What is a Folk Hero?

The world was reeling from the assassination of the United States President two days earlier when Jack Ruby pulled his gun from his pocket and fatally shot Suspect #1: Lee Harvey Oswald. He shot him live, on television, and the location was the basement of the Dallas Police Headquarters.

In 1963 terms, which had no cell phones, no digital surveillance, no anti-theft or traffic cameras, and no internet: this is as close to livestreaming simultaneously on every social media platform that someone could get.

There would be no walking back from what was done, no protestations that he didn't kill someone in cold blood. In fact, one of the police detective called out immediately "Jack, you son of a bitch!"

So: named, on camera, shot a handcuffed man in police custody, in the basement of the police station. His victim died within two hours. Everyone viewed him as a murderer; correct?

No.

In fact, the crowd outside the police headquarters burst into applause when they learned Oswald had been shot. That single shot killed Oswald and changed the narration of Jack Ruby's life. It also started the Country down the rabbit hole of conspiracy.

Folk Hero?

The prosecution for Ruby's first trial stated that Ruby's own plan did not include prison, as he thought he would be seen as a national hero. In fact, for a few that's what happened. Some people saw Ruby as the assassin's assassin, a modern knight, avenger of the murdered President. Throughout the rest of Ruby's life letters of gratitude were sent to him.

Others saw him as a fall guy for the mob. Ruby was largely a failure at his many business ventures, immersed in strip clubs and nightclubs, suspected of gunrunning on his trips to Cuba, and the kind of person any cop could depend on for a cold beer, whiskey, or warm and willing companion to soothe away the stress of the day.

There were many theories of 'why'd he do it?'. Ruby acting for the mob, the 'second gun' that killed Kennedy, Oswald a patsy for Russia: the Kennedy assassination and Oswald's murder was the biggest push America ever had toward embracing conspiracy theories, and it hasn't wearied of them yet.

Ruby's family has held to the view that he was overcome with grief after Kennedy's assassination, plagued by guilt after shooting Oswald, motivated by impulse, and (just maybe) the thoughts of being seen as a hero. During his trial he maintained he wanted to spare the newly-widowed Jackie Kennedy the pain of returning to Dallas and therefore was acting out of both compassion and patriotism.

Ruby's death sentence and conviction was overturned and he died a technically-innocent man as he waited for his new trial.

In true American fashion a bullet fired from Jack Ruby's gun was sold at auction for $2208. It came with a certificate of authenticity signed by Jack Ruby's brother Earl:

Industry of Conspiracy is Alive and Well

The various conspiracy theories regarding the assassination of President Kennedy and Ruby's murder of Oswald may have been the beginning of the United States obsession with buried reasons for life events, but the internet, polarized social media and Main Stream Media (MSM) has nourished and coaxed that obsession into a repeat performance for its current President-in-waiting.

Politics aside, it has also weighed in on the newest vigilante killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO and its Suspect #1 Luigi Mangione.

Social media, podcasts, newsletters and newspapers, public broadcasts, politicians, celebrities: all have weighed in regarding the righteousness of the murder, regardless of their viewpoint on the person charged with the crime.

Since a McDonalds employee called in the tip people are mocking, boycotting, and flooding McDonalds’ social media with horrible statements and reviews. The employee that called in the tip is vilified and there are now reports that they were fired for talking to police on the clock and/or not getting the reward because they called 911 and not the tip line (the crowd cheers at this karma).

Luigi's Goodreads account is scoured for clues. What has he read? What quotes did he find poignant or notable? Was he driven to this? Are there more of them? Is he being paid to take the fall?

Variations of the old 'joke' "What do you call a ship filled with lawyers sinking into the ocean? [A good start]” have surfaced as suggestions that the assassin merely needs to reboot into a new incarnation and take out the next CEO in the next [mostly-likely] corrupt company living off of the life-blood money paid into it by desperate people that are then denied the very care they depended on the company to provide.

Over on that bastion of truthfulness, X; users confidently report with no real evidence Lady Gaga is supposedly going to pay for his defense.

Interested consumers can purchase a myriad array of items with his face, replica's a his jacket/backpack, tote bags and t-shirts with "In this house Luigi Mangione is a hero", and more.

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Author's note: What do I think about all of this? I agree with PA Governor Josh Shapiro (and yes I know he is being just ripped apart verbally for what he said) when he commented on the police arresting Mangione in PA.

"In America, we do not kill people in cold blood to resolve policy differences or express a viewpoint. I understand people have real frustration with our healthcare system...

"But I have no tolerance, nor should anyone, for one man using an illegal ghost gun to murder someone because he thinks his opinion matters most. In a civil society, we are all less safe when ideologues engage in vigilante justice.

“In some dark corners, this killer is being hailed as a hero. Hear me on this: he is no hero.”

“Violence can never be used to address political differences, or to address a substantive difference, or to try and prove some ideological point. That is not what we do in a civilized society.

“That was true in *Butler, it was true in New York city, and it’s true anywhere. that is not how you make progress in this country.”

*'Butler' refers to the attempt on the life of then-candidate Donald Trump in 2024. Readers of my work are aware I do not agree with, like, or trust Trump.

That assessment of my opinion is as true as my conviction that the attempt on Trump's life was wrong.

We MUST get to the place in this world where we can disagree, distrust, be infuriated by, recognize the evil of, or any other manner of distaste and aversion towards a person and not have it bubble up as violence.

Your comments are welcome.