Five arrested in Philadelphia protesting CIGNA's criminal practices - who's the real criminal?
Posted on October 7th, 2009 by Jason Rosenbaum in Profits Before People
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Five more people were arrested yesterday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in front of health insurer CIGNA's world headquarters:
About 50 people rallied outside Cigna headquarters, at 16th and Chestnut Streets, protesting what they say are insurance companies putting profit before people's health care needs.
Among them was Joan Kosloff (above and right). Using a bull horn, she told the crowd about her son, Eric Aycox, whom she says died as a result of a treatable case of meningitis because he was uninsured.
A short time later, Kosloff and four men blocked to revolving doors of Cigna Insurance, and all were arrested for civil disobedience as the crowd chanted, "We're there for you."
Joan's son Mark Aycox watched as his mother was arrested:
"My family is pretty active, and we want America to be as good a country as it claims to be."
They joined the six arrested Monday in Minnesota, protesting the criminal actions of insurance companies.
Watch:
Once again, the question comes to mind, who is the real criminal here?
Are people like Joan Kosloff, protesting because her son died because he didn't have insurance, the enemies of society? Do they deserve to be led away in handcuffs?
Meanwhile, insurers like CIGNA get to go about their business - denying you and me care, making more profits for their shareholders, paying their CEO $12.2 million last year [pdf], and spending millions every day lobbying against health reform and a public health insurance option.
Is CIGNA the real criminal?
BlueZ00m has updates on the people arrested yesterday for standing up for people over profits. Today, CIGNA goes on with business as usual.
You know I actually asked a representative of the health no-insurance company that spent a year and a half denying my surgery: how do you live with yourself? How do you sleep at night?
Someone please explain to me how it came to be that in America, standing in the town square became a crime (does free speech still exist?) and killing people became legally endorsed.
I don't understand.