First of all I thought M.I.A. announced she had retired?
Clearly that is not the case, and she’s made it loud and clear with the release of her new single, Born Free. Available steaming for free on her site.
I’ve decided to not embed the video for it here on the blog. Perhaps it’s because it’s before 8am, but it’s one of the more violent/graphic music videos I’ve ever seen. Although now that I think of it, it’s no worse than any R-rated action flick.
If you’d like to see the video that’s been banned from YouTube, check it if you want it.

Here are my comments though (video spoilers, stop reading if you want to just watch it yourself). Why is this being banned? And why are people shocked?

I’d wager that many complaints are coming from parents of young teens. But the same parents probably let their kids watch Gladiator, or The Passion. This is no worse.

In fact as a comment on humans discriminating against each other I find the video to have quite the point of view! If we can find reasons to act violently against each other on such grounds as skin color or national origin, is it so ridiculous to depict violence against red heads? It’s a complete comment on what we have been doing to each other for millennia.

And, what would you expect from the daughter of a Tamil Tiger Revolutionary? He was a freedom fighter, she, an artist with a voice.

Anyhow, it’s not safe for work, but if you can read between the lines (and the shrapnel), you will get it. The same old program we love to engage in – differentiation by appearance. Hopefully this system will die off in this century.