In some ways I think people should not be persecuted for what they have done in the past, if there is no evidence of it being a current view or action. It seems that opposition politics is all too eager to find the least flaw in someone's character and blow it out of all proportion and apply it to the present day. None of us are that innocent that we can point the finger and dredge up the past every time there is some advantage or disagreement. This applies to both personal and public relationships.
5
Wearing black or brown face is racist. So is dressing your daughter as Jasmin for Hallowe'en, dressing up as a stereotyped Indian as a child. I am guilty. I am privileged. Trudeau has shown that you recognize your privilege, see how you have hurt others by your actions...and change. His big mistake was not coming forward with this earlier. There is a lesson for all of us here.
5
What I think the politically "correct" people who criticize Prime Minister Trudeau are missing is that he was not dressing up for a costume party to demean an ethnic group. He was actually complementing it by choosing to look like something he obviously is not. When I first discovered the Dress topic in a World Book Encyclopedia in the third grade, I decided that for Halloween that year I would make a sari and pretend I was from India. My very white skin and blond hair didn't help much, but with a scarf over my head it obscured most of the blond curls. I would give Mr. Trudeau the same courtesy that he was celebrating diversity, not criticizing its acceptance. The next Halloween I dressed as a Spanish Flamenco dancer. What is wrong with pretending something you are not? Is the only costume I am supposed to wear is the Viking costume I made with an antlered helmet and long blond braids?
5
He says he came from a place of privilege and that comes with a "massive blind spot". That's exactly right. Everyone does dumb, thoughtless things when they are young. I would hope Canadians would forgive and let it go. He seems sincere and it's not who he is now.
3
How about considering the source and the intent!
All this huffing and puffing is so very tiresome
6
I suppose the fact it is a rather entertaining and frivolous subject explains the extraordinary number of pieces on the subject of Trudeau.
The sudden extensive focus on Canada at a time when the US again apears at the brink of war with Iran is strikingly curious though.
Or maybe it's just coincidence.
5
Did you who are so offended ever consider that some of us dress up like people not our white color out of admiration? My husband once dressed up as Jimi Hendrix who he idolizes. And should I as a former hippie get offended because people dress up as hippies on Halloween, especially when many young people so attired wish they lived back then?
8
My thoughts:
Remember the book and movie ‘Black Like Me’ ?
Both were pretty good.
Trudeau was attempting to play/dress as the character Aladdin.
Hyperbole, yes, but wasn’t/isn’t that the point of costume parties?
I don’t think he did it to be insulting.
Stop looking at everything as a slight.
6
I wonder if we're aware of what we are boxing ourselves into psychologically with all this rampant retro-p.c.ness. It's a mistaken notion that there is some core of us inside that is, was, and always will be the same. That's simply not true. We can, and do, change. The whole notion of 'growing up' involves letting go of immature or stupid things we may have done when we were young that even we look back on with regret. And, circumstances change. I didn't grow up with knowledge and experience of the feminist movement. I went to Vietnam, and returned with it in full force. I had to adjust; I did. If we perpetuate abuse, racism, injustice, now, in our adult life, that's another issue, but when we were young we may not have known better. As a country, we're still playing adolescent games with guns; we haven't grown up about that yet, despite all the children that have died. We need some sense of balance again.
3
Although born and raised in New Jersey, am Canadian by choice and have been for 47 years. Do I feel Justin Trudeau is doing everything right as far as his performance since in office? No. But my decision to vote for him or not will not be based on something he did 20 odd years ago with no malicious intent. He likely browned his face at a party to make his costume more authentic. So what? Judging people's actions during a different time based on today's rather rigid standards and rampant virtue signalling makes no sense. He has been a champion of diversity, multiculturalism and tolerance and acceptance of refugees, That should show you who is is now and that's what matters. I find it interesting that this is getting so much press in the U.S. Surely you have more pressing problems to deal with?
6
The problem is that culturally here in Canada political correctness, as it is known, is destroying our values of free expression and tolerance. Not just this incident but censorship of cultural activities if they are not written and produced in the culture in which they are set, is now common. Even those who question this oppression in the name of political correctness are shouted down.
In relation to the history of our country, we are rewriting it to suit a political agenda based on acceptability rather than truth. George Orwell wrote a famous novel based on such an idea. Sad to see what our country has become.
2
I had the chance to spent my entire young adult life between south and north Europe and (mostly) East Asia.
What I have seen in: carnival, Halloween, costumes parties:
- Southerns europeans dressing as northen europeans and viceversa.
- East asian dressing as europeans or blacks.
- Europeans dressing as blacks or east asians.
- Some blacks dressing as Asians or White characters (Just my black colleagues)
It has never occurred to me that this could be offensive or racist. There is the subtle message in this new that the only people who dress as others ethnic groups are european people and with racist or mean motives, that is far from what I have observer.
I believe that censoring and condemning this will just separate and antagonize even more different ethnic groups and ultimately might damage the career of a Trudeau who has done so much for integrating and combating racism in his country.
9
It's interesting that a report of the first death in Canada from vaping coincided with the emergence of this Trump-like scandal. Thus seeming to bind further the fates of Canada and the U.S.
Haven't most of us engaged in some sort of behavior during our lives that makes us look back and cringe? This young man has made his apologies and he seems genuinely remorseful.
5
I just shake my head in shame. What a mess.
4
Let this be an example to the US to finally acknowledge the racism and unethical cultural appropriation that the celebrated US musical “The West Side Story” keeps perpetuating in theatres. Why not play “La Carreta” by Rene Marques with equal enthusiasm instead? Or many other plays by Puerto Rican authors on Puerto Rican culture?
2
Agreed and let’s get after Hamilton! It’s a more recent example of miscasting and crossing color lines - can’t have it and when it happens, off with their heads! Next in line, all those Othello actors. :/
3
Either pillory Trudeau as with those conservative figures revealed to have committed equivalent indiscretions in their own youths, or confirm that denunciations of such conservatives was less about social justice than political advantage. Anything else is rank hypocrisy.
4
May I note something? The pictures I have seen show Trudeau with other people, people of the color that he is said to have been insulting. They all seem to be happy, having a good time, not looking like they are being mocked.
7
Have been thinking about how certain young males from privileged backgrounds do things that disregard the dignity of others whom they view as objects. Trudeau's acts of cultural appropriation in costume are not that reprehensible, considering their circumstances. The Afro shtick was bad, hands down. He clearly is a mixed bag as a political leader, but does strike me as overall a good prime minister who makes Canada proud in meetings with foreign leaders. When one compares his youthful antics to those of Donald Trump, who lied and bullied and acted up in class, Trudeau is anodyne. Then there's the gross and assaultive sexual behavior of Justice Brett Kavanaugh when he'd consumed too much alcohol in high school and college. Trudeau was angelic by comparison. Both Trudeau and Kavanaugh matured; Trump, alas, did not.
2
While it is great and responsible to be sensitive, we need to take a step back and think about this. As a Hispanic person. I don’t care much about someone painting their face brown or black. Or if a black person paint his face white for a party. Trudeau has shown great leadership and respect for humanity as a whole. A lot more than other leaders around this country. He made a mistake, surly. The social norms then were different and he is adapting to the time rather than making his country “great again”. Keep the great work Trudeau.
4
I'm voting Liberal next month, despite JT's cringe-worthy past behavior, because I don't want the Conservatives back in power anytime soon. If even a minority PC government allies with Trump on many particular issues, we (a majority of Canadians) will regret it.
