The country’s obsession with Luigi Magione INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Luigi Mangione, the man suspected of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has become a household name. Mangione has become a hero to some and an anti-hero to others. A fundraiser for his defense team had collected more than $180,000. Psychologists gave News 8 their take on the national fascination with this man. Kevin Nadal, a psychologist and a professor at City University of New York, said, “We have to understand the complexities of it all. It’s not just the murder itself, but the system in which people feel disenfranchised, in which people feel that never see justice.” Nadal spoke about the duality that Mangione represents: a murderer on one hand and on the other someone who seems to take a stand on systematic oppressions and denial of health insurance companies. “While many people may not agree with his method, which is murder, many feel there was no other way to communicate this message,” Nadal said. Some people have shown their support for Mangione. The Luminary and Candles Co. sells prayer candles, usually made for saints, with the suspect’s face on it. Mangione also appeared clean shaven with a new haircut from the Altoona, Pennsylvania, prison when he was extradited back to New York. Nadal said, “He had a fresh haircut. It demonstrates that perhaps there are people on the inside who are taking care of him within the prison system, that he might have some people rooting for him as well.” Authorities say Mangione targeted Thompson. UnitedHealthcare says Mangione wasn’t insured by the insurance provider. Pamela Rutledge is a psychologist specializing in digital behaviors. “Unfortunately, what happened is we have effectively dehumanized Brian Thompson. The headlines reporting this story refer to him as the UnitedHealthcare CEO. They don’t even use his name, but the killer’s name is being used. We are now glorifying someone who is the epitome of cancel culture.” Mangione is from an affluent family in Maryland. He graduated as a valedictorian in high school and received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. Rutledge said, “We have a tendency to glorify white males, especially good-looking males, when they perpetuate crimes in a way that we don’t do to any other part of the population. If he were a Black man or woman, or a woman of color, it would be much different portrayal.” She also said social media thrives on emotions in real time; that’s why people online are hearing a lot of noise. They are reactions, she said, and not necessarily solutions. CEO killing suspect Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty to state terror and murder charges