Jumping To Conclusions

Everywhere you look, it's corporate censorship of dissident voices!

MIAMI - Dancehall star Beenie Man, who has recorded anti-gay songs in the past, was yanked from a concert associated with the MTV Video Music Awards this weekend after gay groups planned a protest, the network said Wednesday.

MTV pulled the Jamaican singer from the roster Tuesday after South Florida gay activists announced plans to protest Saturday's concert in Miami over some of his past lyrics, including "I'm dreaming of a new Jamaica, come to execute all the gays" and "Queers must be killed."

Now, those are pretty vile sentiments even if Beenie Man's manager says the lyrics are "metaphorical". But where, I wonder, are the artists defending his freedom of expression? Who is going to castigate MTV for caving in to special-interest groups at the expense of minority voices?