Regarding "blackface", I have one observation. Years ago, at different times, Saturday Night Live had two white comedians (Billy Crystal and Darrell Hammond) darken their skin and do impressions of Sammy Davis Jr. and Jesse Jackson, respectively, even as they had black cast members. I thought the sketches were funny and the impressions skillful, and I don't recall any controversy over them at the time (or since). Would any POC or offended person care to comment?
5
Trudeau recently said that Canada will accept all the refugees that Trump is rejecting, yet THIS is how we are going to judge him. Sorry, not me. I am better than that!
6
Trudeau speaks for liberals; but he doesn't speak for this Liberal, and I'm Canadian. There is more than a single flavour of 'liberal' in existence, as we are not a monolithic lot like today's conservatives.
Common He should not Have to apologise..it's Fun costume partying ..he is still my favorite PM.
8
Amazing how much more coverage and criticism about Trudeau is taking place here in the US than up north where we are actually his constituents. Aren't there more pressing problems, esp. In the US than a foolish painted face from the past of someone who has gone on to prove his views with work he's done since? Really shows the depth of US media.
9
Disappointing? Yes. But those most offended aren't going to punish themselves for years to come by voting Conservative.
10
This is getting out of hand. People are OVERLY sensitive nowadays about everything. We will end up living in a sterile environment afraid to say or act or judge in case someone gets offended.
Justin, the rest of the world is with you.
14
So I am waking up in Europe with another top story about Trudeau ? And it is about new pictures /videos? I guess that the first release yesterday was just about building pressure before today’s coup-de-grâce. If this is not orchestrated, what is?
I realized after yesterday’s article that 2 things were really annoying me about this story. The reactions of conservatives about double standards should such a thing had been divulged about one of their favorites is not one of them, because I finally realized that I had no choice but to ignore their assumed false indignation or demonstrated lack of judgement.
The 1st thing ticking me off is realizing that if my kids or others’ have ever played a character like Aladdin for Halloween or at the university, one day it may ruins their career if a picture of them is extracted from a Facebook page. Or even for impersonating somebody else, because we don’t know yet what may become deemed as offensive 20 years from now by some PC extremists or political opportunists.
The 2nd thing is the reaction of some very vocal people of color demanding Trudeau’s head: yes, racism is a disgusting thing; yes your ancestors have suffered for this; yes, you are with no doubts still feeling the plight of this racism in your life. But by adopting a radical approach about a disguise in line with the theme of the night, you are not helping but hurting your cause, one that I support, by scaring parts of your supporters that may feel one day themselves in danger.
5
Québécois don't seem bothered Trudeau's transgression. No wonder: If you walk down the street in Montreal it's difficult not to see someone dressed for carnival in some funky, often (to others) inappropriate, costume.
8
Be careful your actions, especially when you are young, especially because of video capability and social media!
1
Trudeau acknowledged that his actions were racist but went on to explain that blackface was not considered racist back in the late 1990 and 2000s.
This comment alone shows how deep a structural issue racism is and how little we have progressed. Like sexism, racism exists on a spectrum, where people display different degrees of racism.
On one extreme, we have racism that translates to quantifiable and measurable negative consequences for the oppressed; this form is the most damaging and the easiest to recognise (e.g. violence, incarceration, lack of job prospects etc.).
On the other extreme is a lack of racism.
Somewhere in the middle we have the Trudeaus of the world. Racism in the name of humour, conformity, and may I dare say, inclusion. It seems like harmless fun and games, but it's not - it's enabling the far right.
If we are genuine about our aspirations for an equal society, finding humour and accepting the grey zone only hinders any prospect of ever achieving that. There's so may things to joke about, it doesn't have to be someone's skin colour or ethnic background - come on, we are more creative than that. Sadly, the hard part is genuinely wanting an equal society rather than just paying it lip service.
2
There are rules for Republican politicians.
And there are totally different rules for Democratic politicians.
3
And for once, I totally agree. We just disagree on who follows rules.
1
While Trudeau's opponents are, with great dignity and sobriety, happily smearing him for racism, neither he nor his father or family are or were into such at all.
He just likes to play...sometimes dressing in the wrong outfits. His foray into Indian apparel last year was silly but not mean or hateful. The negative coverage seemed too much.
JT can be fairly criticized for executive decisions but not racial assault because it just ain't there. He took a lot of heat for his refugee programs that should not be forgotten.
Perhaps Scheer and Singh should not be spending a lot of time adjusting their own wings and white robes.
Let Trudeau lose his election, if he does, for at least valid reasons. I didn't vote for him last time and may not this time.
4
There’s a big difference between playing “sambo” and dressing as Alladin, or a teen painting their face black to be Bob Marley at a party.
He wasn’t raising his arm to a Nazi flag in private, we’re adults, we should be be able to parse these things by this point.
26
It’s not about parsing. It’s blatant misrepresentation.
Compared to the shambles we are now facing in the US, the Trudeau "scandal" is no more than a tempest in a tea pot.
16
I see this as an opportunity for Trudeau to prove he has grown. Now he has to prove with zeal his prior action is not who he truly is in his heart. If reelected he will be under a microscope on any dealing with race. As an African American, I look at him more like a jerk than a racist. It is more liberal White outrage about blackface than it is about institutional racism. Trudeau should stop explaining and just come out and admit he was a jerk to do those things and he regrets it. Then keep it moving.
9
This is simply ridiculous. What’s dressing up in fancy dress got to do with anything when it happened around 20 years ago. People change. Circumstances change. Social mores change. There’s probably something many people are doing today that doesn’t raise an eyebrow that will fall out of fashion and be deemed wrong in 20 years time. Get a life.
20
A storm in a tea cup, full of righteous indignation.
An error of judgment in a situation where people dressed up in a Theatrical setting.
Justine Trudeau is not a racist. He has apologized and done so
sincerely and with humility. For goodness sake, how far is this going to go on being a huge story? There is so much going on in the world which is more deserving of outrage. You have the leader of a country showing deep regret.
I will have Justin Trudeau any day rather than any number of world leaders, whose names are not worth mentioning.
When Sir Lawrence Olivier painted his face brown to portray Sakespeare's Othello was he racist?
"Political correctness" has become oppressive.
18
So many Justin apologists here jumping to forgive his serial blackface shtick. Check out the Trevor Noah clip. He's a repeat offender.
I get that you hold his politics above all else, but acknowledge that his privilege allowed him to think this was totally funny back then, just as it allows him to fully expect all of you to totally forgive him as soon as he feigns regret in front of the cameras today.
5
@Tom
Don't get me wrong, he's a great satirist but Trevor Noah is no moral reference. He likes to burn things down for a laugh, offering no useful frame of reference let alone hint at a solution . His analysis of and comments on integration of immigrants in France are beyond incidiairy ; they display an ignorance on a scale typical of American exporters of culture war. He's found a market for his shtick in the US and that's great. When he ventures beyond he's a hack which leads me to believe he's also probably a hack in the US as well, but I'll leave that judgement up to Americans.
So Tom, please do keep your culture wars in the US, and I'll vote for the candidate who will deliver for all Canadians without exception.
4
Trudeau did this back in 2000 or so and people are like...mmmm...that seems real recent. I don't see anybody talking about how Robert Downey Jr. played a character in Blackface in Tropic Thunder in 2008, or that such a character was even written into a Hollywood movie...in 2008. At least Trudeau has expressed understanding and regret. We have a President who says American congresswomen of color should be sent back to the countries they came from (America?), and stands with people marching with Tiki torches shouting "Jews will not replace us", yet he labels himself as the least racist person in the world. Like there's a scale and he's barely weighing in.
14
@AW
Maybe it's because Robert Downey is not the PM of a country -- just sayin'.
2
The guy is an empty suit. Time to move on
4
When you lose count of how many times you appeared in blackface you know you have a problem. No double standards...adieu Trudeau!
