Opinion: Delay, Deny, Depose – The Cost Of Ignoring Injustice
The brutal daylight assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson should have sent shockwaves across the whole United States… but the public response told a different story. While the corporate world reeled, on TikTok, the reaction wasn’t one of grief or outrage—it was one of celebration.
Memes proliferated at an unsettling speed. TikTok users joked about how “New Yorkers would never snitch” on the killer. Others mocked the irony of a healthcare CEO being denied life-saving intervention, with comments like “When you play Monopoly but end up bankrupting the banker.”
The words “DELAY, DENY, DEPOSE”, allegedly etched on the killer’s bullets, became a bitter rallying cry against a system many see as broken beyond repair.
On the surface, these reactions seem inhuman—callous even. But they’re far more complex than simple tastelessness or nihilism. They are a mirror reflecting the frustration and despair felt by a growing number of people who believe they’ve been left behind by a rigged system.
The United States is often held up as a beacon of progress, yet millions of its citizens struggle for the basics. Healthcare, the most basic of human rights, is often a luxury. For many, one illness, accident, or even an algorithmic insurance denial can mean financial ruin. All this while the CEOs of insurance companies rake in millions, their corporations prioritising shareholder value over patient care.
Under such circumstances, the anger bubbling beneath the surface of American society isn’t just understandable—it’s inevitable. Brian Thompson’s assassination was not merely an act of violence; it became a symbol. The memes, the jokes, and even the celebrations weren’t about him as an individual, but about what he represented: a system that has consistently prioritised profit over people.
Dehumanisation Goes Both Ways
But this fury isn’t uniquely American. Inequality is rising everywhere, and with it, a growing divide between those who benefit from the system and those crushed by it.
Perhaps the most revealing aspect of the reaction to Thompson’s murder is how it exposes selective empathy. Many of the same people who mourn the deaths of innocent civilians in Gaza, rightly condemning oppression and injustice, are now celebrating the death of a single man. The difference? Gazans are perceived as victims of oppression, while a healthcare CEO is seen as part of the oppressor class.
This isn’t to excuse the celebrations, but to understand them. Desperation has a way of eroding empathy. When people feel their humanity is ignored, their ability to see humanity in others diminishes. Oppression dehumanises both the oppressed and those they see as oppressors.
This is the danger of a society divided into “us” and “them.” Empathy becomes conditional. Fairness becomes a luxury. Humanity itself becomes fragmented.
What’s happening in the United States is a warning to the world. The rise of inequality, coupled with the erosion of trust in institutions, is creating societies where frustration and hopelessness reign. Governments that prioritise corporate interests over public welfare are fanning the flames of discontent, and the consequences are becoming harder to ignore.
On the global stage, the U.S. has contributed to this erosion. Its undermining of international institutions like the UN, ICC, and ICJ has sent a clear message: rules are for the weak. This attitude emboldens authoritarian regimes and destabilises the global order. Small nations like Malta, which rely on international norms for security and cooperation, are particularly vulnerable to the ripple effects of such instability.
Lessons for Malta
While Malta isn’t facing the same extremes as the U.S., it is not immune to these dynamics. EU regulations and a relatively strong welfare system have cushioned the worst effects of inequality, but cracks are appearing. Rising housing costs, stagnant wages, and widespread mistrust in political institutions are sowing frustration and disillusionment.
Construction and development are a glaring example. Everyone accepts that a country of half a million people needs new buildings from time to time, but we aren’t able to have this conversation because our Planning Authority has, over the years, become a symbol of unchecked construction and cronyism. Public trust has eroded to such an extent that every new development proposal is assumed corrupt until proven otherwise.
This erosion of trust leaves a vacuum—one that society itself feels compelled to fill. Without a trusted authority to act as an arbiter of fairness, people are forced to take on the role of policing each other. This dynamic turns every development into a battleground, where developers are cast as villains, environmentalists as extremists, and the middle ground all but disappears.
The result is a toxic discussion where nuance is impossible, and this leaves society paralysed. Instead of focusing on long-term planning or sustainable progress, we’re trapped in a cycle of suspicion, accusation, and gridlock.
When trust in institutions collapses, people are forced into oppositional camps. Governance by corruption or incompetence creates a vacuum where frustration festers, and the concept of common good is all but lost.
Progress That Includes Everyone
As Joseph Muscat likes to remind us from time to time, he oversaw an economic revolution that saw the size of Malta’s economy double during his time in office. But we should be weary of seeking progress that leaves people behind. Growth that benefits only the well-connected is not sustainable. Whether in the United States or Malta, economic development must bring everyone forward, or it risks leaving society fractured and divided.
Governments cannot address this simply by targeting pockets of need or offering handouts. People need more than survival—they need hopes and dreams. They need a system they can trust, where fairness and opportunity are not hollow promises.
When a society fails to provide this, frustration doesn’t dissipate—it explodes. In America, it manifests as the viral celebration of a CEO’s death. In Malta, it festers in mistrust, cynicism, and polarisation. The killing of Brian Thompson is a stark reminder of what happens when injustice becomes the norm. It isn’t just an American problem, nor is it confined to healthcare. It’s a global issue, one that underscores the urgent need for fairness, accountability, and trust.
If we ignore this warning, we risk a future where anger and division dictate our societies. Progress isn’t just about GDP or profits—it’s about ensuring that everyone, regardless of their position, has a stake in the system.
Anything less is a recipe for collapse.
READ NEXT: Can Global Security Begin In Malta? A Youth Perspective On The OSCE Summit
