When Wal-Mart comes to town

[dArKeR]

In May, Wal-Mart dropped three lad magazines, Maxim, FHM and Stuff, on the grounds that the words were too racy. In June, Wal-Mart decided to partly obscure the covers of Redbook, Cosmopolitan and Marie-Claire over what they call "customer concerns". Last year it refused to stock an issue of Sports Illustrated's swimsuit special because it took exception to one photograph.

The process by which Wal-Mart comes to these conclusions is not entirely clear, though Wal-Mart says it is the result of "listening to our customers and associates". "They write to us or contact us and tell us what they think and we listen," a spokesperson says. "A number of them said they were uncomfortable with these products."

But how they filter and prioritise these concerns appears to be arbitrary. Asked what in particular made customers uncomfortable or how many had complained, the spokesperson could not say.

http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=19175

http://darker0darker.tripod.com/

[DarkPhenyx]

1. Wal-Mart and Target both...

...have been conducting exercises in censorship for years now. There really isn't anything new, or illegal, about it. Unfortunately they do have a great deal of marketing power and can influance music, magazines, adn many other forms of expression simply by refusing to carry certain products.

[TreasonousBastard]

2. Wal-Mart has...

long been known to dictate packaging, song lyrics, book editions, and whatever else to its vendors. Then there's the Chinese knockoff thing and patents or trademarks be damned.

I absolutely refuse to walk in the door.

One guy I know goes in there once or twice a year to buy a particular spray paint they have. He spends his $3.85 for four cans of paint and leaves seditious literature for the employees. He often has long talks with the greeteres.

[fencesitter]

3. typical..

Would they bar Coulter's book if we complained?

[Rabrrrrrr]

4. Bet they don't have Song of Solomon removed from the Bibles

or the parts about incest, or concubines, or polygamy, or rape . . .