7
@Charlie
I think we can choose a reliable leader without the advice of an American, thank you. Looks like you've managed to pick a winner yourself.
Sorry, hope that doesn't hurt your feelings.
4
The can be no doubt that in today's world, such characterizations are unacceptable. But, that is TODAY; not years ago. TODAY, the progressive parties face collapse at the hands of conservatives. Liberals must finally learn to prioritize their goals. . .if they focus on other than defeating the darkness conservatives are attempting to cover the world with, Trudeau in dark face will be of no consequence. . .such would become the norm!
12
Canada is not the United States. We have a swelling, burgeoning population of immigrants from around the world because they know that Canada is one of the most welcoming countries in the world and immigrants are proud builders of the economy.
Canadians tend to be fairly blasé about differences in race, original language and mode of dress (Québec being a bit different in this regard).
Most Canadians (with the exception of opposition politicians) will have little problem with costume party antics are just that. They are supposed to be a fun time when you can pretend to be someone your are not. Journalists are another story because they are looking for a story.
Fortunately, the journalists of this story have painted a more complex picture of Trudeau the politician and his expanding the cabinet to a high percentage of women and appointed a genuine bearded and turbaned Sikh Minister of Defense (could that happen in the US?).
Unfortunately, Trudeau himself is bloating the issue with repeated apologies, revealing the slippery side of all politicians.
13
As an African American man, I fully expect any white male in a position of power to have stuff like this in their closet, whether I agree with their policy or not. The bar is set low. I’m not going to lose my mind over a costume he wore 18 years ago. It’s more important to me that he be president of Canada than that he be shamed out of office for black face. Way too trivial considering the state of the world.
23
If you and I were wealthy and it was 200 years ago....
Would we own slaves?
Would we support gay marriage?
Would we advocate for universal suffrage?
Would we encourage a disabilities Act?
8
I wouldn't think of dismissing these past actions as totally insignificant, because they're not--they're reprehensible even in the somewhat less enlightened place and time of the transgressions. But to his credit, Trudeau has come out with what seem like deeply felt and sincere apologies, acknowledging the severity and impact of his bad behavior. That's something Trump would never do--never apologize for any error in judgement or action, however large or small. What we hope is that public figures like Trudeau mean what they say with a mea culpa and will be a better representative of the values we expect them to uphold. We desperately need leaders of intelligence, moral grounding, political and personal integrity, and commitment to progressive change in their countries.
4
I forgive him. He has evolved.
10
@April
The only thing to forgive, is the apology. He did nothing wrong, at least by putting on the costume.
4
Most white people have said and done racist things. Tell me something I done know! Would it have been better for him to admit it before he became Prime minister as an example that people evolve and change? Or is he duplicitous? How can we possibly know for sure? Trump is a clear example of racist behavior. Trudeau seems like he no longer wants to be.
7
What’s the matter with you people?
He was a drama teacher! He dressed up as a fictional character! It was full of good will imagination and effort and bringing happiness to others, mainly his students – which he succeeded in doing.
It was all good.
What’s appalling is the Left hypocrisy. The double standard.
We on the conservative right, it’s as easy as pie to cut Trudeau some slack here. He was being fun and being human.
But if it were a conservative Republican? To the gallows!
Gawd.
15
@RLS
There is no conservative right. The Conservative party died when harper made a hostile takeover from his perch in the western separatist reform party. Now we have a reactionary assembly of tax grifters literally hiring and applying American opetatives' tactics of win at all cost wedge politics, that calls itself the Conservative party. It is the party where racists go to dog whistle about "Canadians of convenience".
The two thirds of Canadians who abhor the politics of division practised by Harper's Conservative party chose the centre and thankfully the liberal party was there with a candidate who could credibly take the win.
Trudeau's politics are predictably Liberal party fare and to his credit Trudeau has fulfilled his expected role as statesman healer of the body politic remarkably well without shirking necessary and impopular decisions including pushing out an incompetent justice minister and buying a pipeline.
If you think herding cats is simple give it a shot Melissa , but like Sangheet Singh I think your prescriptions and premature dismissal of Trudeau demonstrate is you have as little understanding of the mindset of Canadian voters as that vapid opportunist or Scheer for that matter, on this subject.
3
If Trump were shown to have worn blackface 50, not 20, years ago, liberals would already be outside the White House with pitchforks and torches.
5
@Wine Country Dude
Probably rightly so. But Trudeau isn't trump, Canada isnt the US and blackface is a culture war taboo imported from the US. Scheer and Singh won't get elected eating this nothing burger.
I realise this is a US daily but Americans can be insufferable overbearing and ignorant of the fact that their questionable values and culture of fear and retribution are thankfully less than universally held elsewhere.
5
Sorry Wine Country, but Trump has done irreversible damage to America. We will be recovering from Trump for decades. There is no comparison.
3
@David Paris
If true, criticize Trump for that damage. Do not create double standards of behavior.
For God's sake, when are we going to quit asking good people to crawl naked through the desert on hands and knees because of lapses in judgement earlier in their lives?
This society had become so hysterical about every conflated act of racism and bias that we will eventually implode. Grow up.
I'm a mother-in-law who gets tired of mother-in-law jokes but I don't want anyone imprisoned.
13
As a Canadian permanent resident, I think the NY Times coverage of Canadian politics is misleading. There are three major parties in Canada, the Conservatives, the Liberals, and the Social Democrats. The Conservatives are a center right party socially and economically; the "Liberals" aren't liberals in the 20th century meaning of the word, but a 19th century laissez-faire (hands off), pro-corporatist, socially less conservative party, and the NDP are mild progressives (center left).
Trudeau has a very nice presence on the world stage, but at home he has a bad record on indigenous rights (even his own party reviews say this), and has recently been involved in a scandal regarding favoritism to a company in his home district and the firing of a woman native attorney general who had told him this was illegal. Canada, unexpectedly, has a very bad record on limiting pollution.
His current actions are much more important than how he dressed when a young, callow man, but his behavior is, well, corrupt, heedless of the future, and undistinguished. Sadly, if he brings his party to defeat, the Conservatives will be even worse. One has to wish for a coalition government between the NDP and the Liberals.
10
@FSB
I agree us media is predictably clueless and reporting on the US 's own culture wars rather than Canadian politics but your comment is transparently partisan and misleading itself.
Trudeau's record on indigenous policies is only bad in that it is a marginal improvement on the long term trend on the subject, vastly improved over the previous Conservative government which openly disdained all Canadians who weren't grifters looking for a tax cut. But I agree it is disappointing to social justice warriors who want a quick solution to a nearly intractable foundational issue.
As to snc lavalin Trudeau was entirely correct to push out an incompetent justice minister and attempt to preserve the Canadian engineering company from myopic self defeating job killers who would throw their own mothers under a bus to win a seat.
Thank goodness the NDP didn't get in power for those reasons alone.
I could go on but you get the point,Your comment doesn't reflect majority opinion.
Cheers.
6
Beyond the obvious implications of the situation surrounding Mr. Trudeau, this is an opportunity to examine ourselves.
Can we forgive people for past behavior...and how far into the past?
Are all transgressions forgivable?
Should we judge behavior of the past by today's standards?
Should everyone's past transgressions be judged equally regardless of their present positions?
Would a black person wearing whiteface be equally offensive?
Why, or why not?
How many of us could pass a purity test if it included all past behavior?
9
At an office party one person "suggested" we play a game where we tell something about ourselves that no one knows!
When it was my turn, I said that it would definitely look like I am the type but when I was young I had 4 girlfriends at the same time... I kept 2 fully furnished apartments on two different sides of the city and kept up this charade for about an year until I was so physically tired that I called it quits.
