OH NO! THE MEDIA'S SELLING US TERROR

Do a quick Google search of "Rolling Stone cover" and you'll find quite a few articles and opinion pieces on the Rolling Stones' decision to put Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the cover of their pop culture magazine. Many people are upset about it, saying Rolling Stone is glorifying terrorism/terrorists, or that they're trying to cash in on controversy, or that they're simply insensitive to the victims. But should we really be mad at Rolling Stone?

The controversial cover.

When I heard of the controversy, I immediately thought of some famous covers from Time magazine. They've plastered images of some of the world's most notorious killers. Seinfeld even did a sketch about a killer who made the cover of Time.


Granted, most people don't think of Rolling Stone as the hard news source that Time (laughably) is, but they've done some pretty good reporting. Check out the "Generation Kill" series, "Fast Food Nation", or their report on CIA operatives in the media. They've published some dirt on big conspiracies, some of which the government doesn't seem to like.

Before everyone gets all up in arms that Rolling Stone put the Boston Bomber suspect on their cover, realize that the media has been selling us an obsession with murder and death for years. For more information on that, check out Nancy Grace. This is nothing new, and the real perpetrator is us. We buy into it. We demand violence and tragedy, so the media supplies it. Whether that's a human trait, or if we've been conditioned to seek that controversy because of the media's portrayal of it is another question.

All the negativity, violence, and sadness shown on the news has a negative impact on us. It makes us anxious and depressed. It has deep psychological effects on us. So, tune out. Turn it off. Quit getting wrapped up in death and destruction and ignore the garbage they're shoving down your throat. Unplug from the Matrix and get out while you still can.