<p>Yes, we know he looks like a normal guy. That’s not news. We know he’s a stoner hottie. Not news. We know Rolling Stone has the right to put anybody it wants to on its cover. We know the photo has been published elsewhere, though not with lighthearted old West ‘wanted dead or alive’ typography. What is news is that RS personnel are now out protesting their innocence - who us? - as stores refuse to put it on the shelf, instead of having the backbone to defend their cynical decision-making process.</p>
<p>In my mind, RS is somewhat similar to Vanity Fair or Esquire. Has serious news coverage, but also mixes with celebrity coverage. Would you all feel the same way if this were on the cover of Vanity Fair or Esquire? Why or why not?</p>
<p>How about The New Yorker or The Atlantic, which also have some celebrity coverage but much less so? </p>
<p>Go the other way - would you be more offended if this were People or Us magazine, whichi are pure celebrity with little effort to be serious news mags? </p>
<p>Just curious bout the context.</p>
<p>I don’t see what’s cynical about putting a picture of someone you’re writing an article about on the cover. That’s called selling magazines. It’s not a bad thing for RS to want to sell more magazines.</p>
<p>This thread wasn’t simply about the RS cover. I’m very interested in how our kids’ generation perceives Dzokhar and whether they are seeing him with more empathy, or believing he is innocent, or had only been influenced by his brother. Also, truly curious if seeing him on this cover influences their or anyone’s views. </p>
<p>I find this fascinating, because in a sense it says, the older brother, who articulated his angry views more boldly is seen as a “bad guy” but Dzokhar is not. How many kid brothers would blindly follow a murderous path unless they too had a belief system it matched? Seriously, I just don’t see that.</p>
<p>My kids would NEVER blindly follow one another or their friends if they thought it was a wrong path and have in fact been willing to be the “party pooper,” when they felt things were not right. Their friends have similarly been tested in adverse conditions and stood up for their beliefs.</p>
<p>I’m of the opinion that we are all influenced more or less by others but we ALL have free will and make choices. We MAY regret to varying degrees our choices in hindsight, but few of us would admit to being totally overborne by others in making choices.</p>
<p>With kids/young adults, I understand there can be more “hero worship,” but I still think there is personal responsibility, especially when one is responsible for acts of violence calculated to maim and kill people who have done nothing to harm the actor(s).</p>
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<p>My point is that he looks normal. He looks like he could be any kid. He went down one road when he could easily have taken another. One thing happens and it turns this pretty college boy into a terrorist. And that’s what scares people. It reminds people that there is no way to spot a terrorist on face alone. That they often are just misguided people. It doesn’t make their actions justifiable. It just makes them all the more tragic because his potential in life was destroyed too.</p>
<p>When it comes down to it, I just see a boy who had potential. Who was robbed of it because of his family and the life he got sucked into. I blame his upbringing and his brother’s radicalism. He doesn’t get off the hook but I don’t think you can give him as much blame as his brother.</p>
<p>The brother is dead, so blaming him is pretty pointless to me. It’s appears that the older brother was more radicalized than this one, but the jury will decide what is appropriate. I don’t like the media helping with the decision or glamorizing the “poor” defendant who killed innocents. I think the less publicity they get, the better for all of us and our mental health.</p>
<p>So why is a RS cover “publicity” and the NYT article with the very same picture isn’t? </p>
<p>Do you think RS is like a People magazine? I don’t.</p>
<p>thanks for your reply Serenity, I appreciate hearing your perspective. I have a difficult time seeing him as a victim, or one who was “robbed” because of his family. Perhaps if he were younger, say 10-13 yrs old, or had some intellectual limitations, but as a college aged young man he made his own choices. I have three kids, my younger son would never in a million years simply follow his brother (six yrs older) on any path let alone one of murderous rage.</p>
<p>For me the fact that he looks so “normal” and took part in American life as he did, means we need to recognize our own biases in expecting people who do hateful things to look scary or evil. </p>
<p>with all due respect, the issue is whether he is guilty of killing innocent people, not whether he is more or less to blame than his brother. they seemed much like a team not only at the marathon, but after, in shooting and killing a police officer. If he truly had no intention to kill, then he would have been horrified after the bombing realizing how innocent lives, including a child, were killed. He would have refused to continue to participate in murder. He continued and has never uttered a word of remorse.</p>
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<p>For sure it is, and as I noted earlier (and then I think I’m done here), the cynical part is the way it was done - the juxtaposition with headlines about Jay Z and Willie Nelson, the fonts chosen, the placement of the photo and type. </p>
<p>I just took a look at the Charles Manson cover - a completely different animal. If they had used this same exact self portrait yet composed the cover like that - no cute typeface, no Jay Z, etc. - the effect would have been quite different. </p>
<p>I spent a good part of my career in periodical publishing so I know how this works. Nothing on a magazine cover is by accident.</p>
<p>So, just admit that you (Jann Wenner) cynically gave DT the rockstar treatment to be controversial and to sell magazines. Apologize to your advertisers for not giving them a heads up (some are PO’d according to Ad Week). And move on.</p>
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<p>To be fair, your brain isn’t fully developed until you’re 25. That’s why car rental companies have 25 as the minimum age.</p>
