its response to the UHC murder case has somehow done more to shed light on the ongoing issues within our healthcare system and the pillars that uphold it than either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump did leading up to the presidential election last month. Despite concerns that we may not find immediate solutions with Trump’s re-election, the murder case has highlighted common ground between the political left and right in a big way when it comes to where constituents stand on the issue of affordable healthcare, and this traction may be enough to lead us to tangible change for one reason.

While major news outlets would have you believe Mangione is either a radical leftist or far-right extremist, depending on your network of choice, commenters online couldn’t seem to care less about the suspect’s alleged party affiliations, if any. Outlets know this, of course, so they might throw in TikTok thirst edits of Mangione here and there to paint supporters in a bad light and detract from the bigger picture, which is this: Across social media platforms, you’ll find comment sections flooded with statements like, “It’s not left vs. right,” or, “Think vertically.” This is class consciousness, and it’s exactly what the two-party culture war was designed to prevent.

Affordable healthcare is a class issue

The term “class consciousness” is popping up everywhere you look online. It denotes a social class’ awareness of its position within a social structure, most often referring to the working class’ cognizance of its place beneath the ruling class. This doesn’t have much to do with a party system, per se, but everything to do with wealth disparity. Senator Bernie Sanders has been ringing the alarm on the disappearance of the middle class for years, and has recently warned the US is “moving rapidly into an oligarchic form of society,” in which a select few — typically the rich — hold the power. Sounds about right.

Since Trump won his first election in 2016, media outlets have been doing the most to pit Democrats and Republicans against each other, using platform differences as ammo and politicizing topics like affordable healthcare to the extreme as a means to weaponize identity politics and keep us divided and dependent on a failing system. This is an elaborate distraction intended to shift the focus away from record-breaking profits for ultra-wealthy CEOs like Trump’s hype-man, Elon Musk, who just became the first person ever to top a net worth of 400 billion dollars.

Meanwhile, we’ve watched politicians chastise Luigi Mangione and so-called “copycat” Briana Boston in the same breath that Daniel Penny is lauded for killing a homeless man on a New York City subway. Because murder is only wrong when a well-off CEO is dead, and threats are only credible when profits are at stake, right? Americans aren’t turning a blind eye to this bias, and that’s becoming increasingly clear.

Across the US, college students have already begun to stage walkouts in favor of Luigi Mangione’s alleged message, and protesters have assembled to advocate for universal healthcare. Even right-wing pundits like Ben Shapiro aren’t immune to the internet’s wrath, with former supporters chiding, “Your true colors are showing,” under a YouTube video intended to divide viewers on the UHC murder case. This merely scratches the surface of the outpouring of support shown for healthcare reform, online and out in the world.

Much to Marjorie Taylor Greene’s chagrin, many are hopeful we could see party lines erased in the pursuit of real change, but it will require working-class voters to foster community from within and to stay organized in their efforts to achieve it.