Your comment is akin to people in abusive dynamics with narcissists who think it is endearing because they like… did the dishes that one time (I.e. bare minimum decency). This guy gets off on making disgusting factually untrue comments, and justifies that by saying it’s his moral obligation in order to make humanity better. (Wut?) I’m about to block this fool so I never have to stumble upon his sad fucking excuse for philosophy ever again.
I tend not to like people who write non-trolly think pieces on how I'm animalistic because of my skin color, so you're probably right. I am nothing if not someone who learned to troll online at age 5, so I really dgaf about ragebait. I was surprised people didnt know from the start that he loves to indulge in the art of trolling (and I'll even say he does it well) But when it's sincere rhetoric? Whole other story
You’re not. I follow him from my private Twitter. We’ve interacted a bit. He seems to be a decent guy. Our Twitters are similar. They’re private for a reason. We say questionable things but it gets people talking (and thinking!)
I do wonder though, why do you think Luigi wasn’t writing and sharing his own ideas and opinions more freely? He was following so many authors and reading about many different topics. Was he just taking it all in with neutrality? It strikes me as odd that his Goodreads reviews are rather benign. Was it the fear of public or professional repercussions? Just curious if you have any insight on this.
It seems to me evident to just be a personality thing. Luigi is an ENFJ personality (my speculation but I am 99% sure it's right). They are highly socially aware, compassionate, driven, and intelligent. ENFJs just aren't much of writers. They will read and think a lot, but ultimately they see knowledge as a means to action rather than a means to re-articulation. And to whatever degree they do value the latter, it's mostly via in person discussions rather than long form articles. I will go into more detail in Part two of the series.
Appreciate the perspective, and I look forward to reading what you have to say. I too am an ENFJ, perhaps that’s why I find this dude so interesting. I see myself in him in a lot of ways, yet I remain completely perplexed as to how someone like this could arrive at assassination as an answer. It’s very low rung thinking don’t you agree?
Yes. this is the most perplexing part. How someone like who I know Luigi to have been for the last 10 years could rationalize doing this or write the low rung, resentful manifesto that appears to be legit (the notebook one not the substack one) has continued to elude me for 2 months.
I was convinced the only answer had to be a serious mental health crisis, but these days I really don’t know and that’s what keeps me tied to the case. He has appeared to be very stable since the arrest. He has been actively writing very normal, benign letters to strangers since late December, always reiterating that he is fine. To me, he doesn’t seem to be in much distress, or at all surprised by his current circumstances. Shouldn’t he have crashed harder? It’s bizarre. He had great potential to do good things. I supposed unchecked anger and pain can lead you to the darkest, most primitive parts of yourself. What a waste.
Why would arriving at assassination be necessarily low-rung thinking? When a state agency assassinates someone, is it because they didn't make enough calculations to come to that conclusion? Is non-violent action always the correct solution a scientific thinker would come to in every situation?
It makes sense to me that he'd arrive there through rational deliberation. Not saying his assessment was correct (it's too early to say), or that I would come to that conclusion myself, but I can understand the likely rationale behind it.
It displays black and white, good versus evil thinking. When you give yourself the authority to dehumanize your enemy to the point that you kill them in the street it’s absolutely not high level thinking. His letter to the Feds makes that abundantly clear as he gets facts wrong and he can’t even lay out the full argument. He also has no history of advocating for anyone. Something is wrong here. And I’m saying that with a lot of empathy for him.
Brian Thompson wasn't his enemy, but more of a means to an end. If the chain of events following his death lead to many more lives saved, then it's the logical choice. (I have a strong theory about the motive, it's the exact ideology behind it I'm unsure on- but that's its own essay, and probably better left unsaid before trial anyway)
As for the feds letter, there are lots of explanations for it not being as well-written as it could have been. It's interesting that so many people are stuck on that because I find it unimportant. The letter seems like a rushed thing he wrote on the run, and to the feds, not to the public. If Max is right about Luigi being more interested in action than in re-articulation, he probably just didn't care about it all that much. The important thing was the action, which was already completed, and intended to be "self-evident". I dislike the theory it was a suicide note but I wouldn't rule it out either.
Also Luigi was clearly very private online when it came to things that he wanted to keep private. So I wouldn't be surprised if he kept many of his deeper ideological views and online activities private too. There's so much information we're missing.
A trap that low-rung thinkers, who fancy themselves as high-rung thinkers, often fall into is thinking that everything in life is complex, a shade of grey, and that black and white situations are a fallacy and do not exist. They think this approach is what sophisticated deep thinkers are like, but it isn’t. Some things are in fact a matter of good and evil, and sometimes ‘black and white thinking’ would actually be the correct and rational approach.
To respond to an earlier comment you made, where you said you cannot see how he arrived at assassination as an answer: Whether assassination is an answer, depends on what the question is. That is, what was his motive, and what was he seeking to achieve? Naturally, normies and low-rung thinkers swiftly concluded ‘murder is never justified’ which is obviously untrue. This is the fundamental issue you need to be grappling with in order to assess the rationality of his actions, but unfortunately so far nobody with a functioning brain seems to have really attempted to undertake this exercise properly and do it justice. Based on his other writing, I have hopes that Max may be the first to get close, but we will see.
Also his lawyer followed you on twitter lol. Like it or not Max. You are a part of this story. I don’t know if you’ll be able to pack this away in a box anytime soon, so take care of yourself.
I am "cautiously optimistic" as well. TBH I trust no one until they reveal themselves. Sadly, many of us are somewhat used to disappointment but I look forward to being proven wrong in my assumptions. We'll see how it goes 🙂
“Everyone is too busy slotting him into whatever emotional void he fills for them—hero, criminal; good, evil; worship, vilify; sexy chad, entitled sociopath; and all the rest—erasing who he actually is and replacing him with who they need him to be.”
Absolutely brilliant. My exact sentiment, but articulated way better.
