A good-looking, Ivy League man raised from Maryland wealth, caught up in an uncharacteristic murder — what better story to capture the American eye.
When Luigi Mangione first broke the news, his story dominated TikTok For You pages not with condemnation as one might have expected, but with silly compilations obsessing over his good looks. Months later, he still pops up with his occasional court hearing, flashing a new classy outfit. Worst of all, Mangione, who is on trial for serious murder and terrorist charges, has fans fawning over him, some even showing up in person to his court hearings — let us not normalize this response but instead see it as evidence of a larger, more concerning trend to condone violence and bypass authority.
There seems to be a growing trend to protest the established social order. Think President Trump and his signature anti-establishment image. Even more aptly, think about the Jan. 6 insurrection. Mangione is just the latest example of anti-establishment sentiment and ruthless protest. But the most fascinating thing about him is his fans. They are plainly absurd — completely disillusioned of his alleged felony, all because of what? Because he has a nice jawline?
The public’s reaction to Mangione is a sign that Americans too easily condone violence in the name of protest. People are falling prey to the widely agreed-upon righteousness of revolution. Living in a country whose own founding was born out of protest, Americans have a great deal of respect for the revolutionary spirit. Revolution is synonymous with the revered images of our Founding Fathers and prominent leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. Revolution's untouchable, undeniably positive image is fueled by the admirable revolutions of our national history. However, we have come to a point where this reverence is being used as a foolish excuse for violence.
There’s a certain excitement that comes with protest — you get to participate in a classic American tradition. But more often than not this excitement overpowers the deep, intellectual passions that should fuel protest. Mangione’s fans lack this intellectual passion. Fans see a handsome guy and find it fun to sexualize and thirst over a “bad boy.” In any other circumstance it would be unacceptable to fawn over a murder-terrorist, but in this case, Mangione is armed with the benevolence of revolution as his excuse. Fans claim they like Mangione because of his message — the protest of common people against the capitalist elite. How could you possibly do something as unpatriotic as saying they are wrong? Our national obsession with revolution allows pointless, foolish violence.
You can find an arguably similar scene here at Brown in the pro-Palestine protests. When students camped out on the Main Green, how much of it was driven by a genuine hatred against injustice? How much of it was driven by excitement to participate in Brown’s signature vehement student protests? When 20 students were led out of University Hall in handcuffs, smiling for the camera and ending up on The Herald’s front page, were their motivations based primarily on injustice or excitement?
Protest is glorified in our society, and it should be. The problem is that we focus too much on its shiny image rather than the deep thought behind it. Perhaps this is because of the American education system and the general American culture. We are spoon fed glorious images of the brave protesters at Stonewall. We are taught the nobility of grassroots organization and speaking up for ourselves. We are encouraged to be wary of established authority, like how Einstein rejected the scientific status quo or how the characters of “1984” protested against Big Brother. While these messages are great, perhaps the image of protest has become too glorified to the point of becoming fantastical — highlighting all the excitement and none of the intellectual sophistication.
Protest is a powerful tool. So powerful, in fact, that we can owe the existence of our country to it. People should treat it more as a sacred tool, not something to casually participate in. We should try to be more aware of this before jumping headfirst into a protest, and also maybe before liking the Luigi Mangione edit that pops up on our screens.
Daniel Cheong ’27 can be reached at daniel_cheong@brown.edu. Please send responses to this column to letters@browndailyherald.com and other opinions to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
