Did TIME Magazine Cover Influence Horrible Crime?

A recent controversial TIME Magazine cover portraying an attractive Afghan woman who was a victim of Taliban violence raises the question whether it helped to inspire a horrible random crime in Vancouver, Washington. This past Monday, 28 year old, Bethany Storro, had just received her paycheck and decided to buy a pair of sunglasses in downtown Vancouver, Washington, when some African American female stranger dressed in military style Khaki pants that appeared to be in rage said something like "Hey pretty girl, do you want to drink this" and threw acid in Storro's face. The sunglasses helped to save her vision during the attack. Storro had been partially deaf since birth.

The Taliban and it's primitive religious followers have used acid attacks and other disfiguring violence to prevent women from getting an education and to force their submission to males in their society. In Vancouver, Washington, Storro was randomly attacked for no apparent reason in a similar sort of acid attack.

Storro faces a great deal of pain and surgeries. Her face and clothes immediately began to dissolve as she rolled around in pain on the sidewalk. Her medical bills will be huge as a result of this vicious attack. Yet, her faith in God allows her to be strong despite all of this. She is even willing to offer forgiveness somewhere down the road to her attacker.

But several questions remain. Who was the attacker? What motivated them? Was this act of violence somehow influenced by the recent TIME Magazine cover, Taliban violence or the situation in Afghanistan? Few answers are to found so far. But the road to recovery for Bethany Storro will be a long and hard one. Her life will never be the same. Her faith will have to be her anchor to rely on as she suffers much as a result of one instant of unbelievable and horrible violence.