When I first read part zero of your series, I wasn’t sure what to think. I wasn’t swayed by unhinged redditors saying you were a “clout chaser” because it’s clear most of them act like K-pop/Taylor Swift fans. However, I was also hesitant to take anything you wrote seriously. I’m honestly super impressed and excited to read the rest of the series; I’m pleasantly surprised and cautiously optimistic.
Same! To portray him as a saint is crazy zealot behavior but objectively from all we know and have read, Luigi is a genuine, caring soul. I applaud minor dissent for not adding to the media frenzy calling Luigi a monster. Also, for portraying him for what he is: a deeply caring, smart, human soul and young man looking to connect with him and truth seek through sharing ideas and humor. Evidently, Luigi could see through minor dissent’s irreverent facade and connected with his vulnerable thought provoking ideas on a deeper level.
Him saying on Twitter that Luigi is "racist and fat phobic: ain't clout chasing? Fake ass supporter you are. In no situation is that appropriate to claim.
I’m sorry, but just the fact that you created a fan page for Luigi on Substack is a perfect example of what Max is trying to say. You’re clearly trying to fill an emotional void, and this fan page with an aesthetically curated picture of Luigi attached to it is akin to an obsessive and lovesick teenager, which if you’re not makes it weirder. I support healthcare reform and I really do wish the best for Luigi, but it’s critical to see him for who he was— a human being with negative and positive qualities like the rest of us. Creating a cult of personality around the guy actually works to erode the credibility and argument around the US healthcare system being corrupt, which is the very reason he gained support in the first place.
This guy said black people still have the mindset of primitive people who "cannot comprehend that humans built civilization" and "see no difference between stealing and foraging in the savannah." Do you really want to "come together" based on what Max believes?
A lot of us probably relate to this thing being a nagging brainworm that won't go away. Lately I can't stop thinking about what his ideological goals were then and more importantly what his goals are now (aside from freedom, presumably). It's like this frustrating game of chess, reading between the lines since the dude can't say basically anything without incriminating himself. I have theories but no way to validate them so they squirm around in the back of my mind.
Also, while he's a complex human first, and that consideration is most important; this has arguably become bigger than him already. It's hard to believe that the guy who (allegedly) crafted this with so much symbolism, stepping right into frame so deliberately, so cinematically, didn't intend to call on some kind of heroic Robin Hood(ie) imagery in the collective imagination of America. Even if he didn't intend for his own identity to get tangled up in it.
I'm glad my instinct was right and the rage bait trolling was essentially more of a fucked up defence mechanism than pure malice. Sometimes people really are that one-dimensional but usually not, IME.
I consider myself an empathetic person and I like to try to understand where people are coming from. I can sympathize with your inner struggle.
I imagine that learning that an alleged killer interacted with you more than anyone near the end of his twitter run (and that it was not just any ol’ murder) is a lot to process. It would be natural to wonder if you could have done more. I said the same to Gurwinder on his article about Luigi. Even though you only had brief interactions, some processing is needed. Anyone who had any contact with him in the last two years must be haunted by the idea that they could have been the one to turn the ship around.
You also had a little corner of the internet that was relatively insulated, until suddenly the spotlight was on. You said yesterday that you didn’t think this article would get any attention, which is a bit naive given he’s the story of the year, but ok.
You know now that you’ve opened a can of delulu, though. You’re absolutely right that Luigi is somewhat of a blank canvas for projection since he can’t speak freely anymore. If what you have to say is anything less than “he is an angel and he didn’t do it”, expect that the reception will not be kind. I get it to some degree. He may get the death penalty and that would be a horrendous injustice (that terrorism charge is a fucking joke).
I understand wanting to talk it through and I’m interested to hear what you have to add. Hopefully the case doesn’t hinge on the takes of a few people he tweeted at and this is just adding some lore.
Ultimately I hope that publishing this is cathartic for you.
Also stop posting about black people being savages on Twitter, that’s not very helpful for you, him, or anyone.
Overall, comment appreciated. I hope the law will handle this fairly and give him a punishment (or lack there of) in accordance with it. I think it unlikely the outcome will please his fans, but we will certainly see.
> Also stop posting about black people being savages on Twitter, that’s not very helpful for you, him, or anyone.
I begrudgingly accept this encroachment on my God given right to shit post in the name of the greater good
Still such negativity from people when you've explained over and over that your screenshots are not damaging in anyway! Boring!!
Everyone is entitled to make their own presumptions on this case and have their own opinion, that is all this is! As long as the one thing that could potentially damage him (screenshots), isn't damaging, then what is wrong with these articles being someone's opinion???? People need to grow up! This man has been approached by media and has said no, we need to be grateful he isn't another Gurwinder the grifter and will redeem Luigis character for everyone who has doubted him!
Max, has his legal time replied to you? We all noticed Karen following you on X
How can you be neutral in your work if you think he almost certainly did it? True neutral POV would be a 50/50 stance, especially since his defense hasn’t presented anything in court yet. Assuming guilt now is taking the NYPD/FBI story as flawless and true.
This is me playing devil’s advocate to a point, but I’m sure there’s exculpatory information that we don’t know about yet.
I really don’t know if he killed anyone tbh. It’s possible they found him using some weird Palantir shit and created a parallel construction (that arrest story is absurd). Besides, guys who look like Luigi are a dime a dozen in NYC. Too early to tell what happened I think.
Max the only thing I have to say about this,is that once again I hope you will at least contact his legal team and have a talk with them .I also wish that you would delete those tweets that you made about Luigi that you've admitted yourself that were jokes, Those tweets will continue to spread misinformation about his character to those unaware of your trolling ,You are also going to continously get unnecessary hate from supporters as long as they are still up ,You seem to be on the same team as us in the end and there is no reason for you to be getting so much hate so it's just better to delete them and get over with it
As far the tweets, like I said in another reply but which I cannot find because Substacks comment architecture is horrendous:
People will do what people will do. Anyone who has read anything else I've ever said, or frankly even my Twitter bio ("A gay and retarded moron"), understand that my whole bit is to say extremely stupid, inane bullshit or highly nuanced deep thing with no in between.