Now, if I was running for some office or currently be in some official position and these 4 women come around making accusations that I was cheating on all of them... frankly, I think it is no one's business. I did that stuff 26+ years ago when I was half my age, single, these women were adults and happy to be in a "relationship" with me albeit I was in one with 4 of them.
So, what Justin Trudeau did 20 years ago is not important to the man he is now. Also, an Arabic theme with Aladdin as a character is nothing racist, absolutely not racist.
Please show me one man out there who is pristine and I will show you a liar. Each and everyone of us has something someone would consider wrong in our lives. We simply cannot be the perfect person for everyone. This is just how it is.
I say, LEAVE JUSTIN TRUDEAU ALONE AND LET HIM RUN THE COUNTRY.
8
Trudeau was a drama teacher. I played cowboys and Indians when I was a kid. Should I be barred from public life?
15
Seriously?? I hate Trudeau, but this outrage is embarrassing. Who cares?
11
Let it go already. Who cares? The man is a world leader and there is now all this faux outrage over something that is completely irrelevant and not important. All drudged up I’m sure by his political opponents. He is not a racist. Come on already. Enough!!!!
12
I've lived in Chicago, St. Louis, Hong Kong, NYC, and now San Francisco. Will say that "limousine liberals" are some of the most racist people I've encountered during my lifetime and across numerous borders, but covered under dozens of layers of niceties, cries of justice and self-absorbed concern. Trudeau is just another poster boy for this type of political animal
5
He offered an eloquent expression of regret and responsibility. Like all of us, he is a 'work in progress'; unlike many of us - and certainly his Conservative opponent - he is willing to admit that. He gets my vote.
20
Trudeau is a man who likes thinking of himself as progressive but when implementing his stated positions involve any personal discomfort or when those he feels that he benefits from his support are not sufficiently grateful, he becomes angry and petulant. Yes he should have known better but if he had dealt with these pictures long ago and explained that he was stupid and acted offensively but regretted that fact and regretted the impact that his actions had on people of colour - and some may not be bothered by it but some really take it as a betrayal - the blowback to his brand would not be as great. But as the Wilson-Raybould fiasco shows, he is not used to being called to account in ares which he thinks are his strengths and he doesn't respond well. He has limited self-awareness and he is not really that clever.
3
The liberals always excuse their own. They would be crucifying a conservative if he appeared in black face and hound him/her until they resigned. They have a double standard for those they do not like.
13
I have to laugh. Twenty years ago this guy wore a costume to a party. We don’t like his costume today, or it makes us uncomfortable. Therefore, not because of his deeds while in office but because of some old photos, he is unfit for office. We are far too easily offended. And we forget that being personally offended is not a legitimate reasoned response to the question of why a candidate should get our vote or not.
23
These photos were from a long time ago. We all did things we’re not proud of, and the older I get the greater clarity I have about my own behaviors. I have made amends. Mr. Trudeau has grown up and he acknowledges his mistakes. He clearly does not hold racist or misogynistic views today. He seems like a decent family man who knows s trying to do his best for Canadians. Give him a break. He is making amends. Move on.
12
I’m not sure if this is entirely relevant because of the context, however when my daughter was in first grade she and her classmates were instructed to attend school on a certain day dressed as historical figures. My daughter chose and dressed as Anne Frank.
She somewhat resembled her with dark hair and dark eyes. She wore a skirt, blouse, and sweater and carried a pretend diary.
She wore a yellow star on her sweater.
She was in a small class of about twenty children. I knew one little girl to be Jewish. I called her mother and asked if she or her daughter would feel uncomfortable with my daughter’s dress-up choice or prefer that she not wear the yellow star.
The mother approved the choice, informed her daughter of my daughter’s plan, and stated she thought it was a great idea.
(Fast forward years later my grandson in a similar class at a similar age chose Henry David Thoreau. I’ll save that story for another article comment.)
6
This is a joke...attempting to launch a scandal of 2019 gotcha political correctness over a school entertainment—look at the context of this nonsense—of 20 years ago. Trudeau’s liberal record on any of this is clear—based on real time and his political career.
12
Good Lord, this seems to be morphing into yet another measure of current American insanity. There's something very wrong here, but I don't think it's Trudeau. We need to get past the trendy "shaming" culture that has supplanted civil discourse in this country. It's as though the Puritans have gone haywire again, so intent are they on declaring someone a witch.
19
@NormaMcL
What Trudeau did, in this instance, was not a mistake.
He went to a costume party, in costume.
Should people be offended by Carl Weathers (a black man) dressing up as George Washington in the movie, Rocky? It's absurd.
He did make one HUGE mistake. He apologized. That apology will help perpetuate this PC nonsense and encourage those who want to go around being outraged and offended.
2
Whether this should be considered blackface is not the problem. For a white person to think it's funny to dress as another ethnicity, is the core of what is offensive to us minorities. "Oh, let me try on this different skin color!"
As a white person, you have the undeniable privilege of trying on these identities almost like a vacation, "for fun".
It's not fun. It's our identity, 24-7. We don't get to wash it off and go back to a privileged white life.
Also, let's not disregard the fact that people ALWAYS laugh amongst each other when they do this sort of thing. Let's think for a minute - what exactly they you laughing at?
1
My main issue is why go full black face when dressing up as Aladdin. A little bronzer or something should have been sufficient if anything.
3
I would trade a blackfaced Trudeau for Trump in a flash.
12
Trudeau went from silly to stupid. But still the political outrage is excessive, and is what it is "too political". I hope Trudeau passes this, comes out stronger and smarter...and "not stupid" on such matters.
4
Black Face, White Face, Brown Face, About Face. Who gives a rip. 40 years ago, many of us dressed up for Halloween or Birthday Parties in a variety of clothes with no intention to cast aspersions on one race or another. It was just plain fun. There aren't perfect politicians just as there aren't perfect human beings.
In my opinion, Trudeau is a caring, decent human serving in a difficult position. He's not perfect but he's a heck of a lot better than the world's greatest conman and liar that we have in office.
14
Trudeau could wear blackface to work every single day of the year and I'd still vote for him over Andrew Scheer, a man who is like Trump in every single way.
19
I would be inclined to chalk it up to youth if it were a single instance. Instead it turns out he did this multiple times, as different characters.
Did he admire the characters he dressed up as ? That would help mitigate any harm done.
Was he just trying to entertain and thought this would make him popular in a setting where this was clearly accepted ? wouldn’t surprise me.
Did he, consciously or not, try to atone for any fault committed with his real actions as Prime Minister ? Quite possible, and a reason to forgive him.
But he could also currently harbor racist thoughts; living in a very liberal city, I can tell you that private behavior doesn’t necessarily follow the public one. Or, in other words, not all practice what they preach.
2
I am afraid I cannot understand all the fuzz about what Mr. Trudeau did 20 years ago. Firstly, the so-called black face did not and does not have the same meaning in Canada as it does here in the US, for historic reasons. Secondly, the setting, a costume party, allows for a certain degree of freedom to express yourself and when he did it he was not thinking of offending anyone and was generally in good taste at the time. It is just an Aladdin costume and Aladdin was dark as most middle eastern persons tend to be. Lastly, he sincerely apologized. To summarize, let's focus on today and the man today. God knows, many of us bear the burden of things we did many years ago, yet we continue on every day.
12
I’m amused that more outrage and calls for disqualification are coming from readers in the US than in Canada. No excuse for his behaviour but let’s face it, nobody’s a saint here.
7
Does anyone really care about this story?
11
If Trump was found to wear black face Liberals would demand immediate impeachment.
