Rolling Stone’s most recent cover, featuring Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has sparked a rash of criticism in one of the rare instances that you see people from both sides of the proverbial aisle lining up together to scream the same hate in unison.
Critics believe that the magazine has glorified him too much, and that pop culture giving this kind of attention to mass murderers, or bombers, or terrorists, or any kind of such person inspires others seeking fame and perceived glory to go out and commit similar crimes.
Defenders-pretty much just Rolling Stone’s PR department-say that it’s important to confront issues head on, and believes that Tsarnaev’s arrest and involvement in the bombing is an issue which it’s important to fully understand.
Predictably, some Massachusetts law enforcement officers are less than impressed with the magazine’s choice of cover model, and in reaction to the release of the cover, one has taken it into his own hands to counter what he believes is a “rockstar portrayal” of the suspected bomber.
The man who ripped limbs from people for the simple crime of cheering on a family member or friend in one of the state’s most iconic and popular events.
I may not agree with treating him as an enemy combatant. He may be a citizen. He may be due certain rights. He may be a confused teenager for all I know. But there is one thing he is certainly not:
He IS NOT a rock star, and he should not be treated or remembered as such.
There is also one thing he is likely to never be again, and that is a free man. So take a look at his last moments in the outside world, as he lay bleeding at the feet of the state’s law enforcement officers, and remember him for who he was: a scared kid, in way over his head, who made some seriously bad choices and is going to be put away for the remainder of his natural life.
In short; a waste.
A waste of a life, a waste of any of that talent Rolling Stone speaks of that he might have had. For none of that matters anymore. Unless one of those talents was sitting in a cell, thinking about where his life has brought him. Because that is likely all he will ever do again.