If I keep them, people say i had nefarious intent and was trying to slander him.
If I delete them, 1) they won't ever be truly deleted because the internet is forever 2) people will say I had nefarious intent in deleting them and 3) it will only signal blood in the water for crazies to double down and look for other ways to "cancel" me.
You cannot please zealots. You can only troll them or ignore them.
Reasonable thoughtful people will read this series and understand. Ideologically motivated morons will never change their mind.
I understand your concern. But this is the best that I can offer you. Take care.
I understand where you’re coming from! I really like you and your trolling, I mean it. I vehemently dislike the sanitized overly politically correct internet. Sometimes, I like dark humor and I find being politically incorrect is genuinely fun in the overly sterilized reality that we live in.
I think, if I found out about you in other circumstances, I would’ve subscribed to you regardless.
I also hope you don’t mind if I pitch in on your future posts. I am excited to see what you think regardless!
At the same time, I hope Luigi has a chance at freedom, whether or not he’s culpable, therefore, I hope in your posts you make a conscious attempt to avoid any language that could overly insinuate guilt (I’ll give an example below). While you’re not obligated to do anything like that at all, I’m mentioning this, because media will gladly take your posts and thoughts, and blast them all over, they’re desperate for content on this case.
He’s already virtually convicted in the court of public opinion, I kind of wanted to ask if you could try to avoid „piling on“ so to speak, and instead make a little counterbalance.
As an example, Gurwinder said „Luigi that I know, I can’t imagine him writing that manifesto“ - I think it’s threads nicely, expressing an opinion without insinuating guilt, quite the opposite, affording him an idea of innocence. He could have said „he probably have gone through a psychotic break based on how that manifesto is written“ - which in my humble opinion points more towards guilt, it’s a less careful expression of virtually the same point of not being able to easily imagine he wrote that.
This is just a suggestion, and it’s ultimately your choice! I am in no way trying to control your creative process and I’d be happy with your content regardless.
"I spent over a decade trying to suppress this part of myself, and it led to severe mental illness or running out of will power during a critical personal or business situation and screwing my life up. It is only through much suffering that I have learned I—nor most people—can repress fundamental aspects of who we are and get away with it."
Wow, you’re crazy. Have you tried doing any sports? Seeing a therapist? This is TRULY worrying.
Your argument suggests that expressing racist and sexist views is an intrinsic part of your identity and that suppressing them led to suffering. That’s a deeply flawed way to justify harmful behavior. It assumes that bigotry is an inherent trait rather than a learned mindset (one that can and should be unlearned by the way.) It also frames basic human decency as some kind of unbearable repression, as if not making racist or sexist jokes is an unreasonable demand.
On top of that, you’re shifting the conversation away from the harm your words cause and making yourself the victim, as if the real issue is your discomfort rather than the impact on marginalized communities. The idea that people should ‘embrace’ their worst instincts instead of challenging them isn’t self-acceptance—it’s just a refusal to grow, man.
I suspected my detractors would misunderstand this section in this precise way.
For the record, I DO think social justice is a dumb and counter productive yet highly influential ideology. And this is precisely why I receive satisfaction from transgressing it. My need to make fun of things I see as stupid is more or less innate. But which specific dumb thing is have the most influence is ever changing. And thus what behavior most optimally transgresses it changes along with it.
I was satanist and anti-theist in my teens because Christianity was the dumb religion of the time. I became a racist, sexist, xenophobe in recent years because Social Justice is the big dumb religion of the current time. Now that that is losing it's hold on reasonable peoples minds, I will likely have to find new thing to transgress in whatever way appears most useful to human civilization.
FWIW I have rewritten the section a bit more in hopes of making it harder for people to misconstrue it in the way you have.
Oh yeah, of course, you’re the intellectuals while we just don’t know how to get over simple ragebaits, right?
So, by your own admission, you don’t hold these beliefs because they’re true or meaningful—you just pick whatever ideology annoys the most people and run with it? That’s not transgression, that’s just being an edgelord. What exactly is ‘useful to human civilization’ about deliberately choosing to be racist and sexist just to spite others?
Also, you say social justice is dumb and counterproductive, but if it’s really fading like you claim, wouldn’t the ‘transgressive’ thing be to support it?
By your logic, aren’t you just following the next trend rather than rebelling against anything? Seems like you just enjoy justifying whatever lets you punch down.
You’re not some grand cultural contrarian. You just enjoy being an asshole and retroactively justify it as ‘transgression.’ There’s nothing revolutionary about picking whatever ideology allows you to be the most obnoxious in any given era (and we know you get boners from all the attention you’ve been getting these days, you’ve been a really bad girl Gaga!)
I have said my peace so that it is out there. People can do with it what they will. I will not be replying to you further but I wish you all the best and encourage you to keep fighting for what you believe is right and good. Take care, fren.
I understand you are saying that you compartmentalize this part of yourself onto a corner of the internet so that you can release that tension inside you. That tension is called emotions and you're feeling that dysregulation. I won't presume you don't know about emotional dysregulation, but it sounds like to me, not knowing anything about your life, that this method of regulating your emotions is not going too great for you. It just sounds like you're doing something pretty typical of men who don't know how to deal with that part of themselves.
Or maybe I'm wrong.
Just something to think about, my dude.
Luigi seems to have done similar things. But I won't get into that because I don't want to psychoanalyze the guy. However, he is a man too, and we know that a lot of men just don't know how to deal with this stuff. And that is *not* a matter of women being more naturally attuned to their emotions.
it's going great and fine. It's a lot of fun and have no problem with it. With that said, the seriousness of the Luigi situations means no more fun allowed. So fine, I'll behave.
But I will not apologize nor recant for having fun. Nor will I accept the frame that most Luigi stans have that killing somebody is fine but making edgy jokes is not. Actions matter more than words. The progressive inversion of this is a product of incoherent religious fundamentalism, not deeply considered ethical examination from first principles.
