Tedeschi Food Shops decides not to carry the controversial Rolling Stone edition with the accused Boston Marathon Bomber’s photo on the cover.
Tedeschi Food Shops and Cumberland Farms are among businesses announcing decisions not to carry the latest Rolling Stone edition that features accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s picture on the cover.
The issue, featuring an innocent looking photo of a tousle-haired Tsarnaev that he himself had posted online, is causing a public outcry, with many saying it is insensitive to the people of Boston, where the marathon bombings killed three people and wounded more than 200.
The cover reads: “THE BOMBER. How a popular, promising student was failed by his family, fell into radical Islam and became a monster.”
Ed Kelly, president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts, called it “insulting.” He told CNN that using Tsarnaev’s booking photo on the cover might have been one thing, but a photo that shows “the innocence of youth” gives the wrong message.
CVS pharmacies, Stop & Stop, Tedeschi Food Shops, Cumberland Farms, as well as the Illinois-based drugstore chain Walgreens, and Rite Aid based in Pennsylvania, have all said they won’t carry the issue, following the public outcry.
Tedeschi Food Shops, based in Rockland, Mass., told CNN that it supports the need to provide news, but not “actions that serve to glorify the evil actions of anyone. With that being said, we will not be carrying this issue of Rolling Stone.”
On its Facebook page, Tedeschi wrote, “Music and terrorism don’t mix!” and included an image of the cover with a circle and a line crossed through it.
Rhode Island-based CVS Caremark Corp.’s company spokesman Michael DeAngelis told CNN it feels its decision not to carry the decision “is the right decision out of respect for the victims of the attack and their loved ones.”
Wednesday Twitter and Facebook were a buzz with controversy over the cover. The Rolling Stone‘s Facebook post of the cover image had received more than 16,000 comments by Wednesday evening.
“Oh look, Rolling Stone magazine is glamourizing terrorism. Awesome,” Adrienne Graham commented on the magazine’s Facebook page. “I will NOT be buying this issue, or any future issues.”
Most comments used words such as “tasteless,” “sickening” and “disgusting” to describe the cover.