Following the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, social media outlets were flooded with insensitive jokes displaying clear apathy to the incident, mainly from the younger audience. News outlets and the general adult public have concluded that Gen Z’s lack of empathy is simply a result of their access to iPhones from a young age. They believe the endless doom scrolling and inability to separate fiction from reality prompts this insensitivity. But, perhaps it is Gen Z’s growing up with the normalization of school shootings that deprives them of their empathy. 

The unfortunate normalization of gun violence in America, specifically in schools, is what numbed Gen Z to gun violence. There is time taken from the school day to practice what procedures to follow if a gunman were to step foot on campus. Students go to school accepting that the safe place they spend 8 hours a day in could, unfortunately, be “the wrong place at the wrong time” for them. 

Not only are school shootings so normalized, but they are hardly being prevented on a federal level with American gun policies. Instead of having stricter measures as to what people have access to guns, lawmakers will watch mourning families of innocent children, or shall I say “casualties,” and say that schools should have bulletproof classroom doors. Despite knowing of the 328 student casualties within 2000-2022 from school-related shootings, it is clear that student safety is not a priority in the minds of American politicians. 

When a public figure is shot in broad daylight, and the younger generation displays no sense of outrage or fury, it is because the numbness to violence has been instilled in them ever since their first code red drill as five-year-olds in kindergarten.

Certainly, the desensitization and apathy among Gen Z is an unacceptable reaction to the cold-blooded murder of a human. With the comedic jokes and romanticization of the assassin who steps outside of the stereotypical middle-aged, drug addict, sleep-deprived cliche, it is easy for Gen Z to forget the respectful condolences following a person’s passing. The fact that Brian Thompson was a man with a family, colleagues, and friends is abnormally overlooked in the eyes of the younger generation, making the insensitive jokes highly inappropriate. However, this romanticization of killers did not start and certainly will not end on Luigi Mangione’s terms. 

The sharing of the story of criminals such as the Menendez brothers and Anna Delvey on the big screen with attractive actors has induced a social culture that normalizes, even romanticizes, the crimes committed. 

This turn of societal norms over time results in a troubling culture in which young generations are raised. Gen Z’s reactions like apathy and inappropriate jokes regarding sensitive matters leaves troubling concerns for the future generations. But the concern for these matters should not take priority over the growing casualties due to school shootings.