I'm not asking for any sort of apology. I don't know you from Adam and I'm def not offended. I'm just saying that perhaps this is something that might not be the best strategy for dealing with pain or anger.
This isn't about this dude you had a couple of conversations with, this isn't about my political beliefs. This isn't even whether you make dumb middle school jokes. I made that comment about you. And clearly it hit a nerve.
Serious neutral question despite my obvious and everlasting disdain for you: you decry social justice yet admit you are ASD. You do realize without social justice there's a good chance you'd be institutionalized right now, do you not? Not to say I don't think PC culture has gone too far, but to call pursuit of human rights a religion is really just you being Nazi Kanye in a different font- against your own interests because you're blinded by the sparkly appeal of shock factor that you think makes you unique and superior. It doesn't. It is so fucking easy to be transgressive, which makes it extremely unimpressive and washed.
I see what you're getting at. I don't think it's accurate. I wasn't diagnosed with ASD until my 30s and I did in fact spend most of my teens in mental institutions.
But the degree to which you are on to a genuinely valid point, you are also not seeing the whole picture.
Social justice has done some good things. I think it's gone too far and done bad things and is today a net bad.
But I would actually flip your argument back on you:
patriarchal, heteronormative, white, christian, capitalistic institutions have done some bad things, yes. But they also built civilization from nothing and afford you, I, and everyone else many luxuries we do not even realize aren't automatic. And in all honestly, you and I would be dead or have never existed if not for these things.
As I've written many times on this blog, and which you can read more of if you genuinely want to understand my viewpoints:
the default state of humans, and where we spent the overwhelming majority of our history, was killing each other in the dirt like animals over stupid bullshit.
Civilization is a miracle, and a fragile one at that. And while imperfect, and in need of many improvements, the naive utopian idea that we can just smash it and start over without making any effort to genuinely understand why it is the way it is, is how the 20th century ended up being the bloodiest one in all of human history.
I thus see it as not only just, but an ethical obligation, to make fun of the ideas and people who are repeating these same, naive mistakes all over again in the 21st century.
God damnit this guy is an idiot. There is so much inaccurate, biased bullshit in his comment I don’t even know where to start. “Patriarchal, heteronormative, white, Christian institutions built civilization from nothing” my god what an miseducated, myopic, self serving statement to make. So tired of posers like you and Gurwinder. Please delete yourself.
This is what happens without Luigi's positive influence smh
But seriously it isn't healthy, and besides there are ways to be an edgy troll while being less harmful and not punching down on marginalized groups. Especially in Trump's America '25, can you even call that being not politically correct anymore?
Honestly, I was a bit skeptical how this would turn out after seeing the amount of contempt the Luigi followers seem to have for you. It made me curious to see what it was all about. Headed into this, I tried not to let their opinions color mine because I wanted to form my own. Nevertheless, I did feel wary. I read some of your other substack posts first—and doing just that made my "worries" subside. From what I gathered, you seem to be a man of your word; you approach topics with facts, facts that you have researched extensively, with as little bias as possible. And that is precisely the kind of writing everyone should prefer to read. I know I do.
Kudos to you for handling this so well. It is clearly very important for you to get this right, and it is much appreciated that you take time to clarify your thoughts to minimize misconceptions. That, I respect a lot. I'm looking forward to the rest, and hopefully you'll be able to get somewhat of a break from all of this once you've finished publishing your material.
Why won’t you delete the tweets? You’ve had your fun and it is more than just trolling if he cannot respond to them. Just delete them if you want this series to be taken seriously. And to quote your post, “do what you can to respect his and his family’s privacy and physical safety.”
People will do what people will do. Anyone who has read anything else I've ever said, or frankly even my Twitter bio ("A gay and retarded moron"), understand that my whole bit is to say extremely stupid, inane bullshit or highly nuanced deep thing with no in between.
If I keep them, people say i had nefarious intent and was trying to slander him.
If I delete them, 1) they won't ever be truly deleted because the internet is forever 2) people will say I had nefarious intent in deleting them and 3) it will only signal blood in the water for crazies to double down and look for other ways to "cancel" me.
You cannot please zealots. You can only troll them or ignore them.
Reasonable, thoughtful people will read this series and understand. Ideologically motivated morons will never change their mind.
I understand your concern. But this is the best that I can offer you. Take care.
Agreed. He can screenshot them to remember the catharsis if he needs to. But there's probably going to be a desperate Daily Mail or TMZ freelancer who stumbles on them eventually, and I doubt Max wants that drama
I’m probably in the minority when I say this, but I kind of like Max.
He’s genuinely fine lol. Everyone is crazy
I guess this rhetoric is fine?
https://x.com/minordissent/status/1791533631212777598?t=MKFfjkzhqPswGKaYyOCF8Q&s=19
Hey thanks for giving me the opportunity to like that x post
No, I like him too. He’s endearing.
Girl, seriously what is wrong with you. You see this right? This is not a “joke”. It’s blatant, heinous racism. Period. https://x.com/minordissent/status/1791533631212777598?t=MKFfjkzhqPswGKaYyOCF8Q&s=19
Your comment is akin to people in abusive dynamics with narcissists who think it is endearing because they like… did the dishes that one time (I.e. bare minimum decency). This guy gets off on making disgusting factually untrue comments, and justifies that by saying it’s his moral obligation in order to make humanity better. (Wut?) I’m about to block this fool so I never have to stumble upon his sad fucking excuse for philosophy ever again.
I tend not to like people who write non-trolly think pieces on how I'm animalistic because of my skin color, so you're probably right. I am nothing if not someone who learned to troll online at age 5, so I really dgaf about ragebait. I was surprised people didnt know from the start that he loves to indulge in the art of trolling (and I'll even say he does it well) But when it's sincere rhetoric? Whole other story
Have you not read the garbage he writes? Please seek help.
