The Issue: The new cover of Rolling Stone magazine depicting accused bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
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Rolling Stone’s decision to put Dzhokar Tsarnaev, the alleged Boston Marathon bomber, on its cover in a manner that implicitly depicts him as a celebrity to be emulated by other young men and women is disgraceful (“Rolling Stoned,” July 18).
Evidently, none of the editorial staff had a friend or loved one maimed or killed on that horrible day.
Richard Bryant
Cold Spring Harbor
The editors of Rolling Stone must have gathered moss on their heads if they think putting the bombing suspect on their cover is catering to their audience.
The teenage girls who somehow think he is a James Dean-type of misunderstood rebel should not be the No. 1 target of their magazine, which, despite Wenner Media’s statement, is the real reason they put him on the cover.
He is not worthy of any mention whatsoever, except for coverage of his trial.Ray Hackinson
Ozone Park
Many people feel that Rolling Stone glamorizes the Boston terrorist by featuring his face on the cover. However, the magazine claims that this was done for much nobler journalistic purposes
Either way, let us remember that the magazine has glamorized many other people over the years who were not exactly bastions of moral virtue, either.
Joseph Carducci
Pittsburgh, Pa.
Can one imagine the reaction at the offices of Rolling Stone if someone proposed a cover story in which George Zimmerman is portrayed as a handsome young man and a victim of circumstance?
That individual would be laughed off the premises, because such a piece would be seen as callous and cruel toward Zimmerman’s victim and his survivors.
The magazine felt no such restraint in its despicable decision to feature a cover photo and story about the accused bomber, something which is repulsive in every respect, demonstrating contempt for the victims, for those who mourn them and the horror that befell the good people of Boston on that fateful day.
The editors of Rolling Stone are either unbelievably naïve individuals or they are devoid of decency and compassion. I fear that the latter is true.Oren Spiegler
Upper Saint Clair, Pa.
It took the country this long to figure out Rolling Stone is an un-American rag. That is all they have ever been.
Patrick Grant
Rocky Point