Luigi Mangione case shows how grievance culture has become America's 'license to break the law'

Grievance culture has led some to celebrate Luigi Mangione's alleged murder of a healthcare CEO as heroic resistance.

Jonathan Alpert is a psychotherapist practicing in New York City and Washington, D.C., and author of the forthcoming book, "Therapy Nation" (HarperCollins, 2026).

In my two decades as a psychotherapist in New York City and Washington, D.C., I have seen the same logic at work in quieter, everyday forms. Whether the act is violent or seemingly small, the script is the same: I have been wronged, therefore I am entitled to break the rules. 

Recently, a female patient admitted to shoplifting from a neighborhood store. Her reasoning: "They can afford it, they overcharge anyway, and probably underpay their employees." I’m not a priest. She wasn’t confessing. She was justifying. She believed she was right.