You’re not. I follow him from my private Twitter. We’ve interacted a bit. He seems to be a decent guy. Our Twitters are similar. They’re private for a reason. We say questionable things but it gets people talking (and thinking!)
I remain cautiously optimistic.
I do wonder though, why do you think Luigi wasn’t writing and sharing his own ideas and opinions more freely? He was following so many authors and reading about many different topics. Was he just taking it all in with neutrality? It strikes me as odd that his Goodreads reviews are rather benign. Was it the fear of public or professional repercussions? Just curious if you have any insight on this.
It seems to me evident to just be a personality thing. Luigi is an ENFJ personality (my speculation but I am 99% sure it's right). They are highly socially aware, compassionate, driven, and intelligent. ENFJs just aren't much of writers. They will read and think a lot, but ultimately they see knowledge as a means to action rather than a means to re-articulation. And to whatever degree they do value the latter, it's mostly via in person discussions rather than long form articles. I will go into more detail in Part two of the series.
Appreciate the perspective, and I look forward to reading what you have to say. I too am an ENFJ, perhaps that’s why I find this dude so interesting. I see myself in him in a lot of ways, yet I remain completely perplexed as to how someone like this could arrive at assassination as an answer. It’s very low rung thinking don’t you agree?
Yes. this is the most perplexing part. How someone like who I know Luigi to have been for the last 10 years could rationalize doing this or write the low rung, resentful manifesto that appears to be legit (the notebook one not the substack one) has continued to elude me for 2 months.
I was convinced the only answer had to be a serious mental health crisis, but these days I really don’t know and that’s what keeps me tied to the case. He has appeared to be very stable since the arrest. He has been actively writing very normal, benign letters to strangers since late December, always reiterating that he is fine. To me, he doesn’t seem to be in much distress, or at all surprised by his current circumstances. Shouldn’t he have crashed harder? It’s bizarre. He had great potential to do good things. I supposed unchecked anger and pain can lead you to the darkest, most primitive parts of yourself. What a waste.
wow,i don't know luigi has been criminal,i thought he was a suspect.Sounds like you guys are judge.
Why would arriving at assassination be necessarily low-rung thinking? When a state agency assassinates someone, is it because they didn't make enough calculations to come to that conclusion? Is non-violent action always the correct solution a scientific thinker would come to in every situation?
It makes sense to me that he'd arrive there through rational deliberation. Not saying his assessment was correct (it's too early to say), or that I would come to that conclusion myself, but I can understand the likely rationale behind it.
It displays black and white, good versus evil thinking. When you give yourself the authority to dehumanize your enemy to the point that you kill them in the street it’s absolutely not high level thinking. His letter to the Feds makes that abundantly clear as he gets facts wrong and he can’t even lay out the full argument. He also has no history of advocating for anyone. Something is wrong here. And I’m saying that with a lot of empathy for him.
Brian Thompson wasn't his enemy, but more of a means to an end. If the chain of events following his death lead to many more lives saved, then it's the logical choice. (I have a strong theory about the motive, it's the exact ideology behind it I'm unsure on- but that's its own essay, and probably better left unsaid before trial anyway)
As for the feds letter, there are lots of explanations for it not being as well-written as it could have been. It's interesting that so many people are stuck on that because I find it unimportant. The letter seems like a rushed thing he wrote on the run, and to the feds, not to the public. If Max is right about Luigi being more interested in action than in re-articulation, he probably just didn't care about it all that much. The important thing was the action, which was already completed, and intended to be "self-evident". I dislike the theory it was a suicide note but I wouldn't rule it out either.
Also Luigi was clearly very private online when it came to things that he wanted to keep private. So I wouldn't be surprised if he kept many of his deeper ideological views and online activities private too. There's so much information we're missing.
A trap that low-rung thinkers, who fancy themselves as high-rung thinkers, often fall into is thinking that everything in life is complex, a shade of grey, and that black and white situations are a fallacy and do not exist. They think this approach is what sophisticated deep thinkers are like, but it isn’t. Some things are in fact a matter of good and evil, and sometimes ‘black and white thinking’ would actually be the correct and rational approach.
To respond to an earlier comment you made, where you said you cannot see how he arrived at assassination as an answer: Whether assassination is an answer, depends on what the question is. That is, what was his motive, and what was he seeking to achieve? Naturally, normies and low-rung thinkers swiftly concluded ‘murder is never justified’ which is obviously untrue. This is the fundamental issue you need to be grappling with in order to assess the rationality of his actions, but unfortunately so far nobody with a functioning brain seems to have really attempted to undertake this exercise properly and do it justice. Based on his other writing, I have hopes that Max may be the first to get close, but we will see.
Yes, exactly. We know his solution but we don't know the exact problem he was trying to solve for. We're looking at an incomplete equation.
Also his lawyer followed you on twitter lol. Like it or not Max. You are a part of this story. I don’t know if you’ll be able to pack this away in a box anytime soon, so take care of yourself.
I am "cautiously optimistic" as well. TBH I trust no one until they reveal themselves. Sadly, many of us are somewhat used to disappointment but I look forward to being proven wrong in my assumptions. We'll see how it goes 🙂
Exactly what I've been wondering. His friends did characterize him as humble. Maybe he has journals full of writing out there somewhere.
I hope Luigi publishes a book someday, I'm certain many would be interested
He’s definitely got journals on journals somewhere. He took handwritten notes on the books he read! Plus the other thing we all want to read, IYKYK
“Everyone is too busy slotting him into whatever emotional void he fills for them—hero, criminal; good, evil; worship, vilify; sexy chad, entitled sociopath; and all the rest—erasing who he actually is and replacing him with who they need him to be.”
Absolutely brilliant. My exact sentiment, but articulated way better.
When I first read part zero of your series, I wasn’t sure what to think. I wasn’t swayed by unhinged redditors saying you were a “clout chaser” because it’s clear most of them act like K-pop/Taylor Swift fans. However, I was also hesitant to take anything you wrote seriously. I’m honestly super impressed and excited to read the rest of the series; I’m pleasantly surprised and cautiously optimistic.
