Readers Ask: Did Mangione Write for the Public?

Note: From time to time, a post will generate an unusually high number of personal messages to me, and “Warrior Jesus and a Letter from Luigi” was one of those posts. Sometimes when I get the same question from enough readers, I will address it in a short post, like this one.

I’ve received a number of messages from readers asking if I thought Luigi Mangione’s letter to Karen had been written with the expectation that it would eventually be made public, and, for that reason, was crafted in a way designed to make him “look good.” I think this is a fair question, and one that Karen and I actually discussed. Here’s the rhetorical breakdown you never knew you wanted!

First, I think it’s highly unlikely verging on impossible that Luigi Mangione does not understand that any letter he sends to a supporter could go public. The concern-trolling online about letter recipients “violating his privacy” has always struck me as strangely infantilizing. This is a highly intelligent young man, someone …