6
Black Canadian here, born and bred. 42. These photos were dug up to manipulate me. And you, whoever you are. But the proof of Justin Trudeau's character is in his actions, and he has, in his time as Prime Minister, proven to be an ally to me.
I've never felt comfortable enough with any PM before him to be able to say I'd hang out with them. But I can say that about him. Especially after listening to his very naked, to-the-point press appearance today.
I felt it. I understand. He is remorseful. It was a long time ago. The man he is now is not the man (and boy) he was then. People grow. People evolve. I have no interest in voting for the combative Conservatives, the opportunistic NDP, or the exclusively-environmentally-hyperfocused Green Party.
Justin Trudeau is still my Prime Minister.
30
Which is more to a person's credit: to be born to non-racist parents, raised in a diverse community and sensitized to racial attitudes from your earliest days, or to come from privilege in a homogenized environment but continue to learn as you grow and end up in basically the same place?
It's hardly a novel contrast, but Donald Trump couldn't learn something new to save our lives, exemplified by his views on race but also on the environment, guns…
"…Standing up to President Trump, Supporting women's and Indigenous rights, welcoming immigrants and fighting climate change and racism" isn't "image," it's a moral, social and political position.
What's relevant is Trudeau's diverse cabinet and his domestic and foreign policies are the tangible, practical examples of how the makeup-wearing young Mr. Trudeau is the gimmicky image or act and what we thought about him recently is true: he is a product of white privilege whose learned multiculturalism and inclusiveness resonates with where the world wants to be, even if we need more like him to help get us there.
I find more troubling the allegation that he'd shirk from criminal conviction of a corporation just to save jobs. Better those Canadians found work with a law-abiding competitor than the rule of law take a backseat to the economy.
No progress is ever enough for the progressive and any progress is too much for the conservative. But don't let the imagined, unexamined perfect be the enemy of the flawed but growing good.
2
Sometimes a political leader with a charming smile who happens to be the gorgeously liberal leader of a social justice free health care for all democracy while being the darling of the media, might be unjustifiably labeled a racist and a misogynist. Fortunately, this will not be the fate of Mr. Trudeau.
4
Genuine understanding depends on the specifics. Broad generalizations become banalities. We have enough real racism to fight without spurious incidents, and it only ends up hurting that fight when we overstretch the notion of racism.
Most blackface that has happen in this country has been to ridicule members of a race. It is racist. Dressing up as a character (Aladdin) who is admired (or at worst is seen as neutral), or as a person who presumably Trudeau admired, Harry Belafonte, is in another universe.
Trudeau may not have been clued in to people's sensitivities about these issues- not a good idea if one is a politician. But it is not racist. Was Yul Brenner racist for portraying the king of Siam? (Maybe the role should have gone to a Thai actor, but that is a separate subject.)
8
Canada needs to go Trump-like before it’s too late.
3
@Chuck French Your comment should be required reading before anyone exonerates him simply because he's a leftist.
Hope they don't find out ... then apologize.
3
This is the most ridiculous “scandal” I’ve ever seen. This outrage thing has just gotten entirely out of hand. Trudeau is clearly not a racist man. So he painted his skin for a theme party and a talent show. What a ridiculous thing for people to get angry about....
10
Are Libs paid to be this hypocritical?
5
I am a recent immigrant to the US. I am brown. In college in India I dressed up as Van Halen for a mock rock mime. In other words I was a “Whiteface”. Can anyone explain why this blackface and brown face is such a big deal? I thought that the civilized world permitted freedom of choice and expression. Instead our society is turning into “I’m waiting to be offended” society. Enough already...
13
This is really much ado about nothing
11
Much ado about nothing.
12
This stuff is just so trivial. Yes, I said it. And I’m black. It was in costume and it was 20-something years ago. Didn’t Prince Harry once go as a Nazi? We’ve all done foolish things.
14
If Canada may rid itself of a Prime Minister for racist acts prior to becoming Prime Minister, why can't we in the United States be rid of a President who expressed to Billy Bush his great enjoyment at sexually assaulting women.
6
Time to wipe that face off your smirk, Mr. Trudeau.
4
I wonder what Megyn Kelly would have to say about this
3
We're all idiots in our teens, which explains away the earlier incidents.
When it's 2001 and you're a 29 year-old teacher in brown face at a school function though . . . . . . there's no dodging that particular bullet.
Add on some other questionable judgement calls during his tenure and it's small wonder the Canadian election race is a close one.
I am black, I could care less about this. It is now dumb, some people are offended, let's move on. Please.
12
Two words- white privilege!
@Sky
White Privilege - A construct created by losers who need someone to blame for their own lack of achievement
5
Liberals like him, so he will get a pass on this.
4
Trudeau did a stupid thing, really stupid, but I do not think he is a racist. He owned it quickly, made no excuses, and hates himself for doing it. Hopefully, we have all evolved, becoming far more aware of how hurtful our thoughtless actions can be.
What does bother me is that his Conservative opponent especially will use this right up until election day no matter how apologetic Trudeau is. Politicizing 20 year old stupidity is how we operate now, no amount of contrition by Trudeau will change that.
6
Virginians overwhelmingly supported Governor Northam in the wake of his blackface “scandal”. Even the majority of black Virginians stuck with him. I figure the Canadians will be similarly pragmatic.
5
OMG who cares? Really? Get over yourselves!
8
Oh come on. Better ban halloween. And masquarade
9
Real right wing racists are using this childish stuff to over throw a progressive..if this works Canadians are stupider than I thought.
14
Oh boy. What a stupid non-issue. Does anybody really think Trudeau is racist? Well?
Trudeau shouldn't apologize. How is wearing brown make-up to an Arabian party racist? Are Arabs huffy about it? I didn't think so. Trudeau should simply say, "Yes that's me in the photo. If you don't like it, then don't vote for me." But do not grovel! It's a terrible look, especially if you know you are not racist. Have some dignity, man, and maybe even reconsider the gig.
I'm going to wear white make-up for Halloween, and I don't care who doesn't like it, as long as no one shoots me for it.
7
It’s obvious Trudeau is a racist, just look at how many members of his cabinet are brown and black and other minorities!
5
Funny to see that blackface is suddenly A-OK now that a favored leftist did it multiple times. The hypocrisy is staggering.
8
Lot’s of people bending themselves into pretzels to defend this one. Let’s be clear this guy was 28-29 years old doing this. In the early 2000’s this isn’t from the 1960’s. He knew better, and it’s clear he doesn’t think much of people (as he mocks whole culture and people by doing this) and now thinking he can get away with it. But because he is a darling of the left he will survive when he shouldn’t.
4
This doesn't make him a racist, but it sure make him look really stupid. (speaking as a Canadian voter)
6
So based on comments here by liberals suddenly blackface - historically one of the oldest racist displays by white people considered demeaning to blacks - is suddenly okay?
6
@XLER
What have conservatives been saying all these years?
A conservative wouldn't even bother apologizing.
And conservative voters wouldn't care.
3
People can grow up and change. These images were from many years ago. Hopefully Canada can move on and refocus on the present.
3
There has been a cultural shift over the last generation. This is not about racism, but about norms and boundaries. When progressive people (led by the media) obsess over cultural optics instead of policies and legislative actions, they lose sight of reality. Trudeau will work to increase inclusivity and perhaps now make a extra special effort in that direction. There is a world of difference between him and Trump. Admonish, ignore the trolls, and move forward.