Same! To portray him as a saint is crazy zealot behavior but objectively from all we know and have read, Luigi is a genuine, caring soul. I applaud minor dissent for not adding to the media frenzy calling Luigi a monster. Also, for portraying him for what he is: a deeply caring, smart, human soul and young man looking to connect with him and truth seek through sharing ideas and humor. Evidently, Luigi could see through minor dissent’s irreverent facade and connected with his vulnerable thought provoking ideas on a deeper level.
This is something that bothered me too. I don't think it's respectful to remove his humanity.
Him saying on Twitter that Luigi is "racist and fat phobic: ain't clout chasing? Fake ass supporter you are. In no situation is that appropriate to claim.
I’m sorry, but just the fact that you created a fan page for Luigi on Substack is a perfect example of what Max is trying to say. You’re clearly trying to fill an emotional void, and this fan page with an aesthetically curated picture of Luigi attached to it is akin to an obsessive and lovesick teenager, which if you’re not makes it weirder. I support healthcare reform and I really do wish the best for Luigi, but it’s critical to see him for who he was— a human being with negative and positive qualities like the rest of us. Creating a cult of personality around the guy actually works to erode the credibility and argument around the US healthcare system being corrupt, which is the very reason he gained support in the first place.
That thesis paper you wrote literally has nothing to do with what I stated.
Some of you didn’t grow up in pre-social media internet and it shows.
I wasn't aware that racism was Luigi's philosophical beliefs..
This guy said black people still have the mindset of primitive people who "cannot comprehend that humans built civilization" and "see no difference between stealing and foraging in the savannah." Do you really want to "come together" based on what Max believes?
You're too old to not have reading comprehension skills.
What are you even talking about? This whole discussion is about Max joking around about Luigi being racist.
Bro really blamed his bigotry on "Intellectual Tourette's" LMAOOOOOO ok
But i- if...if I'm not racist I will become mentally ill 🥺🥺👉👈
Me needs to be racist, or me be sad and want to die 🥹
A lot of us probably relate to this thing being a nagging brainworm that won't go away. Lately I can't stop thinking about what his ideological goals were then and more importantly what his goals are now (aside from freedom, presumably). It's like this frustrating game of chess, reading between the lines since the dude can't say basically anything without incriminating himself. I have theories but no way to validate them so they squirm around in the back of my mind.
Also, while he's a complex human first, and that consideration is most important; this has arguably become bigger than him already. It's hard to believe that the guy who (allegedly) crafted this with so much symbolism, stepping right into frame so deliberately, so cinematically, didn't intend to call on some kind of heroic Robin Hood(ie) imagery in the collective imagination of America. Even if he didn't intend for his own identity to get tangled up in it.
I'm glad my instinct was right and the rage bait trolling was essentially more of a fucked up defence mechanism than pure malice. Sometimes people really are that one-dimensional but usually not, IME.
Cautiously looking forward to part one.
He’s become the new Roman Empire. I can’t stop thinking about this case.
Now about the rest of the article…
I consider myself an empathetic person and I like to try to understand where people are coming from. I can sympathize with your inner struggle.
I imagine that learning that an alleged killer interacted with you more than anyone near the end of his twitter run (and that it was not just any ol’ murder) is a lot to process. It would be natural to wonder if you could have done more. I said the same to Gurwinder on his article about Luigi. Even though you only had brief interactions, some processing is needed. Anyone who had any contact with him in the last two years must be haunted by the idea that they could have been the one to turn the ship around.
You also had a little corner of the internet that was relatively insulated, until suddenly the spotlight was on. You said yesterday that you didn’t think this article would get any attention, which is a bit naive given he’s the story of the year, but ok.
You know now that you’ve opened a can of delulu, though. You’re absolutely right that Luigi is somewhat of a blank canvas for projection since he can’t speak freely anymore. If what you have to say is anything less than “he is an angel and he didn’t do it”, expect that the reception will not be kind. I get it to some degree. He may get the death penalty and that would be a horrendous injustice (that terrorism charge is a fucking joke).
I understand wanting to talk it through and I’m interested to hear what you have to add. Hopefully the case doesn’t hinge on the takes of a few people he tweeted at and this is just adding some lore.
Ultimately I hope that publishing this is cathartic for you.
Also stop posting about black people being savages on Twitter, that’s not very helpful for you, him, or anyone.
Overall, comment appreciated. I hope the law will handle this fairly and give him a punishment (or lack there of) in accordance with it. I think it unlikely the outcome will please his fans, but we will certainly see.
> Also stop posting about black people being savages on Twitter, that’s not very helpful for you, him, or anyone.
I begrudgingly accept this encroachment on my God given right to shit post in the name of the greater good
Good sir you know that goes well beyond shitposting. Stand on it
Still such negativity from people when you've explained over and over that your screenshots are not damaging in anyway! Boring!!
Everyone is entitled to make their own presumptions on this case and have their own opinion, that is all this is! As long as the one thing that could potentially damage him (screenshots), isn't damaging, then what is wrong with these articles being someone's opinion???? People need to grow up! This man has been approached by media and has said no, we need to be grateful he isn't another Gurwinder the grifter and will redeem Luigis character for everyone who has doubted him!
Max, has his legal time replied to you? We all noticed Karen following you on X
How can you be neutral in your work if you think he almost certainly did it? True neutral POV would be a 50/50 stance, especially since his defense hasn’t presented anything in court yet. Assuming guilt now is taking the NYPD/FBI story as flawless and true.
This is me playing devil’s advocate to a point, but I’m sure there’s exculpatory information that we don’t know about yet.
my position will become clear when the rest of the series is published. patience my friend.
You sound like Yoda, and I like it 💚
I really don’t know if he killed anyone tbh. It’s possible they found him using some weird Palantir shit and created a parallel construction (that arrest story is absurd). Besides, guys who look like Luigi are a dime a dozen in NYC. Too early to tell what happened I think.
