Social media is a machine that destroys empathy
I'm out of pocket? You're out of pocket!
I’ll be doing standup shows in Miami this week…
Out of pocket
I admit it, some of the taunts were schadenfunny: “Thoughts and deductibles to the family” or “Unfortunately my condolences are out-of-network.” Some were more cri de coeur: “This needs to be the new norm. EAT THE RICH.” Mostly, it all sounded like the plot to a Falling Down reboot.
Since the shooting of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, social media’s been an avalanche of anger toward him and his industry. Most expressed “support for the killing or denigrated the victim.” Anyone with the hubris to suggest “cold blooded assassinations are a bad thing” is getting shouted down as if due process is for fools. And plenty are atwitter at the killer’s thirst trap abs. (Um, did he 3D print those too?)
As for me, right before the shooting I posted this old bit about how Big Pharma sucks…
…and this one about how the Unabomber kinda made some good points…
…which led me to wonder: Is Luigi a Rubesletter subscriber? 🤔
(Also, Luigi Mangione? C’mon. It sounds like a dish at the Olive Garden. Who’s his cousin? Salvatore Fettucine?)
One takeaway from the cheerleading Luigi’s received: The Unabomber was too early. If he had waited for social media to exist, half the country probably woulda cheered him on.
Of course, all this healthcare hate is understandable. The system is broken and people have a right to be furious.
But still…
Cheering on a man being gunned down in broad daylight is just gross. Dude had kids and was a human being. Some of his coworkers even painted him as a (wannabe?) change agent:
A longtime employee of UnitedHealthcare said that workers at the company had been aware for years that members were unhappy. Mr. Thompson was one of the few executives who wanted to do something about it…In speeches to employees, Mr. Thompson spoke about the need to change the state of health care coverage in the country and the culture of the company, topics other executives avoided, the employee said.
There’s a reason we have a justice system instead of just letting disgruntled customers go full Charles Bronson on execs we dislike. At this rate, it feels like the next headline we might see is “Bassist in Death Metal Band Shoots CEO of Spotify.”
Should I also rant about how healthcare CEOs betray their values and integrity just to get ahead in their career? Eh, I’m too busy posting another crowdwork clip (i.e. a form of comedy I've denigrated for years as "hack") because must 👏 obey 👏 algorithm 👏. Speaking of, here’s another “on-topic” one where I chat with a UK woman about healthcare and guns:
I view CEOs like this guy as cogs. It’s a lame excuse, but they do have a duty to maximize profits for shareholders. Their titles may sound lofty, but often they’re more foot soldier than Commander-in-Chief. UnitedHealthcare is just gonna slot in a new one and the show (and the profits) will go on.
The problem is it’s easier to go after an individual than the entire system. We live within a predatory capitalism framework that 1) prioritizes constant growth over humanity and 2) incentivizes maximizing short-term profits over nurturing, long-term relationships with customers.
If we truly want to change healthcare, we need to empower folks like Liz Warren and Bernie instead of cosplaying Michael Corleone dining with Sollozzo and McCluskey. Don’t shoot the player, change the game. Fix Citizens United if you wanna fix the UnitedHealthcares of the world.
Tired: Culture War
Wired: Class War
There’s also been backlash to Luigi’s cheerleaders. “How can they applaud a murder?” they plead.
Here, it’s worth noting the role of the toxic attention economy. Roger Ebert once called film "a machine that generates empathy." Well, social media is the opposite; it's a machine that destroys it. These platforms incentivize ghoulish hatred, anonymous dunking, and vicious trolling that we’d consider gross and disgusting in real life.
Online, we engage in a never-ending roast where we ignore typical social norms that exist when eye contact is involved. Everyone becomes a video game character so why wouldn’t you go full Grand Theft Auto on ‘em? On X, you get cheered for saying things that, if said in a room aloud, would make decent people think, “What a pr*ck.”
Roger Ebert once called film "a machine that generates empathy." Well, social media is the opposite; it's a machine that destroys it.
Sure, let’s shine a spotlight on the awfulness of the healthcare system. But as long as we’re on the warpath to reign in corporate greed, let’s save some of that energy for the tech platforms that are continually murdering decency, empathy, trust, and (maaaaaybe?) democracy because the easiest way for them to monetize us is via rage.
I was reminiscing the other night about the blogger vibes of the early 2000’s. Back then, people had their own sites where they put their names on things. There was no infinite scroll, comment sections were pleasant, and everyone hyperlinked to each other without getting punished for it. Could the internet ever really be that way again? I’ll dream on it, but I admit: It’s a long shot.
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5-spotted
On following old masters, from Simon Reynolds’ Retromania:
W. David Marx, a journalist and the man behind the website Néojaponisme, told me that almost every rock band in Japan starts as a cover band before they begin to work original songs into their set. He explained that ‘artistic tradition in Japan has always been about following Old Masters’ until the point of ‘creative confidence is reached. There is no penalty for being seen as “copycat” or “derivative”. In fact, that’s exactly what brings legitimacy.’
How should intellectuals navigate the darkness ahead?
The responsibility of "intellectuals" is, at least arguably, to act as the vanguard of republican democracy by filling the institutional void we have inherited, to serve as a mediating mechanism between government and the people, provide voice for the voiceless, think for the unthinking legions among us and perhaps thereby enable the public to live out the true meaning of popular sovereignty through informed civic engagement.
John Oliver on climate change:
1 in 4 Americans are skeptical on climate change... Who gives a shit? That doesn't matter. You don't need people's opinions on a fact. You might as well have a poll asking: Which is bigger 5 or 15? Do owls exist? Are there hats?
Political scientist Samuel Huntington in “American Politics: The Promise of Disharmony.”
Critics say that America is a lie because its reality falls so short of its ideals. They are wrong. America is not a lie. It is a disappointment. But it can only be a disappointment because it is also a hope.
Anton Ego in Ratatouille:
In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face is that, in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations. The new needs friends.
Thanks for reading. If you can share the Rubesletter with someone who’d dig it or post about it on social media, I’d appreciate it.
-Matt
P.S. Get creative inspiration from art legends at Working Methods…
This high minded essay is all very fine, but the bottom line for me is— nice crowd work video.