The murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson amid systemic failures, corporate greed, and injustices, is “what we get,” according to the left-wing climate justice group The Sunrise Movement, which insisted the supportive reaction to the killing “isn’t shocking,” while arguing that young people have “grown up watching CEOs commit mass murder.”
In a series of radical social media posts on Wednesday, the youth-targeted left-wing activism hub offered a provocative response to the recent murder of Thompson allegedly by 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, declaring public anger toward corporate leaders to be an inevitable result of decades of systemic inequities and climate inaction.
“We hold fiercely to our principle of nonviolence,” the post begins. “But the reaction to Brian Thompson’s killing isn’t shocking.”
“Young people have grown up watching CEOs commit mass murder, with politicians telling us to shut up and take it,” it continues.
The group goes on to outline a sweeping critique of corporate power, appearing to blame CEOs for exacerbating the housing crisis, perpetuating climate disasters, and influencing politicians to serve their interests.
“After big bank CEOs crashed the global economy, we watched our government bail them out while our families lost everything,” the post reads. “To this day, they’re allowed to hoard real estate so that they can jack up rent and leave us to die on the streets if we can’t pay.”
“We’ve grown up knowing that climate apocalypse threatens our future,” it adds.
The movement tied their comments to broader issues, including the 2008 financial crash, police militarization, and the fossil fuel industry’s long standing role in driving climate change: “Fossil fuel CEOs know — have known for 50 years — that their industry will kill and displace billions of us. Any consequences for their lies and deceit? Zero.”
Suggesting that CEOs have “plotted to lock us up because it makes them money,” the posts then touch on youths’ growing disillusionment with mainstream politics, pointing to the Democratic establishment’s rejection of Bernie Sanders’ progressive policies as a turning point:
We fought for Bernie Sanders because he gave us a political pathway to justice – he took on CEOs by campaigning on Medicare For All and the Green New Deal. Then we watched the Dem establishment close ranks around Joe Biden to protect corporate-friendly politics.
According to the group, the very same establishment is “now scratching their heads, wondering why they lost to Trump and why there is this outpouring of support for a vigilante killer.”
“The answer is them,” the movement declared, claiming that, “Our whole lives, they have refused to take on CEOs and their murderous business practices.”
In a call for systemic change, the Sunrise Movement insisted, “It doesn’t have to be this way,” urging for “real justice,” writing, “let’s be real: this isn’t justice.”
“Justice is a free, compassionate healthcare system,” it continues. “Justice is an end to climate change. It’s decent housing, a good-paying union job, and dignity and respect regardless of our race, immigration status, or gender identity.”
“As long as both major political parties deny us justice, this is what we get,” it stressed. The group’s language seemed to echo a line from the alleged killer’s manifesto, where he wrote, “Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming.”
Claiming that the GOP “is lost to fascism,” the posts conclude by challenging the Democratic Party to take decisive action against corporate power, asking, “Will the Democratic Party turn against CEOs in time to prevent total collapse?”
The matter comes as hardcore leftists have been celebrating Mangione as a hero while others expressed sympathy for the alleged crime.
On Tuesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s The ReidOut, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) commented on the killing of Thompson by stating that “violence is never the answer, this guy gets a trial, who’s allegedly killed the CEO of UnitedHealth[care]. But you can only push people so far, and then, they start to take matters into their own hands.”
Mangione, who was arrested Wednesday at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after a week-long manhunt, reportedly harbored extreme views toward the American healthcare industry.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jklein@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
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