Luigi Mangione chose to be Tyler Durden
You either die Bruce Wayne or live long enough to become Tyler Durden
“We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off.” — Tyler Durden, Fight Club
From what Hollywood’s idols of masculinity have taught us, ambitious young men can only pursue four paths:
Become a capitalist unconcerned with civic strife —> Patrick Bateman
Become a capitalist concerned with doling out social justice —> Bruce Wayne
Become a nihilistic anti-capitalist, looking to break the system —> Tyler Durden
Burn out and give up. Let circumstances decide your fate —> NPC
Luigi Mangione has captured the internet’s collective attention these past weeks after he was identified as the prime suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Thompson was shot, at close range, outside the New York Hilton Midtown Hotel, on his way to a conference. Even before the suspect was known, there was a mixed reaction to his death. Most were naturally shocked that an executive, relatively unknown outside his industry, would be killed in such a manner.
On the other hand, a small but vocal group took the internet in celebration of his death. They saw his killing as retribution for what they consider a broken and corrupt US healthcare system. Since many people die or are severely debilitated because of this system, some saw Thompson, as a representative of healthcare, as deserving of his fate. I disagree with this line of thinking, but all I will say on the topic is: I would suggest not killing executives or anyone from companies you disagree with.
If the internet was not already invested enough, once Luigi Mangione was unveiled as the prime suspect, all hell broke loose. Today’s article will provide a recap of the best memes related to the event, and explain why LM was faced with a metaphysical decision and decided to go with the most extreme outcome. To become Tyler Durden.
If this week’s article does not interest you, please check out some other recent ones:
Who is Luigi Mangione and where are the memes?
Luigi Mangione, the alleged killer of Thompson, is an Italian-American, the last group socially acceptable to make racial stereotypes about1. Once his name/photo were revealed and people found his online presence, the internet broke. Luigi is not what people would have expected. He comes from a wealthy family, was valedictorian at a prestigious prep school, and graduated from UPenn. Upon graduation he worked as a Data Engineer at tech company for a few years. None of these attributes would generally align with what people would expect from somebody who murdered a healthcare executive, with no direct association.
Besides some wonderful shirtless pics and internet comments, the most revealing item from his internet history was his list of rated books on Goodreads, including The Unabomber Manifesto (which he gave 4 stars, didn’t quite stack up against the 5 star rated Lorax). Mangione was intrigued by Ted Kaczynski, at one point sharing some online takes he found interesting, including "when all other forms of communication fail, violence is necessary to survive."
This made many wonder, why a rich, Dave Franco look-alike with a promising career and active social life, choose to do this? There are many speculations, depending on if you trust the internet, it either had something to do with a back surgery he had undergone a few years ago, some bad trip after taking drugs or mental illness. When Mangione was caught, he had his own Manifesto with him. This was posted to Substack by Ken Klippenstein. In the three page handwritten document, he writes:
“Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming. A reminder: the US has the #1 most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet we rank roughly #42 in life expectancy. United is the largest company in the US by market cap, behind only Apple, Google, Walmart. It has grown and grown, but as our life expectancy? No the reality is, these [indecipherable] have simply gotten too powerful, and they continue to abuse our country for immense profit because the American public has allwed them to get away with it.”
Irrespective to what led him to this, Mangione was angry with the system, and chose to do something about it. What were his choices?
The Paths available to the Young & Ambitious
Mangione had his choice between ending up as any of Patrick Bateman2, Bruce Wayne3, Tyler Durden4 or an NPC5 (For the uneducated among us, see footnotes to learn who these people are). As a wealthy, well educated, muscular and ambitious young man, Luigi’s had the rare possibility to become Bateman and Wayne; most can only choose between Durden or being an NPC.
Becoming Patrick Bateman would have been the easiest route for him. Mangione could have gone to work in his family’s real estate development business, securing a mid-six-figure salary by his late twenties. Any anger or frustration against the world, could have been taken out in secret, with various extracurricular hobbies. Mangione had the option to remain generally apathetic to what was happening in the world around him; he had enough money that none of it needed to matter. Like our pal Patrick Bateman, the greatest issues in his life could have been securing a table at Dorsia, or having the best business card. This is the path most people born into Luigi Mangione’s position take, which is why we never hear about most of them.
For those that are privileged but unwilling to turn a blind eye to the troubles of the world, they can pursue the path of Bruce Wayne. Wayne himself was once at a similar crossroads; if not for Rachel Dawes, he likely would have become Gotham’s version of Patrick Bateman6. Instead of traveling the world with his billions or slinging it with the fat cats, he overcame the trauma from his youth, and chose to save Gotham. He took his privilege and made life better for everyone, at his own expense. Instead of accepting the way things were, he decided to change them into the way he believed they should be. He managed to do this largely without murder (my apologies to Ra’s Al Ghul, The Joker and Bain).