Max the only thing I have to say about this,is that once again I hope you will at least contact his legal team and have a talk with them .I also wish that you would delete those tweets that you made about Luigi that you've admitted yourself that were jokes, Those tweets will continue to spread misinformation about his character to those unaware of your trolling ,You are also going to continously get unnecessary hate from supporters as long as they are still up ,You seem to be on the same team as us in the end and there is no reason for you to be getting so much hate so it's just better to delete them and get over with it
I have contacted his legal team.
As far the tweets, like I said in another reply but which I cannot find because Substacks comment architecture is horrendous:
People will do what people will do. Anyone who has read anything else I've ever said, or frankly even my Twitter bio ("A gay and retarded moron"), understand that my whole bit is to say extremely stupid, inane bullshit or highly nuanced deep thing with no in between.
If I keep them, people say i had nefarious intent and was trying to slander him.
If I delete them, 1) they won't ever be truly deleted because the internet is forever 2) people will say I had nefarious intent in deleting them and 3) it will only signal blood in the water for crazies to double down and look for other ways to "cancel" me.
You cannot please zealots. You can only troll them or ignore them.
Reasonable thoughtful people will read this series and understand. Ideologically motivated morons will never change their mind.
I understand your concern. But this is the best that I can offer you. Take care.
Karen followed, GGs PR nightmare 😏
I'm glad that you understand that nobody cares about you and we're only here because you're writing about Luigi.
Possibly the best, and most true, comment I’ve read here.
Hey Max.
I understand where you’re coming from! I really like you and your trolling, I mean it. I vehemently dislike the sanitized overly politically correct internet. Sometimes, I like dark humor and I find being politically incorrect is genuinely fun in the overly sterilized reality that we live in.
I think, if I found out about you in other circumstances, I would’ve subscribed to you regardless.
I also hope you don’t mind if I pitch in on your future posts. I am excited to see what you think regardless!
At the same time, I hope Luigi has a chance at freedom, whether or not he’s culpable, therefore, I hope in your posts you make a conscious attempt to avoid any language that could overly insinuate guilt (I’ll give an example below). While you’re not obligated to do anything like that at all, I’m mentioning this, because media will gladly take your posts and thoughts, and blast them all over, they’re desperate for content on this case.
He’s already virtually convicted in the court of public opinion, I kind of wanted to ask if you could try to avoid „piling on“ so to speak, and instead make a little counterbalance.
As an example, Gurwinder said „Luigi that I know, I can’t imagine him writing that manifesto“ - I think it’s threads nicely, expressing an opinion without insinuating guilt, quite the opposite, affording him an idea of innocence. He could have said „he probably have gone through a psychotic break based on how that manifesto is written“ - which in my humble opinion points more towards guilt, it’s a less careful expression of virtually the same point of not being able to easily imagine he wrote that.
This is just a suggestion, and it’s ultimately your choice! I am in no way trying to control your creative process and I’d be happy with your content regardless.
Thank you for the comment. I agree and will be doing this.
HA! GAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
(did I do that right?)
I appreciate the heart and intention you put into this. Looking forward to reading the full series and seeing your perspective (among many others).
"I spent over a decade trying to suppress this part of myself, and it led to severe mental illness or running out of will power during a critical personal or business situation and screwing my life up. It is only through much suffering that I have learned I—nor most people—can repress fundamental aspects of who we are and get away with it."
Wow, you’re crazy. Have you tried doing any sports? Seeing a therapist? This is TRULY worrying.
Your argument suggests that expressing racist and sexist views is an intrinsic part of your identity and that suppressing them led to suffering. That’s a deeply flawed way to justify harmful behavior. It assumes that bigotry is an inherent trait rather than a learned mindset (one that can and should be unlearned by the way.) It also frames basic human decency as some kind of unbearable repression, as if not making racist or sexist jokes is an unreasonable demand.
On top of that, you’re shifting the conversation away from the harm your words cause and making yourself the victim, as if the real issue is your discomfort rather than the impact on marginalized communities. The idea that people should ‘embrace’ their worst instincts instead of challenging them isn’t self-acceptance—it’s just a refusal to grow, man.
I suspected my detractors would misunderstand this section in this precise way.
For the record, I DO think social justice is a dumb and counter productive yet highly influential ideology. And this is precisely why I receive satisfaction from transgressing it. My need to make fun of things I see as stupid is more or less innate. But which specific dumb thing is have the most influence is ever changing. And thus what behavior most optimally transgresses it changes along with it.
I was satanist and anti-theist in my teens because Christianity was the dumb religion of the time. I became a racist, sexist, xenophobe in recent years because Social Justice is the big dumb religion of the current time. Now that that is losing it's hold on reasonable peoples minds, I will likely have to find new thing to transgress in whatever way appears most useful to human civilization.
FWIW I have rewritten the section a bit more in hopes of making it harder for people to misconstrue it in the way you have.
Oh yeah, of course, you’re the intellectuals while we just don’t know how to get over simple ragebaits, right?
So, by your own admission, you don’t hold these beliefs because they’re true or meaningful—you just pick whatever ideology annoys the most people and run with it? That’s not transgression, that’s just being an edgelord. What exactly is ‘useful to human civilization’ about deliberately choosing to be racist and sexist just to spite others?
Also, you say social justice is dumb and counterproductive, but if it’s really fading like you claim, wouldn’t the ‘transgressive’ thing be to support it?
By your logic, aren’t you just following the next trend rather than rebelling against anything? Seems like you just enjoy justifying whatever lets you punch down.
You’re not some grand cultural contrarian. You just enjoy being an asshole and retroactively justify it as ‘transgression.’ There’s nothing revolutionary about picking whatever ideology allows you to be the most obnoxious in any given era (and we know you get boners from all the attention you’ve been getting these days, you’ve been a really bad girl Gaga!)
