Wow. I mean, wow. I knew the song had some pretty offensive imagery, but this video borders on the offensiveness of that "Respect" advertisement by Land Rover. I mean it is just wrong (either factually or morally) in so many ways: the girl's superimposed suggestive dancing, the hyperactive Robert Palmer girls behind her, her red outfit (red is symbolic of death for Hmongs), and, most importantly, the two kids represented as Hmong are not Hmong at all but are smaller-than-average Thai kids dressed up in cheap knock-offs of Hmong clothing probably purchased at the Chiang Mai Night Bazaar.

And what school is going to have only two Hmong kids and allow those kids to come to school not dressed in their school uniform?

Now, before you go thinking that I am a fuddy-duddy, I will admit again that the song and video have their charms. The makers of this video try their hardest to create cute faux-Hmong kids. But the issue here is not whether or not the kids are cute. The issue is when will hilltribe people be accepted as equals in Thailand, and how does this objectification of hilltribe people as "adorable" or "mysterious" others delay the process of that acceptance?

For example, when was the last time you thought of someone as "cute" yet still viewed them as your equal?

On a positive note, I will give credit to the casting department for picking the woman who plays the teacher. She's perfect. She's perfect because by the end of her teaching career, every teacher in up-country Thailand looks exactly like this woman.