Pape in NYT: What the Glorification of Luigi Mangione Reveals About America

Thu., Dec. 12, 2024    

CPOST Director Rober Pape appeared on the New York Times podcase "The Opinion," on December 12, 2024, drawing on his research on political violence to contextalize the danger posed by the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO BrianThompson. Pape argued the shooting was "a threshold-breaking attack, setting a precedent." The broad outpooring of support for the shooter and expressions of anger combine to increase the risk of similar attacks in the future. "There’s no doubt: There is anger at our health care system. There’s anger at our corporations. The question is, what is the right way to express that anger? Is it through violence, or is it through politics? I would say we should be directing that political anger away from political violence and redirect it toward politics and voting. The ballot box, not guns, is the right way to settle disputes in America." Read podcast transcript here.