I have said my peace so that it is out there. People can do with it what they will. I will not be replying to you further but I wish you all the best and encourage you to keep fighting for what you believe is right and good. Take care, fren.
ironic racism is racism.
ironic sexism is sexism.
I understand you are saying that you compartmentalize this part of yourself onto a corner of the internet so that you can release that tension inside you. That tension is called emotions and you're feeling that dysregulation. I won't presume you don't know about emotional dysregulation, but it sounds like to me, not knowing anything about your life, that this method of regulating your emotions is not going too great for you. It just sounds like you're doing something pretty typical of men who don't know how to deal with that part of themselves.
Or maybe I'm wrong.
Just something to think about, my dude.
Luigi seems to have done similar things. But I won't get into that because I don't want to psychoanalyze the guy. However, he is a man too, and we know that a lot of men just don't know how to deal with this stuff. And that is *not* a matter of women being more naturally attuned to their emotions.
it's going great and fine. It's a lot of fun and have no problem with it. With that said, the seriousness of the Luigi situations means no more fun allowed. So fine, I'll behave.
But I will not apologize nor recant for having fun. Nor will I accept the frame that most Luigi stans have that killing somebody is fine but making edgy jokes is not. Actions matter more than words. The progressive inversion of this is a product of incoherent religious fundamentalism, not deeply considered ethical examination from first principles.
I'm not asking for any sort of apology. I don't know you from Adam and I'm def not offended. I'm just saying that perhaps this is something that might not be the best strategy for dealing with pain or anger.
This isn't about this dude you had a couple of conversations with, this isn't about my political beliefs. This isn't even whether you make dumb middle school jokes. I made that comment about you. And clearly it hit a nerve.
Serious neutral question despite my obvious and everlasting disdain for you: you decry social justice yet admit you are ASD. You do realize without social justice there's a good chance you'd be institutionalized right now, do you not? Not to say I don't think PC culture has gone too far, but to call pursuit of human rights a religion is really just you being Nazi Kanye in a different font- against your own interests because you're blinded by the sparkly appeal of shock factor that you think makes you unique and superior. It doesn't. It is so fucking easy to be transgressive, which makes it extremely unimpressive and washed.
I see what you're getting at. I don't think it's accurate. I wasn't diagnosed with ASD until my 30s and I did in fact spend most of my teens in mental institutions.
But the degree to which you are on to a genuinely valid point, you are also not seeing the whole picture.
Social justice has done some good things. I think it's gone too far and done bad things and is today a net bad.
But I would actually flip your argument back on you:
patriarchal, heteronormative, white, christian, capitalistic institutions have done some bad things, yes. But they also built civilization from nothing and afford you, I, and everyone else many luxuries we do not even realize aren't automatic. And in all honestly, you and I would be dead or have never existed if not for these things.
As I've written many times on this blog, and which you can read more of if you genuinely want to understand my viewpoints:
the default state of humans, and where we spent the overwhelming majority of our history, was killing each other in the dirt like animals over stupid bullshit.
Civilization is a miracle, and a fragile one at that. And while imperfect, and in need of many improvements, the naive utopian idea that we can just smash it and start over without making any effort to genuinely understand why it is the way it is, is how the 20th century ended up being the bloodiest one in all of human history.
I thus see it as not only just, but an ethical obligation, to make fun of the ideas and people who are repeating these same, naive mistakes all over again in the 21st century.
God damnit this guy is an idiot. There is so much inaccurate, biased bullshit in his comment I don’t even know where to start. “Patriarchal, heteronormative, white, Christian institutions built civilization from nothing” my god what an miseducated, myopic, self serving statement to make. So tired of posers like you and Gurwinder. Please delete yourself.
This is what happens without Luigi's positive influence smh
But seriously it isn't healthy, and besides there are ways to be an edgy troll while being less harmful and not punching down on marginalized groups. Especially in Trump's America '25, can you even call that being not politically correct anymore?
Hi Max,
Honestly, I was a bit skeptical how this would turn out after seeing the amount of contempt the Luigi followers seem to have for you. It made me curious to see what it was all about. Headed into this, I tried not to let their opinions color mine because I wanted to form my own. Nevertheless, I did feel wary. I read some of your other substack posts first—and doing just that made my "worries" subside. From what I gathered, you seem to be a man of your word; you approach topics with facts, facts that you have researched extensively, with as little bias as possible. And that is precisely the kind of writing everyone should prefer to read. I know I do.
Kudos to you for handling this so well. It is clearly very important for you to get this right, and it is much appreciated that you take time to clarify your thoughts to minimize misconceptions. That, I respect a lot. I'm looking forward to the rest, and hopefully you'll be able to get somewhat of a break from all of this once you've finished publishing your material.
Take care!
Thank you Alice
Why won’t you delete the tweets? You’ve had your fun and it is more than just trolling if he cannot respond to them. Just delete them if you want this series to be taken seriously. And to quote your post, “do what you can to respect his and his family’s privacy and physical safety.”
quoting from another reply above:
People will do what people will do. Anyone who has read anything else I've ever said, or frankly even my Twitter bio ("A gay and retarded moron"), understand that my whole bit is to say extremely stupid, inane bullshit or highly nuanced deep thing with no in between.
If I keep them, people say i had nefarious intent and was trying to slander him.
If I delete them, 1) they won't ever be truly deleted because the internet is forever 2) people will say I had nefarious intent in deleting them and 3) it will only signal blood in the water for crazies to double down and look for other ways to "cancel" me.
You cannot please zealots. You can only troll them or ignore them.
Reasonable, thoughtful people will read this series and understand. Ideologically motivated morons will never change their mind.
I understand your concern. But this is the best that I can offer you. Take care.
Agreed. He can screenshot them to remember the catharsis if he needs to. But there's probably going to be a desperate Daily Mail or TMZ freelancer who stumbles on them eventually, and I doubt Max wants that drama
Solid! Some mental gymnastics in there tbh but I’m looking forward to the rest of the series and I like the transparency on your objectives