Irony is not always delicious

Hi.
I'm still away doing whatever it is I'm doing (there's slight, barely measurable progress on that front) but I wanred to chime in on something while it's still timely (plus the idea of my traffic numbers crashing to utter zero is really depressing) so I'm sneaking in here real quick.

The matter at hand: the Rolling Stone cover. Specifically, this Rolling Stone cover

A lot of people are very upset about the photo on the cover. Many of them are people I know and respect. They're boycotting the magazine and supporting merchants who are boycotting it. They're also missing the point.
If they (you) would actually read the article inside, they (you) would see that the picture isn't intended to portray Dzokhar Tsarnaev as some sort of rock star (the root of much of the displeasure being voiced), it's to portray him as an average, ordinary kid. At least that's the front he displayed so effectively for so long that his closest friends are still trying to come to terms with his involvement in the Boston bombing.
And therein lies the problem: by being so put off by the cover of a magazine, people won't even consider reading an article inside that illustrates how this happened, thereby increasing the possibility it could, and probably will, happen again. It's the equivalent of freaking out when you see a woman at an airport wearing a burqa while you smile and wave at your next door neighbor who's stockpiling fertilizer.

For more, read Kelly DeBie's excellent take on the matter.
Also, please, read the actual article yourself. Clicking this link will allow you to do so without buying the magazine.


Okay, I'm off again. The next time I sneak on, I'll try to bring something funny/