Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the man charged with the terrorist attack of the Boston Marathon, went on trial last Monday in Boston for his alleged crimes. If Tsarnaev is convicted, he qualifies for the death penalty, as long as his fan club doesn’t get a say. A group of teenage girls have plastered all over social media that Tsarnaev is actually “cute,” and moreover, he is “not guilty” and “not getting a fair trial.”

These girls, along with many other members of the social media environment, are guilty of obsession with image. They neglect the fact that this man allegedly killed three people and injured 260 others for the completely opinionated argument, “But wait. He’s attractive.”

If Tsarnaev was years older or slightly less “attractive,” he would not be so popular, particularly since he allegedly committed a terrorist attack on the United States. Not many people probably logged on to MySpace in 2002 and announced to the world, “Osama Bin Laden might not be guilty,” and “He deserves more time to plan for his trial.” If an accused terrorist has a scary beard, some gray in his hair, his nose is too big, his eyes are too far apart or maybe is a bit heavyset, he deserves the death penalty for his crimes. However, when a man in his early twenties with flowing dark hair and a nice, clean shaven face is accused of attacking an iconic American event filled with people, he becomes eligible not only for a fair trial, but to be freed and claimed not guilty according to some young American citizens.

Tsarnaev is already getting more than Bin Laden ever did by being put on trial. Video evidence and paraphernalia aren’t enough in America because everyone has the right to a trial by jury, which is exactly what Tsarnaev is receiving right now. Yet, a group of American girls are posting hundreds of times daily on Instagram  to complain that this man, an alleged terrorist, is not being treated fairly. One can only wonder what makes Tsarnaev any different from anyone accused of killing three people and injuring hundreds of others, aside from the question haunting Twitter feeds all across the country, “Do you think Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is cute?”

Those supporting Tsarnaev at the current time argue that because he is in America, he has the right to a fair trial. He does have a right to a fair trial, but if found guilty, it seems incredibly shallow of American citizens to react negatively because the offender is attractive, the real reason these girls are talking about him so much.  Their motivation is clear because attached to each post about the Bill of Rights and oppressive government are pictures of Tsarnaev which depict him as a hot teenager who looks much too charming to have bombed the Boston Marathon.

America today truly is all about image. Rolling Stone magazine has a picture of Tsarnaev plastered across the cover in an edition that makes him look less like an alleged criminal and much more like a rock star. The sad truth of the matter is that it isn’t the journalists’ fault. Journalists produce what Americans want to consume. Some people have become so shallow they would rather look at a person’s facial features and judge them than look at what a person does and who a person is. Regardless of the result of this trial, Tsarnaev should be found innocent or guilty based not on image, but on evidence.