To you who are celebrating murder…

I am usually very careful not to share my political or social opinions here on LinkedIn. This is a place for us to do business. However––I also preach every day that leaders are people who see that something needs to be done––and they do it. I could not sit on the sidelines on this one…

When did it become OK to celebrate the assassination of another citizen? I am very careful in my use of this word. The joy over the murder of Brian Thompson is disgusting.?

Worse, many people are calling for more killing. Social media is being flooded with warnings to other executives and their bodyguards. A brave display of internet balls by people who wouldn’t––who don’t have the courage to confront what they see as a wrong through civil means.

It is not an act of courage to stalk and ambush an unarmed man. It is the act of someone who is either desperate or disturbed. Maybe both.?

I’m not justifying the business practices of Thompson or United HealthCare. The complaints against this company and its leadership are well documented. Does it justify murder?

You might make the argument that the Thompson’s policies and decisions made by UHC cause innocent people to suffer and die. Again, this may be true. But were they committing willful violence? Were they breaking the law? Did they intentionally cause people’s deaths?

These are all questions that should be confronted in court.?

Have your life decisions ever caused harm? Have your actions ever caused the death of another human being? Have you ever really considered these questions and do you really know?

And if so, should you be killed for your part in whatever harm you’ve caused?

Before you think this is a philosophical rant, I’ll share something I’ve intentionally confronted in my own life. I’m very open about the fact that for some time as a young man I was a serious drug abuser. I abused many drugs that were and still are illegal––that could only be produced, distributed, and purchased through criminal acts. Marijuana, which is now largely de-criminalized, was then still highly illegal.

Why is this important? Bear with me…

The predominant mindset then among my peers, and one I certainly shared, was that our drug use was harming nobody but ourselves. Why was it anyone else’s business? This simply wasn’t true.?

Years later I got involved with mentoring young people who are incarcerated. Many if not most of them are locked up due to their involvement with illegal drugs and many were involved in dealing and trafficking, some on a very serious scale. Many of these cases involved violence and some even murder.

These young people unintentionally turned a bright light on my own past. No, I didn’t deal drugs. I did sell to friends, but not at a profit. In my mind, this absolved me from considering myself a dealer. After all, it was dealers who were the real criminals. They were the ones committing acts of violence and murder in the business of delivering their product––I was only the end user.?

But did I sell drugs to people who were harmed by their use? Did I expose people to drugs for the first time who later suffered for having indulged for their first time with me?

Yes. And yes. Of course, they may have started with someone else, but that’s not the point. They didn’t. They started with me.?

And what about my own use? As I said just a minute ago, I wasn’t really hurting anyone but myself. Right?

Many years later, I became aware of at least one incident where someone was killed doing business––someone I also bought drugs from. I know now that this was far from an isolated incident. It happens all the time. People are attacked, beaten, raped, and murdered all in the daily business of producing, distributing, and consuming drugs.?

Was I responsible for any of this violence? Did I kill anyone?

Ask me that question today, and I’ll say, “Yes.” I can’t run from that responsibility.?

Now, ask yourself, should I be assassinated? If someone’s life was ruined because of my selfish decision to abuse drugs, would that person or someone who cared about them be justified in killing me?

Have you ever used drugs? Even recreationally? Were they legal at the time? Do you share the same responsibility as part of this chain of violence?

You may argue there’s no parallel. I’d argue there is. The point is that there are civil ways to address and resolve these past actions, particularly when they are not intentional or, in many if not most cases, even without knowledge or forethought.?

I want to make clear that I am not opposed to violent responses when justified.

I was in the self-defense business for many years. I practiced and trained people in the development and application of techniques that cannot be described as anything but violent. I trained law enforcement personnel. I trained and worked as an armed bodyguard, and some of that training included the application of deadly force…

When justified.?

And what was the prime directive that defined when the use of violent force is justified? In legal terms, you would call it “clear and present danger.” That is, the imminent presentation of a physical threat to you or someone in your immediate vicinity.

It does not include the premeditated ambush of an unarmed person––even if that person is or was a known criminal. By our laws, you are not even justified to stalk and kill a known murderer as much as we might make a moral or ethical case for such an action.

To you who are celebrating this murder and you who are calling out to kill other executives…

Do you have the balls to make these threats face-to-face? Do you have the balls to actually plan, stalk, and kill another human being? Notice I said balls––not courage. Murder is not an act of courage.?

If not, keep your hate to yourself.?

Or better yet, channel it in a useful direction. Organize a meaningful protest at one of these corporate offices. Gather people who have suffered from callous policies and bring a class action suit. Reach out and personally offer your assistance to someone who has been harmed by these businesses.?

Above all, do not pour more gas on the fire. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt in that you may not be a potentially violent psychopath yourself. But your words just might inspire the next one to grow big enough balls to go out and kill.?

Will you then share any degree of responsibility for the next murder?

Yes. You will.?