5
As a black African who has called Canada my home for 25 years I am afraid to say that I am not in the least offended, or even bothered by how Justin Trudeau dressed to a party some 20 or so years ago. It is just funny to see the outrage of white, liberals over this. Meanwhile, real racism in education, housing and employment and host of other areas, goes undiscussed in our public discourse. I care about what Trudeau’s government’s policies and programmes, and what he will do as PM if we as citizens choose him and the LPC to form our next government. And that is what is at stake for me, not some overweening sensitivity about pictures from 20 years ago.
302
@B. Assan Completely sensible.
16
Ok, so I’m “yellow faced”.
Sad to say, I’ve experienced racism as a kid growing up in Montreal, Canada. And now, as an adult, believe it or not, experienced very subtle forms of racism today. (Maybe it was the early childhood conditioning, you might say...).
Early Hollywood movies had characters such as Fu-man Chu and Charlie Chan. And as recent as 1970s, TV ads stereotyped Mr. Woo as a laundry man. Ancient Chinese secret, as he revealed how he got the laundry so clean!
Later, we all sang and danced to “Y-M-C-A”? Were we all making funny of the gay community? Would we be making fun of them if we sang it today?
My point is, racism still exists. Look at the border situation south. What about a new law in Quebec against wearing religious symbols if you are a government employee.
Sadly, history replays itself in a loop.
Let us all not pretend we are above racism.
What do you think, eh?
1
@B. Assan
Best and truest commentary I’ve seen on this sorry situation in either the US or Canadian Press. From a fellow Canadian
20
Trudeau has done some egregious things against Native people and black or brown face is troubling--I guess. And although he made a terrific fool of himself at an age when it wasn't cool to imitate black face, and though it is hurtful and painful to many folks, I have a hard time believing his intention was malicious or cruel. Certainly, in America, white people have done unspeakable things to African Americans and yet all of our traditions of ultimate "coolness" are rooted in black culture. We're defined by the beauty of African and Native cultures. Our music, our vision, our fundamental good heart. Could it be that he was trying to imitate not mimic or demean? And would Trump ever dress in black face? His reasons for not doing so might prove less respectful. My deepest apologies to any one who might be troubled by my comment.
I know Native people suffered because of "good" intentions. But in these difficult times, it would be a balm if we could embrace a different interpretation, heal, and move on.
1
A lot depends on where you lived. I was raised in a very WASP area in southern Ontario. There was a Chinese girl in our high school, but she was the only visible minority, and was a lovely person. In university, I met African, South-Asian, Asian and West Indian students, so my impression of people of colour was that they were brilliant. The concept of blackface, and that blackface is racist never entered my consciousness. The recent revelations of American politicians in blackface during their college years being racist was a revelation. I had no idea that minstrel shows were offensive. It took an article in one of the major newspapers to explain to me why blackface is racist and insulting. This was just not part of my world.
4
How would people be responding if it turned out Trudeau used dark makeup while playing the title role in Shakespeare's OTHELLO?
2
My son put in Aladdin on Broadway. Should the show be closed?
5
You can say what you want about whether Trudeau should have known better or whether he is not American and it was a different era.....etc etc......but....
...you got to admire that he is not sugarcoating it. He is owning it and not trying to duck and weave.
That takes ALOT of character.
8
@EC
I think apologizing for something that isn't wrong, is a sign of weakness.
I think he'll lose more votes than if he would just have said, "I don't think dressing in a costume is wrong and I'm not apologizing."
Anyway, we all make errors in judgement. I still like the guy.
1
Does this mean that every white male actor and opera singer who has performed as Othello must resign!
7
Brown and black skinned people color their skin white to dress as mimes or clowns. I don't see the difference here; if there is going to be a "rule" it needs to apply in all directions. Nonetheless, it is enjoyable to see the PC police eating one of their own. Trudeau is the same one who stopped a woman midquestion to scold her for using the word "mankind." Time to update the dictionary entry for hypocrisy.
2
@JB
I agree completely...white persons painting themselves up as darker skinned peoples for costuming and a good time are clowns.
O for crying out loud, why must the left always eat their young? Are you saying if I was invited to come to a party dressed as my favorite historical female that I could not dress as Harriet Beecher Stowe, Unless I was African American to begin with? It was a costume people he was not doing it to ridicule anything.
6
I think we have to look at the whole body of a person's life and work before destroying him/her for past offenses.
He wore "blackface" before it was generally accepted as a racist act. Has he acted/ not acted as a racist before or since then? WAS it seen as such a horrible act prior to how many years ago? He was, as I understand it, at an Arabian Nights type party, and not acting in such a way that would be seen as offensive at that time.
I would say, give him and others like him, a break for actions of many years ago. Overall, he certainly not acted or spoken as a "racist".....
1
Context matters. I'm a black guy born in 1970 and had I seen a white guy at a college or early adulthood party, face darkened to be Aladdin or some other darker-than-white person, I'd have thought nothing of it. It would have been in-character and expected for someone who otherwise would make for an unconvincing other-than-white person. I'd feel differently were he strutting the stage, shucking and jiving and singing the praises of his dear ole mammy, then or here in uber-woke 2019.
6
I'm a dyed in the wool liberal and proud of it. But this election I'm voting Jagmeet Singh and the NDP (Communist to Americans) because I'm sick to death of racism. The Liberals have been compromised and the Conservative leader has spent the campaign denying the deeply held Trumpist beliefs of many of his candidates.
1
You think JT's stock went up in the eyes DJT?
1
Anyone believe Trudeau is a racist? This is PC run amok and Canadians see right through the smear. And not the one in those photos.
4
Bottom line
If you like his politics, it’s okay
3
What is happening here? The world has gone mad and if this man does not stop apologizing, he is for certain done as a prime minister, this ridiculous, he has nothing to apologize for, stop it already!
3
Anyone who is excusing this would be screaming bloody murder if a conservative had done this.
6
The scandal is in the neo-con run press trying to make this a scandal
1
@Marion Grace Merriweather
Neocon press like the NYTimes?
1
Why Black Facing is Considered racist
By Anatol Stefanovich
Blackfacing is considered racist because it treats the identity and experiences of black people as a costume that white people can put on and take off, "said linguist Anatol Stefanovich in an interview with the German Press Agency Making people able to talk and act for black people deprives them of space to do it themselves, "he said.
Did Canada practice slavery ? Yes, it did
Slavery remained legal in Canada untl the British Parliament's Slavery Abolition Act finally abolished slavery in most parts of the British Empire effective 1 August 1834. Today there are four surviving slave cemeteries in Canada: in St-Armand, Quebec, Shelburne, Nova Scotia and Priceville and Dresden in Ontario.
Trudeau must go
1
He did like to lecture Trump about moralities...what hypocrisy !
2
The Democratic Governor of Virginia did the exact same thing, no problem. Aside from Trudeau's Blackface, no one has been talking about the Arabian nights thing dressing up like Middle Eastern people. Only Republicans doing the same black face thing would have to resign.
2
Strike two for the great enlightened (and fake) liberal!
2
People try to invent ways to portray Trump as racist, yet how many progressive left wingers have been caught in blackface photos? Is all this equality talk lip service? Are these Illuminati rituals? The left has a lot of skeletons in their closet.
1
I read many comments defending Trudeau for wearing blackface multiple times.
The problem here is hypocrisy. Progressives set their 'standards' and 'accusations' of racism and bigotry.
Would these same commenters come out to defend Trudeau if he was a conservative?
2
This is annoying political correctness. Why don't we go after REAL racists rather than someone who for the most part is clearly trying to be decent, whatever stupidity he carried out in his 20s? Yes, he should have known, but he didn't and now he knows and is a probably better person for it.
Do you really believe that JT is a vile white supremacist to be run out of town?
