The Smoldering of Luigi, What Gets People Worked Up
- Darisse Smith
- Mar 14
- 5 min read
I have posted dozens of Reels, Stories and Shorts over the past 10 days to promote my podcast episode, "The Smoldering of Luigi Mangione: Does Vigilante Justice Belong in A Democracy?" and it has been interesting to see which of these clips have garnered the most views and comments. I took approximately 20 clips with my guest, Professor Jon Michaels, of the UCLA School of Law, and highlighted the key things we talked about--how people's support of Luigi Mangione impacts the rule of law, how government policies incentivize vigilantism, whether or not there is any room for vigilante justice in our democracy in the 21st Century, and even how vigilante justice is romanticized in pop culture (#Jack Bauer). Mostly, these posts garnered a few views, and a comment here or there, which I expect having a limited social media following so far. I posted 1 Reel that talked about how Kyle Rittenhouse went "looking for action" in Kenosha, Wisconsin during the violent protests after Jacob Blake was shot by police, and received lots of comments defending Rittenhouse.
Here are some sample exchanges:
@the.adventuresofted Everyone Rittenhouse shot were WHITE. Zero connection to race. They all literally tried to kill him before he shot them as well. Rittenhouse lived in that community. The people that got shot did not. The ones “looking for action” were the people he shot.
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wiegehts0630
@the.adventuresofted Why was he there initially, then? Why was Rittenhouse armed?
the.adventuresofted
@wiegehts0630 to protect his city from fucking armed rioters. The fuck are you talking about?? He literally stopped them from trying to blow up a damn gas station!! That’s how the original altercation started.
wiegehts0630
@the.adventuresofted Listen, we can have a debate, but you can be Civil. Listen to the Podcast episode and then we can talk. Thanks.
the.adventuresofted
@wiegehts0630 I don’t need to listen to your podcast. I saw everything that happened with my own eyes and watched every second of the trial. You clearly have no clue what you’re talking about.
wiegehts0630
1dReply
the.adventuresofted
@wiegehts0630 yep.
@wiegehts0630 I definitely agree that those "echo chambers" exist, but do not exist in only left or only right groups. I do think it is ignorant to think that Rittenhouse traveled to Kenosha without a racially motivated reason, being that he went there, armed, as a counter protest to the Jacob Blake police shooting protests.
krpeterson87
@wiegehts0630 Rittenhouse worked in Kenosha as well as his father lived there. His attackers that he defended himself against were all white. But you can't help yourself but to make it racial. With Penny he did not know the medical history of Neely, all he knew was a man was threatening people's lives. I would think the opinions of people that were on that subway who stated they were in fear for their lives would at least allow you to believe in Penny's mind he was stopping a threat. How much effort do you put into speaking about instances like when the black teen smashed the old white guy in the back of the head with a brick just because he was white? Or the handyman building a mailbox who was killed just for being white? By you pushing your leftist inspired echo chamber just creates even more anger and division, which fuels even more attacks. Instead of pushing this everything is racist agenda, why not use your time and energy to bring people together?
wiegehts0630
@krpeterson87 This is 1 minute of a 60 minute podcast episode about whether or not vigilante justice belongs in a democracy, and self-defense can be considered vigilante justice in some instances. Kyle Rittenhouse showed up armed to violent protests over a black man getting shot by police. It doesn't matter what the race is of the people he shot. He was in a racially charged situation, and he put himself there.
Even though I disagree with most of the assertions of these men in my comments, they bring up some interesting points about vigilante justice. In their view, Kyle Rittenhouse was in Kenosha, Wisconsin protecting a community from looters, and people meaning harm. I understand that this was his motive, though I find it incredibly irresponsible and naive to bring a gun there and expect not to get attacked. He was only 17 years old, so I'll give him some benefit not to think about what could happen if he showed up to these violent protests with an AR-15. He was acquitted in 2023.
What Professor Michaels and I discussed throughout the episode, but especially for Rittenhouse and even Daniel Penny, was that it isn't the job of private citizens to protect their cities in a world where we have highly developed and trained law enforcement, and at multiple levels. Whether or not you believe in the effectiveness of law enforcement, when you take matters into your own hands, you are interfering with a system that is well developed. Rittenhouse being there, trying to protect this community, actually brought on more unrest than if he were not there.
Where is the line drawn, though, when it comes to protecting yourself, your belongings, your city, your family and even others, when faced with danger? There are "Stand Your Ground" laws in some states, whether you have some license to use lethal force to protect yourself and your property. Obviously, if someone comes into my house, and I have a reasonable belief that they are going to hurt me or my family, I will fight them to the death. I will not be thinking about our democracy or the criminal justice system. But these laws have also led to people accidentally knocking on the wrong door and getting shot. Or having to turn around in someone's driveway, and getting shot. Should every citizen have such power to enact lethal justice?
Luigi Mangione made an elaborate plan to find, stalk and execute Unitedhealthcare CEO Brian Thompson because he and others believed the U.S. healthcare system was run only for profit, and not for healthcare. Mangione is not alone in this belief, and, as the CEO of the largest healthcare insurance carrier in the U.S., Thompson was a symbol of this corporate greed. After the murder, Americans all over social media cheered and celebrated because they were fed up of being denied prescriptions and procedures so insurance carriers could make record profits. Mangione highlighted the long-running and deep-seated frustration many, maybe even most, Americans have about the U.S. healthcare system.
Even with this, should we be the jury, judge, prosecutor and punisher of those we don't like or agree with? Doesn't Brian Thompson deserve, by virtue of living and working in this country, due process? We have to think that if due process is granted to someone like Brian Thompson, then it would also be extended to us if someone finds offense with something we have done.
I hope if you listened to the episode, you enjoyed it, and found it interesting. I felt my brain firing on all levels when talking to Jon Michaels. Below are some of the sources I used for the episode, aside from the interview:
"Vigilante Nation." https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Vigilante-Nation/Jon-Michaels/9781668023235
Texas Law SB-8
"Alliance Between Vigilantes and Law Enforcement: A U.S. Tradition"
"Daniel Penny Explains in His Own Words Why He Restrained Jordan Neely So Long On The Subway"
"Vigilantism: Agree or Disagree?"
https://www.viepsychology.com/2016/09/23/vigilantism-agree-or-disagree/#:~:text=Pros%20and%20Cons%20of%20Vigilantism,are%20some%20 challenges%20that%20 arise.
"Vigilante Justice: Heroes or Headaches for Law Enforcement"
"Predator Catchers Cover the USA, livestreaming their brand of vigilante justice"
"Man Accused of Mistakenly Shooting Deputies In Act Of Vigilante Justice"
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