Rolling Stone's Deviation from Orthodoxy Has Been Criticized Verbally and in Writing

On the cover of August’s issue of Rolling Stone is 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon bomber. This has drawn both written and vocal condemnation, and at least five American chain stores have refused to sell the August issue. The magazine has always found success in deviating from the norm, and this seemingly self-destructive tactic is not wrong.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s image on the front cover of Rolling Stone is packed full of “star power.” With his head of curly hair and his indolent gaze, he has the face of a rock star, rebellious and dreamy. Reporter Janet Reitman spent two months preparing the cover story. She interviewed Dzhokhar’s friends, teachers and neighbors from his elementary and secondary school era; she even interviewed the law-enforcement officers. She analyzed from every angle how a promising, bright, cute kid could turn into a demon.

Frankly speaking, Rolling Stone’s reporting did not “whitewash” Dzhokhar, but, reading between the lines, wording such as “a cute kid with a future” could evoke unfortunate sentimentality toward him. This raises the question as to whether or not Rolling Stone acted unreasonably by treating this accused bomber with humanistic care.

There are people who have justified Rolling Stone’s use of the image by bringing attention to The New York Times, which used that exact picture in its own article. Moreover, this is not the first time that terrorists have had their image on the front cover of a magazine. Al-Qaida’s Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi were both on the front cover of Time magazine. But it is completely different being on the cover of Time versus the cover of Rolling Stone. The former is an objective news reporting magazine, while the latter is symbolic of the achievements of popular culture. Rolling Stone has already become a symbol of America’s popular culture. The unique aura that emanates from the front cover of Rolling Stone is the dream that countless musicians strive for.

When Osama bin Laden appeared on the front cover of Time magazine his image had a huge red cross over it — their statement was pretty obvious. But when Rolling Stone put Dzhokhar on the front cover the message it brought puzzled and angered the American public. How could the bloodstained suspected terrorist be given the same platform as rock and roll stars, pioneer artists and pop idols?

Even though the attack on 9/11 occurred more than 10 years ago, there still exists a dark stain on the hearts of Americans. Ever since then, “counterterrorism” has basically created a “free pass” benefiting the U.S. Any sympathy or exoneration with regard to terrorist attacks, even when it is only vaguely related, is beyond the mainstream American public’s tolerance threshold and reopens the old wound.