If Wayne decided that Gotham was not worth saving, or if his vigilante efforts couldn’t improve the lives of its citizens, he might have embraced an alternate path. That path is Project Mayhem. Project Mayhem was an organized campaign to dismantle modern consumer culture and corporate dominance through acts of vandalism, destruction, and chaos. It is positioned as a rejection of societal norms and as a way to achieve liberation from materialism. It was the brainchild of its charismatic leader, Tyler Durden.
Little is known about Durden’s background before the events of Fight Club. From what we know, in addition to leading Project Mayhem and organizing Fight Club, he worked various jobs: as a projectionist, soap salesman, and part-time anarchist. Tyler embodies many desirable traits. Not only is he cool and attractive, but he also has agency. You can’t threaten Tyler with anything, because there’s nothing you can take from him that matters.
Like Wayne, he is an idealist, yet where they differ is that Durden does not believe that the current system is salvageable, and society needs to be re-made. This cannot happen through the conventional channels, therefore society in its current form needs to be deconstructed and rebuilt. This is done by destroying the pillars keeping the system in place. In Fight Club, Durden decided the banks and credit card companies were to blame, so he blew up the buildings containing the credit records, wiping the slate clean.
Conclusion
Luigi Mangione saw a problem with the US healthcare system and rejected the paths most people in his position would take. He didn’t slip quietly into the Bateman life of wealth and apathy, nor did he try to reshape the world as a Bruce Wayne. Instead, he chose Tyler Durden’s path of destruction over reform, action over inaction.
Disillusioned with a system he believed was beyond fixing, Mangione’s decision was as extreme as it was final. Where others vented their frustrations online or looked the other way, he took a drastic action. Perhaps he feels justified in doing so but instead of fixing this broken system, UnitedHealth will find a new CEO, the healthcare system will not meaningfully change any time soon and he turned himself into a cautionary tale. One that leaves us questioning not just his choices, but the systems that created them.
He chose the path of Tyler Durden but he forgot something crucial. Tyler Durden does not exist. He lives only in our minds. Tyler Durden is not going to jail, Luigi is. Keep this in mind the next time you try to decide between staying as an NPC or becoming Patrick Bateman, Bruce Wayne or Tyler Durden.
(Happy Birthday Brad Pitt and another special Substack reader)
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Dec.23 2024 Update:
For those looking to learn more about why Luigi Mangione did what he did, you should check out this insightful piece from
who had spoken with Luigi earlier this year. Their conversation touched on some of the items I discuss in this article.
According to Twitter, Bluesky and seemingly every social media platform
Patrick Bateman is the main character from American Psycho, played by Christian Bale in the 2000 film . Bateman works in finance as the VP of Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) at the fictional investment bank, Pierce & Pierce. Beyond an incredible morning routine that would rival Bryan Johnson, Bateman is mostly disillusioned with his work and life on the Upper East Side. To fill the void, he lets out his rage by murdering work rivals, escorts and anyone really.
Bruce Wayne is the son of Thomas Wayne, and the heir to Wayne Enterprises. When I speak of Bruce Wayne, I am talking about the real Batman, the one portrayed by Christian Bale and written by Christopher Nolan. Ignore these other trash impersonators. Anyway, Bruce Wayne grows up damaged after watching his parents get killed at the hands of a homeless person mugging them. Wayne goes through an extended period of angst before finally settling into his role as an executive at Wayne Enterprises, billionaire philanthropist by day, and Batman at night.
Tyler Durden is the main character from Fight Club. Whether you read the book or saw the film (he was played by Brad Pitt), either work. Entire books can be written about his worldview but he is largely associated with nihilism. Beyond nihilism, he espouses the belief that society is a prison, and that we need to break out with acts of rebellion and rejection of consumerist culture (among many things).
A non-playable character (NPC) is a term that originates from video games, is an insulting way of calling somebody that is conformist, passive, or unengaged in their own life.
American Psycho is actually a prequel to Batman Begins. If people are interested, I can explain this in a subsequent article.
Oddly enough, while never hinted at in the film, I always felt that Tyler Durden must have come from a wealthy background as well. I am fairly certain we see him in designer clothing throughout the movie.
As to the broader system of healthcare, the US system is so broken on so many levels that blaming health insurance companies alone gets us nowhere. Arguably, it’s a step backward, because it serves only as a distraction.
I do think there is merit in universal health insurance coverage, but contrary to popular belief, a lot of countries achieve universal coverage through private insurers.
Blowing up the credit card companies doesn’t matter, people will get in debt again. It’s already the case that credit card debt is unsecured.
Insurance won’t change because a ceo was shot. If it does all it will mean is that companies pay out claims they ought not to for PR purposes, which will probably just drive up medical cost trend faster.