25,000 Syrian refugees certainly think he's OK. He has addressed Truth and Reconciliation findings. He advocates for women's right, he has greatly improved child support. He is LGBTQ friendly. His cabinet is the most diverse ever.
The amount of time and effort spent on this just allows those who presently hold such opinions to escape scrutiny for that much longer.
If you want an angel, good luck with that and be careful what you wish for. The perfect is the enemy of the good. Find the real racists and 'out' them and put your indignation to good use.
6
I keep asking myself why are white men so stupid? Maybe I don't get out enough, but who does that blackface thing?
At the same time I agree that this is a waste of time. If we hold our male elected officials to a lack of stupid mistakes we'll stop electing men altogether and be stuck with a bunch of smarty-girls like Elizabeth Warren. Okay, let's do that.
3
Must be an election coming up.
The attitudes and values of the U.S. always seem to seep across the border into Canada. Now, the politically correct cancer that is sweeping this nation, has crept northward, to be used to further discredit Trudeau. Beware Canada, if you thought Harper was bad for the country, beware the Scheer. Does this land of happy people really want a Trump-like leader?
30
Lost in all this scandal is the complicity of the "progressives" in Canada.
Let's be clear--at least three photos and videos have emerged within 24 hours depicting Trudeau on three different occasions dressed up in blackface. Two of the three incidents were at chic liberal events with hundreds of fellow Canadians in attendance. And every in those rooms knew full well who Justin Trudeau was--the son of probably the most revered political leader in Canadian history.
Yet none of the progressive elites who possessed this knowledge for years, the same white people who claim to live and breathe for oppressed minorities, came forward at any point in Trudeau's political career to unmask him as the racist that their own rules dictate people who dress up in costumes designed to ridicule minorities must be. To them, the name Trudeau was an important tool in defeating their political opponents, so they just left it alone. They are probably more culpable than Trudeau is in this little affair.
45
@Chuck French;Two of the three incidents were at chic liberal events with hundreds of fellow Canadians in attendance.
Sorry. I'll call "fake news"
One of the incidents was from the school in Vancouver where Trudeau was teaching, the other two are from high-school "talent" shows.
.
8
@Chuck French
Perhaps the most insightful comment on this thread.
4
Nothing new here. The National Organization for Women gave Bill Clinton a pass when he abused his power in the Monica Lewinsky affair because he was friendly to women’s issues. How do you suppose they’d have acted if it’d been George Bush that was fooling around with a subordinate in the workplace?
3
Looks like a 'smear' campaign to me. Intention is everything and if he (or anyone) with a pale face was attending an Arabian Nights dressed as someone from that scene they would look awful stupid with a pale, pasty face.
This is pushing it way too far, if you ask me - and I am about as liberal and sensitive about race as one could get.
27
If Trudeau dressed up as a woman, we would be applauding his courage.
41
Bottom line is Mr. Trudeau has NOT denied these episodes from years ago. He owned up, apologized and said he was WRONG!
Unlike President Trump and others in American politics, religion who refuse to own up much less apologize for bad choices from the past or present!
38
Self-righteous and judgmental political correctness comes back to bite its perpetrators
14
At the end of the day, in this case, Trudeau owned what he did and apologized. I'll take a man like that over somebody who never apologizes any day.
I care about healthcare, education, worker rights and not having the planet microwaved from climate change. I vote for a platform, not the party.
After watching conservatives in Ontario, I might worry about Liberals breaking a promise, but I don't worry about them having a secret agenda.
Finally, Trudeau doesn’t just have his words to lean on, he has his track record for protecting minority rights. The conservatives saved the pictures for the election; they are climate change deniers who are unworthy of office even if they find pictures of Trudeau dancing naked in a flower field.
16
People need to get a grip. All those getting their knickers in a knot over nothing, should redirect their outrage and energy to help combat issues of real importance such as over population, poverty and degradation of the environment.
18
Given that Time magazine put out an infamous cover where they deliberately darkened O.J. Simpson's face they should be the last ones to be pointing a finger at Trudeau. As a black Canadian I have seen Trudeau welcome thousands of Syrian refugees to Canada and start a National Reconciliation with our First Nations peoples. He is not a racist. You have to look to the main opposition party, the Conservatives, to find the real racists.
17
OK, so I get why painting your face black is insulting because blackface was used at one time to mock black people. Understood.
But brownface is out even if you're trying to look like a FICTIONAL DISNEY CHARACTER? I'm sure no redface then, even if you're dressing up as the devil. How about going out for Halloween as a mime? (Or what about REAL mimes?) Whiteface a no-no? Or do whites not care? Can't go as a banana, right? No yellowface. That it as far as face paint goes? OK, I guess that leaves us blue and green. Or do we need to check with aliens on that one? This is confusing. Could someone write up the rules and hand them out?? And let us know if can wear those colors anywhere else on our bodies, please!
11
So for Halloween would it now be acceptable if a white person in Canada put on a tuxedo and darkened the facial skin tone and say that the only pretending to by Prime Minister Trudeau?
6
Can we just unclench and unpucker for a minute?
7
STOP! STOP! STOP!
Someone puts on blackface and is a racist.
Another wears a sombrero and is anti Hispanic.
Another puts a blanket on his shoulders and has insulted native Americans.
Another wears a black hat and is anti Semitic.
So by definition, we are all anti something or someone, even if we aren’t.
Everyone is so frustrated by not being able to do something about our president, that they find innocent events and actions about which to become hysterical. This has to stop.
23
Let's face it. If he was a conservative, he would be crucified. Enough already.
5
Another difference between Americans and Canadians. Trudeau seems to exhibit genuine remorse for stupid things he did in his youth, which may still be his downfall, even though his adult progressive policies and practices suggest he is not at all racist. Meanwhile, we have a president who is unabashedly racist and unapologetic sitting pretty in the White House.
12
Total nonsense! It was a masquerade! What a total insecurity! If he dressed as a zebra would the entire animal kingdom be offended or just zebras? How about the actors? Would we ostracize actor for playing Otello? This has nothing to do with racism. This was not a KKK gathering.
8
So if you dress as Shaquille O’Neil you wouldn’t paint your face black? I am confused by Northern Americans ...
12
Much ado about nothing.
7
Again, so what?
A party. A joke.
6
I wish this was the ugliest thing our president had done.
11
This is an unfortunate incident. That being said, this incident is being overblown. He sincerely apologized . Let's move on.
10
Judging someone for mistakes in the past is ludicrous, as one needs to account for the possibility of growth. But forgiveness for youthful mistakes seems the province of progressives who forgive other progressives, rather than accepting a principle that people of any political stripe can grow. That said, Mr. Trudeau has positioned himself as a master of optics and modern media, so his poor judgement in these matters is possibly relevant. And happily, Canada really doesn't matter.
5
wrong....it greatly matters. Google SNC Lavalin affair or Trudeau's trip to India or any other of his absolutely disgraceful acts in the 4 nightmare years he has been PM....then post
1
I think the Western World just loosing it... The way things are going, I don't see that people are getting politically corrected, rather shamed by about %5 of insane individuals who occupied the social media. The leader of Canadian NDP Jagmeet Singh is free to criticize the PM of prominent democracy for the 20-year-old makeup story, while his parents came from the country (India) where people only allowed to see the king palace from afar.
9
Remember that line from "A Christmas Story" ? Trudeau reminds me of Ralphie when he said "It's always better not to get caught..."
The poster boy for woke identity politics got busted.
9
Conservatives are much better at handling these kinds of problems.
They never apologize.
It probably helps that their voters don't care about these things.
