A Word of Advice from Homer

Odysseus weighs in on recent events

It’s fair to say that a lot of discourse on social media over the last week or so has been centred on the murder/assassination of Brian Thompson, the CEO of a US healthcare company. It has provoked a lot of discussion about the American health system in general, though not particularly breaking any new ground in establishing that it is insanely broken and driven by corporate greed. However, much more of the discourse has centred around the killer and his motives, even more so now that he has been apprehended.

There are many, especially left of the centre aisle, who have welcomed the news of this ‘extrajudicial’ killing, in a similar way to the assassin of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Some have hailed the killer as a hero, a saint, a martyr or a meme lord to be raised up as an example of the people fighting back against injustice. While I doubt that this individual case is likely to provoke any long lasting change, it’s hard to deny that it has at least shed greater light on the issue.

This piece isn’t to cast judgment or condone any of these actions. But to the many who have gleefully embraced the death of Brian Thompson, I would turn their attention to the wise words of the bard Homer, which still ring true today. In his Odyssesy, much of the second half of the story is devoted to the return of the eponymous character and the way in which he deals with those who have been courting his wife and abusing the hospitality of his home.

Homer goes to great lengths to show that Odysseus’ actions in killing these men are not an act of personal vengeance as much as one of divine retribution. Several books are devoted to their bad behaviour, violation of cultural and religious norms, and general braggadocio. As a result, when Penelope is first informed that Odysseus has returned and killed the suitors, she does not believe it. Instead she says:

One of the immortal gods has killed the young lords, enraged by their sickening insolence and wickedness. For they respected nobody they met - good men and bad were all the same to them. And now their offences have brought them to disaster.” (The Odyssey Book 23, translation by EV Rieu)

In this way, the act feels like one of redress and rebalance, which ties into modern notions of karma and such. Many commenters have rejoiced recently at such karma coming back to bite this CEO whose business denied care and caused pain for many in an already broken system. However you view the result, the way in which we react to that which is just as important.

In the Odyssey, when the faithful old nurse Eurycleia sees Odysseus bloody and victorious, with the corpses of the suitors piled up around him in the hall, she too starts to rejoice:

She felt like crying out in triumph at the mighty achievement that confronted her. Odysseus, however, checked her exuberance with a sharp rebuke.

‘Restrain yourself old woman, and gloat in silence. I’ll have no cries of triumph here. It is an impious thing to exult over the slain. These men fell victims to the will of the gods and their own infamy. (The Odyssey Book 22, translation by EV Rieu)

These words have resounded in my head lately as I have seen some overly ‘exuberant’ reactions to this person’s death. Judge others how you wish, view their deaths in whatever way you like, but to stand over someone killed and gloat is too far even for the man who sacked an entire city…

Apologies for the recent hiatus - the year-end is so busy but I hope to send a few more words your way before Christmas. Take care!