Hello comrades. In the interest of upholding our code of conduct - specifically, rule 1 (providing a friendly, safe and welcoming environment for all) - we felt it appropriate to make a statement regarding the lionization of Luigi Mangione, the alleged United Healthcare CEO shooter, also known as “The Adjuster.”
In the day or so since the alleged shooter’s identity became known to the public, the whole world has had the chance to dig though his personal social media accounts and attempt to decipher his political ideology and motives. What we have learned may shock you. He is not one of us. He is a “typical” American with largely incoherent, and in many cases reactionary politics. For the most part, what is remarkable about the man himself is that he chose to take out his anger on a genuine enemy of the proletariat, instead of an elementary school.
This is a situation where the art must be separated from the artist. We do not condemn the attack, but as a role model, Luigi Mangione falls short. We do not expect perfection from revolutionary figures either, but we expect a modicum of revolutionary discipline. We expect them not simply to identify an unpopular element of society 
, but to clearly illuminate the causes of oppression and the means by which they are overcome. When we canonize revolutionary figures, we are holding them up as an example to be followed.
This is where things come back to rule 1. Mangione has a long social media history bearing a spectrum of reactionary viewpoints, and interacting positively with many powerful reactionary figures. While some commenters have referred to this as “nothing malicious,” by lionizing this man we effectively deem this behavior acceptable, or at the very least, safe to ignore. This is the type of tailism which opens the door to making a space unsafe for marginalized people.
We’re going to be more strict on moderating posts which do little more than lionize the shooter. There is plenty to be said about the unfolding events, the remarkably positive public reaction, how public reactions to “propaganda of the deed” may have changed since the historical epoch of its conception (and how the strategic hazards might not have), and many other aspects of the news without canonizing this man specifically. We can still dance on the graves of our enemies and celebrate their rediscovered fear and vulnerability without the vulgar revisionism needed to pretend this man is some sort of example of Marxist or Anarchist practice.
I’m sorry your comment seems to have been missed with no responses and no unbears after 2 hours, so I’ll delurk to respond.
No, you don’t need to read theory to post here or even to be a good comrade. In fact I would bet that at least 80% of regular posters here (outside the newsmega) do not read theory and also learned terms like “tailism” right here too. The misuse of terms like that happens here often enough that I think this must be the case. So do not feel bad about it at all!
That’s not to say that you shouldn’t read theory, because it will hone you into a better leftist and more capable of making informed analyses on anything from geopolitics to struggle sessions like this one. But be careful, it will also make you more adept at twisting your rationale to better suit your immediate position or what you want to be true (sometimes even fooling yourself), something else that I’ve seen demonstrated in this very thread.
I totally empathize with what you said about once being a voracious reader but not being able to anymore. It’s exactly like that for me too. For me though it has a lot to do with attention span. Mine is just completely shot. Once I’m into a book a little ways, I keep having to reread the same paragraph 5 times to absorb it. My mind keeps wandering off even as my eyes follow the words on the page. I know what I need to do to improve it again, but it involves giving up internet treats like this site. (Maybe that’s why some of the mods keep starting these obnoxious struggle sessions! They’re trying to get us to log off long term and not rely on hexbear to be place where we can have fun posting among comrades, maybe? That’s playing the long game, but it would explain a lot.)
Anyway, I give my solidarity and I wish you luck on staying alive for one, which I agree is difficult sometimes, but also that your extra hours and extra spoons line up better going forward. Reading theory is good and healthy and helps you grow as a leftist, but it’s hard to get anything out of it when your life is so chaotic that you barely have time to read. But it’s one of those chicken and egg sort of things… taking the time to read more despite the chaos might help in taming some of it. Only you would know if that’s true in your case of course. But I know it is in mine.
I would comment more on the topic of this struggle session but seeing as I mostly agree with the people whose comments are getting removed, I guess I’ll hold my tongue. … Yep, it might be time for me to give up the leftist bear social media but take on more books again instead, I don’t know. My favorite site/community turning so sour is not the motivation I would have wanted.