Why Mangione is the Face of a New Social Movement: Manifestos and Revolutions Are Fueled By Pissed-Off Young Men

~ Laura

Steve, my historian husband, often says that the world’s biggest problems happen when too many young men are unemployed, disconnected, and discontent. He wrote his dissertation on the interwar years in Germany, so he’s always on the lookout for emergent fascist dictators. (He’s fun at parties, too!) My vigilant husband likes to say that the best way to avoid upheavals and civil wars is to give those guys jobs and babies. 

There are plenty of warning signs to keep my husband on edge. America’s young menare underemployed, single, depressed, and glued to their computers and game consoles. Their votes for Trump this November were rooted in nihilism, despair, and populism. But populism doesn’t necessarily have to be a conservative force. That same energy is also brewing in anti-capitalist Reddit forums that worship Bernie Sanders, not Donald Trump. 

On December 4th, Luigi Mangione, a handsome young man who looks like a Jonas brother, cooly gunned down the CEO of United Healthcare in the streets of Manhattan. Outraged by profiteering in the insurance industry and plagued by unknown demons, a smart young man used a 3D-printed gun to commit this act of violence. But unlike other shooters and assassins — who even remembers the guy who shot Trump this summer — Mangione is the face of a new social movement.

Read at Apt. 11D, the newsletter

Published by Laura

12 thoughts on “Why Mangione is the Face of a New Social Movement: Manifestos and Revolutions Are Fueled By Pissed-Off Young Men”

  1. I think this depends upon which filter bubble the social media algorithms have placed you in.

    It’s been interesting discussing this with my children. My youngest opines that Mangione likely kicked off schizophrenia through psychedelic use, so he’s not seen as the face of a new movement here–more a warning of side effects.

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  3. Mangione is less interesting than the storm of anger at insurance companies that has been unleashed on the internet. But one thing I find odd is all these articles about disaffected young men seem to assume that no one else is experiencing what they are. Women their age are navigating the same economy. Are men just less adaptable to change? Or is there a lot of messaging to young men that their situation is somehow uniquely different and worse? There was a line in that Wall Street Journal article Laura shared that said that in the past, men just had to show up for their lives. Was that ever true? Another line mentioned one of the young men wishing he could “just slot into the role of provider.” I can’t imagine that men, except for some privileged few, ever just slid into careers and marriage. But there’s some dare I say propaganda that this is somehow someone’s fault, maybe women’s, that it’s harder than in the past. I do agree that housing, healthcare and education costs have gone way beyond the means of too many Americans. But I think there is some dangerous messaging going out to young men that they are being targeted for suffering more than others. Fact: none, zero of the women I keep in touch with who were laid off last spring from my company have found jobs. They are all in their 40s and 50s with children. These women are not unique. But the messaging these young men get obscures so much of this reality.

    In addition, disaffected men also make good cannon fodder.

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    1. Cannon fodder. Absolutely.

      I think there’s a slew of recent data about the outcomes of young men — more likely to be single, more likely to commit suicide, more likely to not graduate college. For whatever reason, they are showing signs of crisis.

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    3. We’re experiencing a crisis with my nephew, who has moved in with us temporarily (the alternative was homelessness) and who is showing signs of delusion and disorder (we’re working on getting him professional help, but it’s hard when a 26 year old refuses to go, especially in my province.)

      I hate to say it but I’m seeing up close how these things can develop and when I think of where my nephew was 2.5 years ago when he was healthy, it is absolutely gut-wrenching. That never makes it okay to pick up a gun. I’m very glad for gun control here even though young men still find them, or use vans.

      I would say these are the things that set young men apart from young women:

      • higher use of drugs in young men – I think this still holds and in our family, it definitely holds true. In this case, a lot of drug use starting at 16.
      • welcoming male-dominated internet radicalization communities
      • more social isolation in person
      • something I would call a lack of resilience and I’m not sure why it seems to present more in the young men in my family
      • I don’t think gaming culture is all bad, but I think video game addiction is real and it skews dopamine, and boys still play more video games. I wonder if gaming at critical points in development changes things. Not leading to the kind of disorder mentioned above, but to make “ordinary life” harder in some way.

      In better news my own 19 year old is back on the university track after a detour. For both my kids we really require a full slate of activities with friends and non-screen-stuff. (Well at 19 it’s starting to become a request but that’s still the expectation.)

      JennG

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  4. To be honest, we didn’t know what we were dealing with when he moved in but…now we do and here we are.

    JennG

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    1. JennG – Big hug. My BFF just took in her 29 year old nephew with a late autism diagnosis and lots of mental health issues. Whew. Too many broken boys out there.

      Good job, everyone! And merry Xmas!

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