r1188cover-306x-1374073020-220x300Hy-Vee announced on Facebook last night that they will not carry the latest Rolling Stone cover with the Boston Marathon bombing suspect, Dzhokar Tsarnaev.

To our customers:

Hy-Vee has received many questions and complaints from customers regarding the current issue of Rolling Stone magazine, which features a cover photo of the Boston Marathon bombing suspect. In general, the decision whether or not to carry a particular publication rests with each individual store; however, in response to feedback from our customers, we have asked all our stores to refrain from displaying or selling the issue of Rolling Stone in question.

CVS and Walgreens are not carrying the cover as well.Ā  Typically the cover is reserved for famous musicians so this move is rather strange.Ā  They explained their decision:

Our hearts go out to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, and our thoughts are always with them and their families. The cover story we are publishing this week falls within the traditions of journalism and Rolling Stoneā€™s long-standing commitment to serious and thoughtful coverage of the most important political and cultural issues of our day.

The fact that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is young, and in the same age group as many of our readers, makes it all the more important for us to examine the complexities of this issue and gain a more complete understanding of how a tragedy like this happensā€¦

ā€¦People in Cambridge thought of 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev ā€“ ā€œJaharā€ to his friends ā€“ as a beautiful, tousle-haired boy with a gentle demeanor, soulful brown eyes and the kind of shy, laid-back manner that ā€œmade him that dude you could always just vibe with,ā€ one friend says.

He had been a captain of the Cambridge Rindge and Latin wrestling team for two years and a promising student. He was also ā€œjust a normal American kid,ā€ as his friends described him, who liked soccer, hip-hop, girls; obsessed over The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones; and smoked a copious amount of weed.

Apparently he wasnā€™t as normal as they thought.Ā  By the way, ā€œnormalā€ kids donā€™t smoke ā€œcopious amount of weed.ā€Ā  The Boston Mayor did not approve of their choice:

BostonMayorLetter-e1374106876746

Certainly Rolling Stone is well within its rights to publish the cover.Ā  Hy-Vee, Walgreens and others are well within their rights not to carry it.

You May Also Like

Social Conservatism and The Death Of the Irish Christian Right

It’s been a very tough week for Republicans in general, but in…

Hidden Figures and Change Making

Kelvey Vander Hart: The African American ladies of 1960’s NASA Langley portrayed in Hidden Figures teach us important lessons about change making.

Former Clinic Manager Accuses Planned Parenthood of the Heartland of Medicaid Fraud in Whistleblower Lawsuit

The Alliance Defending Freedom (formerly the Alliance Defense Fund) is representing Sue…

A Challenge to Our Readers: Prove You Exist

David Shedlock has a 72-hour challenge for our readers, prove that you exist because David thinks he’s the only one who does and he’s talking to himself.