Hello comrades. In the interest of upholding our code of conduct - specifically, rule 1 (providing a friendly, safe and welcoming environment for all) - we felt it appropriate to make a statement regarding the lionization of Luigi Mangione, the alleged United Healthcare CEO shooter, also known as "The Adjuster."
In the day or so since the alleged shooter's identity became known to the public, the whole world has had the chance to dig though his personal social media accounts and attempt to decipher his political ideology and motives. What we have learned may shock you. He is not one of us. He is a "typical" American with largely incoherent, and in many cases reactionary politics. For the most part, what is remarkable about the man himself is that he chose to take out his anger on a genuine enemy of the proletariat, instead of an elementary school.
This is a situation where the art must be separated from the artist. We do not condemn the attack, but as a role model, Luigi Mangione falls short. We do not expect perfection from revolutionary figures either, but we expect a modicum of revolutionary discipline. We expect them not simply to identify an unpopular element of society 
, but to clearly illuminate the causes of oppression and the means by which they are overcome. When we canonize revolutionary figures, we are holding them up as an example to be followed.
This is where things come back to rule 1. Mangione has a long social media history bearing a spectrum of reactionary viewpoints, and interacting positively with many powerful reactionary figures. While some commenters have referred to this as "nothing malicious," by lionizing this man we effectively deem this behavior acceptable, or at the very least, safe to ignore. This is the type of tailism which opens the door to making a space unsafe for marginalized people.
We're going to be more strict on moderating posts which do little more than lionize the shooter. There is plenty to be said about the unfolding events, the remarkably positive public reaction, how public reactions to "propaganda of the deed" may have changed since the historical epoch of its conception (and how the strategic hazards might not have), and many other aspects of the news without canonizing this man specifically. We can still dance on the graves of our enemies and celebrate their rediscovered fear and vulnerability without the vulgar revisionism needed to pretend this man is some sort of example of Marxist or Anarchist practice.
good post, thanks. i've seen some serious comments about the guy which are just flat out un-Marxist... i get its been an exciting week or so but people need to think a little more before they post.
edit to expand because this is a good a place as any i guess: i have seen many users going out of their way to downplay, dismiss, occlude, and trivialise Luigi's right-wing views. i am on board with the whole event being a good potential topic of agitation, as clearly it has shown up a lot of contradictions of our time. however, this has to go hand in hand with acknowledgement and rigorous critique of his (let's call a spade a spade) wildly bigoted opinions, and exploration of why people end up believing those things. to see people totally, intentionally neglect that aspect in favour of downplaying his opinions makes me extremely uncomfortable as a queer user of the site! it's giving class reductionist brocialism in some cases. i have been reporting those comments/posts as i see them and i am super grateful that the mods are on top of this
On the one hand, the amount of comments that amount to "I can fix him"-but-drenched-in-cursory-Marxist-Leninist-rhetoric crack me up, but on the other, yeah
Exactly too many see him as a person to emulate what the left aka members of an organized working class, should do - which is was Lenin was theorizing not to do - because surprise it wont end well. Even if that movement might somehow remain sympathetic to the audience (see RAF). Is he an indication that Americans are fed up with the status quo and that the falling material conditions are leading to political radicalization? yes, but was this a surprise? truly? You could have talked to most non-ghoulish americans and they would agree with pro-socialist policies. Yes, even the susans and rebeccas of modern america agree with wanting better healthcare and how corporations are exploiting them - thats why they introduced horse dewormers into their system after all. Even political violence is not uncommon to the american base. New York was hit with a barrage of political bombings not that many decades ago, so were there more actual political leftists "active" groups doing "something" in the united states in the living memory of - yet is there no "soviet america"?" For the will to exist, there must be a way.
For me the pro-palestinian movements are a better indication of left revolutionary potential than this case.