Rolling Stone Cover Makes Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect Look Like a Rock Star

It’s sick to think suspected Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev could be thought of as a rock star, but that’s the treatment he’s getting from Rolling Stone Magazine.

Or at least it seems that way.

I never thought Rolling Stone to be a news magazine.

The magazine has always been an outlet for rock stars and pop culture icons; but this goes beyond the definition of pop culture.

In the magazine, which will be out next month, reporter Janet Reitman reveals some details of Tsarnaev’s life not already known.

The cover is what has everybody buzzing, practically elevating him to “rock star” status.

Do you feel Rolling Stone is doing a disservice by portraying Dzhokhar Tsarnaev as a rock star?

According to this:

The surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings is featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine that will hit newsstands early next month.

A picture that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev posted on social media is the cover shot, above the words, "How a popular, promising student was failed by his family, fell into radical Islam, and became a monster."

The magazine's decision has elicited thousands of scathing comments on its Facebook page as well as on prominent news websites such as Boston.com.

There are several new revelations in the story written by contributing editor Janet Reitman.

His former wrestling coach might have been the person responsible for convincing Tsarnaev to surrender when police surrounded the boat in which he was hiding.

The report says that in high school Tsarnaev downplayed the fact that he was a Muslin, even though he took religion seriously. He also confided in a friend that the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were justifiable as a result of United States policies toward Muslim countries.

Reitman spent two months talking to childhood and high school friends of Tsarnaev, in addition to neighbors, teachers and law enforcement officials, Rollingstone.com said.

The story is titled "Jarhar's World."

Tsarnaev pleaded not guilty last week to 30 federal charges, including using a weapon of mass destruction to kill, and could get the death penalty if prosecutors choose to pursue it.

The April 15 attack killed three people and wounded more than 260. Authorities say Tsarnaev orchestrated the attack along with his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who died following a shootout with police three days after the bombing.

Authorities say the Tsarnaevs also killed Massachusetts Institute of Technology officer Sean Collier days later while they were on the run.

Numerous bombing victims had legs amputated after the two explosions, which detonated along the final stretch of the race a couple hours after the elite runners had finished.

While there may be some interest in “"Jarhar's World", still, the image of someone who was a part of something so heinous portrayed, at least in a photo, as a hero is revolting.

However, there is a precedent in that Charles Manson too was a cover story some time ago.

How many issues that one sold is beyond me.

But seeing the image of Tsarnaev looking the part of a rock star in the wake of so many dying at his hands is revolting.