Tim Barto: Heroes and killers of New York City

By TIM BARTO

Two stories coming out of New York City over the past week say much about how strange – and divergent – our society views news stories. A jury found Daniel Penny not guilty of homicide for placing a chokehold on career drug addict and subway rider Jordan Neely, while Luigi Mangione was arrested for gunning down United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Daniel Penny is almost always identified as a Marine Corps veteran (Semper Fidelis, Daniel!) in the media, which is really nothing new. Have you ever noticed how service affiliation is usually mentioned when Marines get in trouble? It’s usually not such a public matter when an Airman or Coastie runs afoul of the law, but when the accused once wore the eagle-globe-and-anchor, that fact always makes it in the lead, especially if the crimes were particularly gruesome; i.e., Lee Harvey Oswald, Charles Ng. It comes with the territory.

Sgt. Penny’s accused crime was detaining Neely with a chokehold we all learned in boot camp. Recruits were shown how to administer chokeholds in the unfortunate situation of a firefight going south and matters being reduced to hand-to-hand combat, and were then partnered up and instructed to choke the other recruit, but only to the point of almost losing consciousness. 

My practice partner was not a very bright guy and his ability to follow directions was a constant source of irritation for our drill instructors. My two years of junior college experience, and the completely useless highly exalted associate’s degree that came with such academic rigors, labeled me the best educated member of the 65-man platoon; therefore, I was often assigned the undesirable task of trying to square away the more wayward Marine wannabes. 

In what was apparently his only successful case of grasping what was taught during our 13 weeks stay at MCRD, this other recruit held his grip until my vision started fading, clearly not understanding the almost part of almost losing consciousness. I’m happy to report that he came to understand the almost part when it was my turn to practice. 

What I learned was that this chokehold was really effective, even when the chokee is flailing about and tapping frantically. Sgt. Penny, USMC, apparently learned this lesson as well, and effectively and deservedly applied that knowledge to the now deceased Neely, a fact that many of us believe should have led to universal recognition of Sgt. Penny, perhaps even keys to the city or a lifetime pass to the New York subway.

Yet, there are those who fault the good sergeant for his community goodwill, most notably Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who earlier in the year found some bizarre sense of righteousness by releasing a gang of illegal aliens who viciously attacked New York City police officers. Coming to his side to blame racism for Neely’s death, Black Lives Matter co-founder Hank Newsome called for black vigilantes to even the score. 

“Racism is still alive and kicking in America,” said Newsome. You know who’s not? Jordan Neely. And New York subway patrons are safer because Sergeant Penny took action.

The other New York death – the blatant daytime shooting of Brian Thompson – reveals a bizarre and opposite reaction. At first, the comments supporting shooter Luigi Mangione and saying that Thompson deserved his demise seemed satirical, or perhaps attempts at gallows humor, but apparently they are heartfelt. There are people who hate health insurance companies so much that they can excuse a person being gunned down in cold blood on the streets of New York. And it gets worse.

Hybristophilia is the attraction some women feel toward violent criminals. Ted Bundy, Richard Ramirez, even Charles Manson all had female admirers. Have you seen the comments about what a hunk this Luigi guy is? 

It’s got to be anathema to feminists. If it isn’t (and there don’t seem to be any loud feminist voices decrying this attraction), it should be . . . unless homicidal retribution for denying insurance claims trumps basic human decency. 

But it’s not just doe-eyed women longing for the undivided attention of a murderous psychopath who are making favorable remarks about Mangione, United Healthcare had to take down their Facebook condolences page because of all the hateful “he deserved it” comments and the 80,000 laughter emojis that were posted on it.

Even McDonald’s fast food empire is taking hits. A few months ago, Donald Trump was allowed to work at one of the restaurants in an effective campaign gimmick, which got Lefties all riled up and screeching for boycotts of Big Macs and Filet-o-Fish sandwiches, but now one of their employees somehow recognized the killer with the killer abs and alerted law enforcement who swooped in to make the arrest. The hamburger chain is now being referred to as the place where snitches work.

So, if a military veteran takes charge of a dangerous situation by subduing a crazed drug addict who spends his time imitating Michael Jackson and threatening subway passengers, that veteran is to be treated not as a hero but as a criminal. 

On the other hand, if a handsome guy guns down a business executive on the sidewalk, he is to be exalted in the heroic tradition of Robin Hood. This is made all the more bizarre because Mr. Mangione hails from a very wealthy east coast family and used a gun to do his deed; facts that, again, one would think should make him unattractive to those on the left, but it seems to be those very people who support his actions. Again, forwarding a hateful agenda against the healthcare industry – and capitalism in general – is what really counts. 

Thankfully, the jury saw that Daniel Penny was a good guy trying to help other people. Hopefully, the jury – once he comes to trial – will find that Luigi Mangione is a bad guy who did a bad thing.

Tim Barto is a regular contributor to Must Read Alaska.