Past week, Advent of Code started up for this year. I’m not particularly competitive but it’s fun to see where I am in the pack as we run along. Top 30k or so.
I also finished off my backlog of language-review flashcards. That would probably be interesting to blog about.
The [extrajudicial killing of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson] drew condemnation and elicited sympathy from a number of public officials, commentators, and corporate executives.
Yeah, and basically no sympathy from anyone normal. Me neither — I try to be righteous and shit, but I’m experiencing a lot of disconnect. Obviously — intellectually — I can say that the human being Brian Thompson deserved better from life. He was sold an American dream: farmboy, top of his class, go make a lot of money by saving companies a lot of money. So when the system needed someone to push the proverbial red button: each time you press it, like, $200k spits out and don’t mind that someone’s grandma dies in pain or a kid with cancer can’t get the meds that help him keep at least a little food down. The system needed someone to push that button as fast as possible, and it needed an executive to say “do it!” — to make the hard calls about just how cruel we should be, to encourage people, and to bring home $9 or $10 million a year as compensation for the damage to ones conscience.
Brian Thompson could have done something meaningful with his life. But he was given the opportunity to do whatever shit that was and he lacked the moral courage to refuse.
I hope God puts him right. I hope God puts us all right, because we aren’t right yet. I think I want to start giving a damn about the deaths of business leaders. Maybe it’ll be easier when I can see them give a damn about people like me.