Robin SmithSeveral news accounts in just the last two weeks are evidence that we are tolerating the death of the innocent.
A few weeks ago, there was a boycott of the issue of Rolling Stone magazine featuring terrorist, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, on its front cover. Tsarnaev, who joined his brother in placing “pressure cooker bombs” near the finish line of Boston’s signature race wounding 260 and killing three, seemed to be glamorized.
The mayor of Boston, Thomas Menino honed in on the shallow yet effective strategy calling the provocative cover an ‘obvious marketing strategy’ to generate publicity and sales.
The editors of Rolling Stone magazine issued a very superficial “unapology:”
“Our hearts go out to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, and our thoughts are always with them and their families. The cover story we are publishing this week falls within the traditions of journalism and Rolling Stone’s long-standing commitment to serious and thoughtful coverage of the most important political and cultural issues of our day. The fact that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is young, and in the same age group as many of our readers, makes it all the more important for us to examine the complexities of this issue and gain a more complete understanding of how a tragedy like this happens.”