IN DEFENSE OF RONDA ROUSEY

I can’t believe I’m writing this – I was one of those guys tweeting out “ding, dong, the witch is dead” and other unsavory memes when Ronda Rousey fell to the now bantamweight champion Holly Holm via kick heard round the world on November 15th, 2015. The fallout was even better. People said outlandish, hilarious, and over the line things and I loved every minute of it. I didn’t like her mouth, her attitude, and honestly I didn’t think she was even that hot. However, with the current “suicide” situation, I feel the media has gone too far. In case you haven’t heard, Ronda Rousey appeared on  Ellen earlier this week where she revealed that after her loss to Holly Holm she had thoughts of suicide. First of all she said she had thoughts. Just because someone says they’ve had thoughts doesn’t mean they’ll actually follow through on the act. She didn’t put out a method, she didn’t buy a gun, she didn’t show Ellen the track marks on her arms, she had thoughts. We’ve all been there. She was in a dark place and she didn’t know who she was. Which makes complete sense for a girl who ran away from home and use to live in her car. Her only claim to human attention was being good at something. She was good but not great at Judo (Olympic Silver Medalist), and this MMA thing was her last shot. Broke, depressed, and lost, she gave it a try and rocked the world. Now I hear what your saying, she’s got millions of dollars now and is an icon of the sport and women everywhere. Well that’s true but her needs were deeper than money, she was on a search to feel validated, to feel heard, to feel listened to, a reason to live essentially. One of the basic human needs is the need to feel significant, who is Ronda Rousey without “Ronda Rousey”? Behind the super tough persona stood a super tough personality that was hanging on  a thread, and that thread broke in the second round of UFC 193. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwCdv9iR8P8 Fast forward to this week – the interview. Ronda just let out a heartfelt retelling. There was no ulterior motive, no thought of being a role model to all girls, no PR person, just her being a human being. People raced at this calling her a cry baby, a bad role model, and not valid of having these thoughts because of her wealth and affluence. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say there’s nothing wrong with being vulnerable and nothing wrong with talking about suicide. I think there’s something wrong with our society when someone is torn down and demonized for being honest and emotional. Sure she could’ve given the typical “dust yourself off” speech, but that’s not what she was feeling. Being hard all the time is not strength, being broken down and building back up, that’s show’s antifragility, that’s where people really grow. We are witnessing the growth of a human and a fighter, live, and we scoff at i. Since when did emotion equal weakness – are we not human? As far as being too rich to be depressed – that’s just a crock of sh@t. There’s always somebody who has it worst than you, does that mean that you can’t feel sad for not having shoes because someone has no feet? That’s ridiculous. Everyone is built differently and holds different things to varying level of importance. This means even you have an achilles heal –  something you would lose your sense of self over. Family? money? power? sexuality? there’s something out there that you feel defines “you” and what happens if you lose that? Who are “you” now? Sometimes there are holes all the money in the world can’t fill. There’s no benchmark as to what levels of success makes you incapable on thoughts of suicide, feelings are valid because they are felt. If Ronda’s wealth and influence makes you uncomfortable then that’s on you. She can cry, she can laugh, and she can feel sad despite her money.  Money isn’t everything and celebrities are still human. If you think that level of success takes away all your problems, then get there. If any accounts from successful people are true you’ll find that it’s not what it seems. What do you think? Is ronda Just a blubbering baby or is she a true pioneer for being vulnerable and moving forward? Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.