Should A Killer’s Best-Selling Book Be Banned?

 

 

When the shocking assassination on the streets of New York City of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson splashed across our screens, many wondered of the killer’s identity and speculated on his motive. It turns out the suspect, Luigi Mangione, may have been inspired by the published writings of a domestic terrorist, calling into question: Should such books be banned or even published?

Unabomber Ted Kaczynski had his ramblings published in a book, Industrial Society and Its Future. That book is a best-seller on Amazon as we speak. It is No. 1 in each of these categories: terrorism, anarchism, and radical political thought. I guess “crazy mothafu@@er” is not a category yet, or it would own that spot as well.  

Could this book could be sparking new killers and giving intellectual stimulation to the unhinged, angry, and downtrodden? Perhaps. But I don’t think its sale should be restricted in any way.  

Free speech trumps all, even if it means someone could die as a result. Well, in reality, a book does not pull a trigger anymore than playing violent video games or watching horror movies would. Are we going to ban everything? Our information and entertainment reflect our world, but they don’t necessarily create it.  

Words don’t kill. Life does.  

Maybe society, circumstances, upbringing, DNA, a series of unrelated events, or even a confluence of factors have cocktailed into turning one of America’s most promising young men into one of America’s Most Wanted.  

Still, there is no denying the power of books. This guy used language similarly found in the Unabomber’s manifesto in a letter found in his backpack when he was arrested. 

Can we remove all books that may inspire, inform, or nurture the ideology, intentions, and actions of a deranged person? 

Of course not.  

Killers can distort even a Disney movie to justify their actions. It is unlikely that this guy was normal and happy, then accidentally read another killer’s screed, and suddenly decided to just blow someone away. No, it is likely other events and people in his life — or a mental disease — led him to do this. The words on a page did not solely instruct him to act; they were merely mirroring what was already inside of him.  At least that is my speculation or take on things. 

Put the book question aside for a moment. This case simply has a lot of fascinating subplots.

Who saw this coming: A kid from a wealthy family of multi-generational entrepreneurs, one who graduated valedictorian from a prestigious private school and accelerated to earn an undergrad degree and a Master’s at an Ivy League college in just four years, would be the subject of an FBI manhunt for premeditated murder of someone he presumably never met?

Questions about how someone can just 3-D print a deadly weapon are disturbing, us, too.   

Just what is it that drove a good-looking, bright, young man to kill? Was it mental illness, a personal vendetta, or was he a social justice warrior? It was not a book all by itself that caused this.  

But let’s say that in a few, rare cases, strong evidence can be presented to prosecute books as being the main reason, or at least serving as a significant enabling factor, for one acting violently. What is the next step? Book bans? Censorship? Deny publication of a book?  

Slow down. Remember the First Amendment.  

The thing with book bans is this:  Who decides what gets banned or published? By what standards? Where do you draw the line?  

Ideas are everywhere — in our novels and streamed entertainment, in our political rhetoric, and worst of all, on full display on the biggest playground for anarchy, bullying, and aggression, open 24/7 without a referee: social media. We can’t — and should not — bar the free exchange of ideas, thoughts, facts, or fantasies. But we should look to fix the world’s ills, get people mental health help, and simply acknowledge that the world can be cruel and unfair at times.   

What we need to do is not blame the poet for the world he writes about; instead, repair the world. The messenger’s message is not the problem; whatever inspired the message is the problem.  

Ironically, the arrest of Mangione came within hours of the acquittal of a man on trial for killing another man in NYC. We can applaud that.  

Daniel Penny, a former Marine, stepped in to save a subway train of passengers when a homeless, schizophrenic, drug-high guy starts threatening everyone and saying they will die. Penny put a chokehold on Jordan Neely, trying to prevent a mass casualty event.  

Unfortunately, the deranged menace died from the incident. This jury got it right. Acquittal! An act of a Good Samaritan turned into a court case. This guy is a hero, stepping up to defend the innocent and volatile. Neely did not intend to kill him, just to restrain and hold him until the authorities showed up.  

That violence was justifiable, but the so-called vigilante murder of the CEO is not. 

What is more disturbing than the CEO killing is how some people are reacting to it publicly. More than a few have cheered on the killing of the health insurance CEO, as if he is the kingpin of a drug cartel.  

After all, defenders shout, this guy took home more than 10 million dollars a year. It is blood money they say, for he was enriched by denying healthcare claims to those in need, which led to the unnecessary suffering, disability, death, and/or bankruptcy of lots of sick people. Ok, so we all can understand the healthcare and insurance industries need reform, but let’s not cheer on a killer. Seeing a lunatic gunman as a savior, the leader of a distorted hero’s movement, is far, far more dangerous than any madman’s scribblings. 

Ok, back to books, even those by a killer. All book bans are wrong and bad.  Free speech is everything to us. I would even kill for that right. And then you can buy my published manifesto. 

 

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About Brian Feinblum

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Brian Feinblum now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully).  This award-winning blog has generated over four million pageviews. With 5,000+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, he has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and director of publicity positions at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.