<p>While this doesn’t excuse his actions, it could make for a more lenient sentence.</p>
<p>Lindz, I mean that if, say, he went out of Mass for school, he might never have been involved. He might have been completely normal. It’s tragic that a boy who seemed so all-American and could have broken free of his family fell right back in with the background. Ultimately, it’s his fault he participated but it wasn’t his fault he was exposed to radical Islam.</p>
<p>Also, it’s a different culture. We say in our society that you don’t follow what others do, even if they’re family. But Islam is big on family reputation. The religion is notorious for “honor killings” of those who “disgrace the family name”. Going with the family’s wishes is actually pretty serious. Respecting your older family members, too. And that would include his brother.</p>
<p>All in all, the situation is complicated. I feel sad that a man who could have beaten the odds fell to them. I empathize with a man who lost his potential. I empathize with the victims’ families. And I empathize with the Tsarnaev family.</p>
<p>I see how you were looking at it Serenity, so thank you for your explanation. Think you’re saying that if he had left his family, he might have avoided these influences. That may have been true. Valid point about the influence of Islam on his following his family. although I don’t agree that it wasn’t his fault he was exposed to radical Islam. I maintain he was old enough to make choices. He also could have shared these beliefs without being willing to kill innocent people. </p>
<p>I maintain that he made his final decisions, and should be held accountable. Again, he has not expressed any remorse for innocent lives being taken. This is very telling to me.</p>
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Hey, but I’m a really smart guy who’s good at interpreting media, so I know how it works, too, and I don’t agree with you. I can also be as condescending as the next person. I also am not convinced by arguments from authority on anonymous message boards–I’m only persuaded by arguments on the merits, and you haven’t persuaded me. That’s OK–it takes all kinds.</p>
<p>^ I’m not offended. There are more than enough know-it-alls to go around on these forums.</p>
<p>Do you think that the release of the photos at the backyard boat capture will impact the trial at all?</p>
<p>The only thing the released pictures will influence is the next week or so for the cop who did this against orders. He’ll be a hero to many and yet they’ll have to make a show of some form of discipline.</p>
<p>As for showing the bomber as he was, to me this shows the police overkill that took over this region: one guy with no weapon at all who turned out to be hiding literally a few feet past the artificially constructed police line. </p>
<p>BTW, car rental agencies are allowed to discriminate against younger drivers not because their brains aren’t fully formed but because statistics show they get in more accidents. I don’t know if actual bans exist anymore, but they charge more.</p>
<p>Serenity, I completely disagree with you on this. </p>
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What do you mean that he fell back in his background? One can come from (and be part of) a culture that is completely different from American culture and still be a wonderful person.</p>
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There’s a big difference between culture and religion.
As far as Islam goes, it says to respect you family and especially your parents, but it’s clear that you should go against your family when they’re encouraging you to do something wrong.
Honor killings are a cultural practice, as is an emphasis on family reputation.
I would argue that an emphasis on family ties and reputation are positive traits of many cultures, but obviously, there are cases where it goes way too far.</p>
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I don’t at all sympathize with the Tsarnaev family. Culture and background aren’t excuses for despicable behavior. I normally argue that we should respect others’ cultures and see where their decisions are coming from, but only because what seems cruel to one person may seem acceptable to another. Like how children who go through tiger parenting become tiger parents themselves, showing that the children obviously didn’t see it as abuse (like some interpret it to be). But in this case there is absolutely no debate that what has happened and been encouraged is horribly evil. I’m sure the Tsarneavs wouldn’t be okay with being bombed. Sane adults have full responsibility over their decisions. We don’t call ignorant adults brainwashed, we call them ignorant, because they have full capability of knowing what the right thing is, whatever their background.
I am conflicted about young Tsarneav, however. His case, as a relatively young person, seems a bit more tricky to me. It is a real shame that he had his whole life before him, and now all of it’s gone. And all because he was exposed to some crackpots.</p>
<p>That was exactly my point. He fell in with his background when he could have beaten it. Which is rather sad.</p>
<p>The culture is that of Middle Eastern religious fundamentalist groups. The religion can be Islam, Sikh, or Hindu. Sorry I decided to spare time and just focus on the one that affected this situation. My points are no less valid though. He was brought up surrounded by two different cultures. The one he had at home emphasized going with what family wanted.</p>
<p>Excuse me. I am extremely empathetic and see all sides of a situation. His family (save the brother) didn’t set any bombs. They can get a bit of empathy. For heck’s sake, I had to argue with many people over whether they had the right to bury their son’s body. I empathize with them for having such a hard time burying it. I empathize with them for not being able to meet religious obligations. I empathize with them for the threats made to desecrate his burial site.</p>
<p>He wasn’t middle eastern. He is Chechen. North of Armenia and Azerbaijan, between the Black and Caspian seas. In terms of geographical context, the area his family lived in for a while is a few hundred miles due east of Sochi, Russia where the Winter Olympics will be. The Chechens are ethnically caucasian and I mean that literally; they come from the Caucasus.</p>