I hesitate to write this post because doing so feeds the Attention Economy's perverse incentive structure, but there's a point that needs to be made. There's a terrible person who used to work in 'mainstream' journalism before burning virtually every bridge in sight, having bullied colleagues for years. This person flagrantly lied to her former bosses at the Washington Post about a social media post she published involving then-President Biden, upon whom she subsequently effectively wished death. As a paradigmatic member of the Dirtbag Left, this same individual is -- unsurprisingly -- a big fan of the man who stands accused of murdering healthcare executive Brian Thompson, in cold blood, in the middle of the street. The slaying leaves two children without their father. The worst elements of our society celebrated the execution, however, based on some sick sense of anti-capitalist "justice," and because they openly thirst after the suspect's physical appearance.
As Madeline noted yesterday, the afore-referenced Internet cartoon character made sure to advertise her utterly warped sense of morality:
Taylor Lorenz on murderer Luigi Mangioni: “Here’s this man who, who’s a revolutionary, who’s famous, who’s handsome, who’s young, who’s smart — he’s a person that seems like a morally good man, which is hard to find”pic.twitter.com/o2rmSu1MNV
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) April 13, 2025
I'm not sure why this smirking CNN correspondent -- who seems to have played a role in the Covington Catholic smear job, for reference -- chose to platform this demented person and her garbage takes. The whole spectacle is grotesque, including when the interviewer compared support for Trump to support for the CEO accused murderer, and his subject heartily agreed. As reminder, she put on a teary-eyed performance about her own 'hardships' involving harassment, but yuks it up about actual murder:
NEW: Taylor Lorenz says she has "severe PTSD" from being a journalist and breaks down in MSNBC interview pic.twitter.com/G9FymoSdH8
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) April 1, 2022
She has tried to claim that she was describing the killer's supporters, not her own views about the man, but she'd previously admitted to feeling "joy" about the deadly shooting, as well as "empathy" for the shooter. Many of us have warned, amid the outpouring of support for the alleged CEO killer, that there's no limiting principle to this sort of moral bankruptcy:
What the CEO killing should make people realize is there are a segment of people in our society that will absolutely celebrate the death of you and your family if you happen to be part of the wrong class, have the wrong job, or belong to the wrong identity group. These people are focused in academia, the media, and a few other industries dominated by the far-left. There is a dehumanization element to it. A health insurance executive didn’t commit a crime that would justify seeing them as evil, but that’s how they view him because they don’t like the current system. And among the far-left, being part of the system they hate justifies anything you do to him. But it doesn’t end with health insurance CEOs. That logic will expand to millions of other Americans. A politician opposes green new deal legislation? Evil. A landlord evicts someone for not paying rent? Evil. A man steps in and defends others under attack from an actual criminal on a subway? Evil. You’re a cop? Evil. You’re an Israeli? Evil. You served in the military? Evil. There is no limiting principle here. If you’re part of a system they don’t agree with, they will justify violence against you.
When people decide that vicious, premediated murder can be twisted into the conduct of a 'morally good' person, this standard will inevitably be applied capriciously. It is a bright line that we cannot cross or accept. Several individuals have channeled their hatred of Donald Trump into assassination attempts against him. Another degenerate just tried to snuff out the Governor of Pennsylvania and his family (the suspect appears to have hated Joe Biden and Josh Shapiro, having also posted hardcore left-wing, and anti-MAGA content on social media). If these evil lunatics had better jawlines or abs, they may already have legions of fans mailing them love letters and contributing to their defense funds. They'd undoubtedly have an admirer in a woman who used to work for the most "prestigious" newspapers in the country, whose crackpot opinions are still greeted with nods and chuckles on CNN. This is not just the only "morally consistent" position to hold in the face of politically motivated violence (not to downplay the importance of consistency, as vigilante murder cheerleaders would shriek with indignation if a 'bad' person killed one of their preferred 'good' people). It is also the only morally correct position to hold:
Recommended
Hatred of an individual, politician or otherwise, doesn’t give you a pass to harm them whether they’re the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, President Donald Trump, or a health care CEO.
— Kimberly Ross (@SouthernKeeks) April 14, 2025
The morally consistent position is to be repulsed by ANY act of violence. pic.twitter.com/Nr4g31efOb
I'll leave you with my discussion on these subjects with Mary Katharine Ham:
