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.
Should Putin receive critical support? Hamas? Hezbollah? Ansarallah? The IRGC?
The answer to all of these is pretty clearly a resounding yes, right?
I don't think these groups are comparable at all to luigi. They're doing active prolonged resistance to imperialism. One of them is fighting for their very own existence.
I didn't say that? Even so saying the guy is just like a palestinian fighting against the zionist entity actually is an incredibly unserious thing to say.
It doesn't matter that you didn't personally say it, hello_hello did, and when I attempted to point out the contradiction you jumped into the conversation on their side.
Saying that non-communist groups can't be worthy, of critical support is actually the unserious thing here.
Nobody who is doing critical support for Putin is saying "America should be ruled like Russia".
The groups you mention in their political context do not have alternatives that exhibit the following traits:
Political context matters.
Yeah nobody here wants Luigi running the United States either, I just want, and I assume others feel the same, for the next person who thinks about assassinating one of these vampires to make their decision with the knowledge that they'll be a national icon and not a pariah for doing it.
So if the next guy is a literal Nazi instead of an typical American crypto-fash you're gonna be like damn that's my national icon?
Sus.
Obviously not asshole.
So your line is that typical American crypto-fash is ok, but aesthetic Nazis are bad? Maybe this line is aesthetic for you but it's not for me
Fuck you you disingenuous jackass.
It's your take buddy not mine.
I think it's cool that someone killed a healthcare insurance CEO for being a greedy leech who daily commits social murder, even though he has tech bro muskrat brain worms and I wouldn't want to hang out with the guy.
You disagree so you tried to frame my position as being cool with crpto-fascists.
You're a dishonest jerk. Fuck you.
See you're saying entirely too much: it's cool that a health insurance CEO got shot end of story.
You sure are doing the meme of responding to "I like pancakes" with "oh, so you hate waffles??"
I should've been clearer, yes, not just limited to outwardly communist groups/individuals, and my use of comrade wasn't appropriate there. But my sentiment is still that critical support shouldn't be used in this situation.