I’m from Brian Thompson’s hometown. The celebration of his killing is damning.

Before he was the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson was a small-town Iowa farm kid with an extraordinary drive to achieve.

To most, Jewell, Iowa, is just a blip on a map. But here, people can dream just as big as anywhere else. That’s what Brian did when he graduated from South Hamilton High School as valedictorian. He was a high-performing academic and star athlete who was destined to be a leader. That was his fate – ask anyone who knew him. Getting gunned down in cold blood wasn’t.

I chose to return to central Iowa and make Jewell my home after working on Capitol Hill for two years. The idyllic charm of Main Street and tranquil disposition of the town can make anyone feel at home after weathering the political storms of Washington.

In a small town like Jewell, your success is the community’s success. Brian came from humble beginnings and worked his way to the top of the corporate ladder. Yet, his connection to tight-knit community values didn’t seem to dissipate. “A friend to all,” “kind-hearted and fun-loving,” “humble,” “a father and a family man” are just a few ways Brian is remembered by those who knew him.

Brian Thompson’s story is not only being forgotten – it’s being attacked

What disheartens me most is that his story is not only being forgotten – it’s being attacked through blatant moral apathy. Online, Brian’s name is amalgamated with the alleged evils of the insurance industry, or Corporate America in general. If he is mentioned, he’s depicted as a faceless, expendable victim drowned in a larger policy debate.

It’s an insult.

Opinion: Madison school shooting will soon be forgotten. Just like 82 others.

Luigi Mangione, it’s being reported, viewed the policies of health insurance companies as nothing short of dehumanizing. So how can we justify dehumanization by a person who shot and killed Thompson, as Mangione is accused of doing? Take a look, we already have.

“I’m sorry, prior authorization is required for thoughts and prayers,” jeered someone in an X post. In Seattle, a digital street sign was tampered with the words “ONE LESS CEO, MANY MORE TO GO.” In an interview with Piers Morgan, commentator Taylor Lorenz proclaimed, “I felt, along with so many other Americans, joy,” following Brian’s death. You can find a plethora of other brazen comments that are frankly unfit to repeat.

The moral desensitization is shared by many. For anyone who makes it to the top of the mountain, they are characterized as the villain, regardless of their path.

So now we have the idea that it was somehow justified to take a life – not even to correct the wrongs or inadequacies of health insurance companies, but merely to make a statement. A statement authorities attribute to Mangione that corporate America is “completely out of touch and an insult to the intelligence of the American people” is worth unpacking.

It’s difficult to reconcile Mangione’s martyrdom with his privilege

Let’s talk about what “out of touch” really means. Mangione hailed from a family of immense wealth, purchasing a country club decades ago. He attended an elite prep school with a tuition cost of nearly $40,000 a year. It’s hard to reconcile his martyrdom with the irony of his privileged background.

To the public, Mangione’s wealth is irrelevant. Yet for Brian, it cost him his life. Being wealthy isn’t a crime, but to position oneself as the voice of the people when you come from astounding financial privilege rings hollow. Not to mention, Mangione was caught at a McDonald’s, the paragon of a corporation placing profit above the health of their customers. It’s the pot calling the kettle black.

Opinion: ‘Open-season’ on those we disagree with? Come on. Violence is never the answer.

While Luigi Mangione continues to be hailed a hero and vigilante, Brian’s story falls further into the abyss.

And as his story dies, so too the hopes of hardworking Americans from small towns who aspire to achieve something and make a name for themselves.

UnitedHealthcare CEO was unilaterally blamed for systemic issues

Like many CEOs and corporate leaders, Brian Thompson found himself at the helm of a ship caught in troubled waters. He was unilaterally blamed for systemic issues within an industry, issues that had far more to do with broader practices than one sole individual’s decisions.

But to such eyes, Brian’s death was necessary to make a point – one that was entirely senseless and inexcusable.

While the suffering of millions of Americans who have been denied insurance coverage is indisputable, murder is not a justified form of retribution for the systemic failures in our health care system. Attempting to vindicate the deaths and hardships of patients by taking another life only perpetuates a cycle of violence.

Not to mention, it does nothing to ameliorate the root causes of those systemic failures.

A CEO, a husband, a father was killed

There is no moral equivalence between the denial of health care and murder – one cannot undo the harm done by another. It’s a complete erosion of our society to become complicit in the very cruelty we seek to end.

Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don’t have the app? Download it for free from your app store.

Iowa’s elected representatives have been notably silent. What’s stopping them from sharing Brian’s story?

What we are left with is tragic. A CEO, husband and father killed. A community in mourning. A young man with a promising future, now charged with murder. And the underlying issues remain.

The public’s rejection of basic moral principles is damning.

We owe it to Brian to not only restore our civility but also to redeem basic morality. Or else we might as well tell every small-town kid that their hopes and dreams may very well be shot down.

Maddy McGarry is a resident of Jewell, Iowa, and a 2020 graduate of Iowa State University. She previously served as deputy press secretary in the office of Sen. Joni Ernst in Washington. In 2023, she represented the United States as the 75th Cherry Blossom Queen, serving as an ambassador of U.S.-Japan relations. She was also selected as Iowa State University’s Outstanding Ambassador of Agriculture and Life Sciences upon graduation. This column originally appeared in the Des Moines Register.

You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: UnitedHealthcare CEO Thompson’s slaying wasn’t justified | Opinion