For a company that prides itself on being an American name, Wal-Mart strangely seem to have something against freedom. The store chain has recently come under fire on the Internet after it was revealed that they had banned Ronda Rousey’s book from their stores, citing its “violent nature” as the main reason. Rousey is the current undefeated champion in the women’s bantamweight league, and she recently published her memoir titled “My Fight/Your Fight”.
The announcement was immediately met with strong negativity all over the Internet, and Rousey’s own publisher was quick to make a statement, claiming that they were shocked to see “censorship going on in America”. And indeed, that seems to be the case – when a book with an apparently legitimate message has to be blocked for reasons like this, one can’t help but wonder about the implications of the whole situation.
The book definitely deserves some attention, according to critics, as it chronicles the life of Ronda Rousey and her difficult childhood, describing everything she had to overcome in order to get to where she is now. While it’s impossible to say whether or not it’s actually a good read before it’s out on the market in one month, the nature of its contents definitely doesn’t imply that the book’s main focus is on violence.
She is currently the top performer in her class, with an undefeated track record and many of her wins occurring in the very first round. Nine out of her total eleven victories have been done with an armbar, a technique which she became known for.
On the bright side, this might actually work out in Rousey’s favor in the end. The Internet works in strange ways, and she might experience the positive side of the “Streisand Effect” – an Internet phenomenon named after Barbra Streisand, who once tried to block a picture of her house from the Internet, only drawing more attention to it.
It’s already happening with Rousey too, as her case is all over the news. People who hadn’t heard of the fighter until today are actively searching for her name online to find out what her story is, and she’s pretty much guaranteed to get a lot of attention and exposure for her book once she’s released it. From then on, Wal-Mart might decide to change their stance once they realize that the book could actually be profitable for them, although it’s not clear if Rousey will be willing to allow them to sell it after the incident. She most likely wouldn’t miss out on any potential sales from the store anyway, given the huge popularity of her story on the Internet right now.