Culture
Zen and the Art of Homicidal Malevolence
Coolness and violence are inextricably linked in American culture, from the Old West to Luigi Mangione.
Surely enough has been written already about Luigi Mangione, the ghost gun–toting Manhattan assassin who shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in the back. But arresting pieces of information keep floating to the surface. The New York Times, for example, reports his April 27 recorded message, “I want to Zen out.” His voice, says the Times, “quiet and contemplative.”
I’ve written about Luigi’s education, which may have included a prep school course, “Becoming Human,” that introduced him to Eastern philosophy and the Zen concept of “mindfulness.” Not that anyone has to go to a ritzy…