10
you nailed it. 1/2 of the presidents base would love it, the other 1/2 couldn't less because the only color they care about is green (ok... at their country clubs its white) AND GOP who should be the moral authority but they are MIA or AWOL
3
. . . and yet drag is acceptable. Maybe in 20 years it won't be and some politician will have to grovel over a role in La Cage aux Folles. But the fact is that humankind's inventiveness and playfulness has manifested itself in stylized portrayals of other people from time immemorial. If not done maliciously, only virtue-signalers should pretend to care.
Mr. Trudeau's trouble is that he's built a career on this kind of thing, sermonizing sanctimoniously to and about the insufficiently woke. He's a casualty of the cultural revolution he's invested in (though he may also sincerely believe in it), so it's more difficult to feel sorry for him.
8
He should step down. Unacceptable.
3
Oh come on! Better ban Halloween, and costume parties, and theater.
4
@KJ They probably will be.
1
Ms. Raybould's comments once again display her total inability in think in context of a situation, which is what cost her her position in Cabinet, so the sour grapes can't be taken seriously. Most people interviewed in downtown Toronto are shrugging-off these episodes, because they are sensible enough to know that Trudeau is not a racist and mostly likely had no racist intent when he did these things 20 years ago. They also look at his record of progressive legislation over the past four years and shudder at the prospect of reverting Canada back to the Stone Age mentality of people like Mulroney, Harper and their fellow travelers.
7
The Stone Age of Mulroney? Do you mean the Brian Mulroney who negotiated the free trade deal with United States, who helped start the sanctions campaign that helped bring down apartheid in South Africa (for which he was thanked by Nelson Mandela) and initiated the environmental campaign that stopped acid rain in his tracks? Perhaps you have another Mulroney in
mind.
2
The only strategy that conservatives need to defeat liberals is to let them defeat themselves.
3
You call that a scandal? Look south and see what real scandals look like. Count your blessings you don't have what we have. Seems so trivial compared to what we're dealing with every day.
4
Trudeau should release Huawei's founder's daughter and cancel the pipeline he opposed and then approved if he wants to stop being a hypocrite.
Some liberal American build him up to be an unapproachable ideal leader when all he is is just a political scion banking on his father's name and political connections to get a head start over rivals that have been in politics longer and have more skeletons in the closet.
5
So many inaccuracies ..
the pipeline was not cancelled by Trudeau. it was delayed because over 50 environmental clearances were incomplete. He then purchased the pipeline from the contractor rather than pay the penalties. The environmental prerequisites pre date his term in office, as did the contract. In other words, held up the law.
The Huwaii executive was arrested at the requst of the US and as part of an agreement with the US. He again fulfiiled the terms of an international agreement.
3
@deggy24
Trudeau campaigned against the pipeline but once elected, he nationalized the pipeline and approved it.
Huawei’s founders’s daughter is now part of Trump’s trade-deal with China. Assuming Trudeau arrested her because he believed the US made a legitimate request, why is he still holding her now that it is clear her arrest was just a bargaining chip? You don’t have laws in Canada for this type of thing?
1
As a Canadian citizen I am appalled by his past rhetoric that tries to make him out as the ultimate politically correct Canadian . He is no better than those he critiques as racist . In fact it appears as "thou does protest too much " I believe Justin Trudeau a fake . And taking all that Justin proclaims is wrong with Canadian acceptance of those from different ethnic backgrounds it is he who in fact is the biggest problem in that regard.
I am Canadian and in my opinion Justin Trudeau is in fact a fraud and a big disappointment in regards to racial inclusion for it is indeed himself that holds the inner turmoil that he tries to elude to others . I believe he is an embarresment to Canadian's for his doble standards.
7
Exactly.
2
Why is it racist to wear blackface? Especially if you are portraying specific characters: buckwheat, Rasta Men, etc... the PC has gone too far.
6
@Anton Leong Please say this a thousand times, and very loudly, so everyone can hear you. This psychosis is beginning to take on clinical characteristics. People are slowly losing their marbles.
3
Kids of privilege do the darndest things.
5
Yes a little wince inducing, but I don’t think he did to make fun of Aladdin or middle-eastern people. This seems like an over reaction. We need to be fighting with all our wits against real intentional racism like incarcerating immigrant children. Plus he’s not even our president.
5
The modern day crime of Cultural Approbation is a fad that seems unlikely to endure, because it has no boundaries and requires no malice. If it exists at all, then we are all guilty. As a famous and very wise Jewish philosopher once said, over two millennia ago, “Let him who is entirely without sin, cast the first stone...”
3
I'm getting sick of this. Everyone makes stupid mistakes when they're young. You acknowledge the error and understand why it was wrong. If you're honest, people can tell. Furthermore, politicians should be judged by the work they're doing for you at the time -- if a politician is working for you and supporting your agenda, then being politically correct to the point of self-destruction is foolish. In the US, a lot of people are re-thinking the pressure put on Al Franken to resign owing to some clownish behavior when he was a professional clown. Democrats shot themselves (ourselves) in the foot by forcing out someone doing good work for our platform and the country. I hope Canadians don't make the same mistake.
3
@David Law Excuse me, why is it a "stupid mistake" to dye one's face, but not a "stupid mistake" to dye one's hair, for example, or alter the color of one's eyes with contact lenses? Or to get a tan at the beach? Let me ask you this: What if tattoos offend me? It's not my right to tell you whether or not you can get a tattoo. It's your right to self-expression, and if 0.1% of the population is offended by it, then tough luck -- you still have the right to get a tattoo and express yourself. How is this not obvious? Why does this even have to be explained?
1
At this point, I presume the media is seeking more attention than anything. It's a costume with paint at a costume party. That is all.
Anyone who gets offended from a costume shouldn't be taken seriously anyways. Would a pale person be offended if someone wore white paint to become a clown?
You can't say i'm stuck in a white privilege bubble because I'm black myself.
If you get offended from someone having fun, then I feel bad for your upbringing as you clearly never had much of it.
8
This type of activity is quite normal in elite circles of Canada. Getting dressed up as people that you don't live around often offers one a chance of ridicule and stupidity. Francophones are portrayed as lumberjacks, Indigenous as Indians, Jews as orthodox, Asians as stereotypes, etc... The fact that people around him - in the pictures - are having fun says much more about their 'habitus' (much like the Governor of Virginia - I believe - who wore blackface).
What is great about living surrounded by people from around the world - as my neighbours and on my bus ride to and from work - is that it gives me a perspective that what our PM did is much less of a manifestation of deep rooted belief than a ritual that is practiced at their banquets where black people - for example - are mostly servants and sometimes invited guests...
Many of the comments imply that people of color are driving these complaints. Not true, its the media outlets pushing this nonsense attempting to stoke the flames of the latest controversy of the moment. Although, I don't speak for all persons of color, I believe that most of us are not this thin skinned. But I do believe, if a black person was found to have mocked a Jewish person in a similar manner, the outrage would be much greater. Hence, we saw the outrage over Rep. Omar simply saying "...its all about the Benjamins..." when white folks, including the one in the Oval Office, have said similar or much worse for years. Just sayin!
3
wrong. it's the pattern of behavior that is driving this narrative. Google SNC Lavalin affair.... I can go on but all you need to know is right there. He is the worst leader.... in reality Trump at least doesn't hide his colours.... our PM certainly can't anymore.
Justin has his mother's fault's but not his father's virtues.
Like the Egyptian Pharaohs, political dynasties don't have enough diversity.
E.g, Clintons, Bushes, and Trudeaus
Looks like a minority government, whatever way you slice it.
2
Pretty-boy Trudeau needs to go. He is an insensitive bloke who wants to now grovel to Canadians. I am a college-educated white woman in my 60s, and not only have I never even thought of wearing blackface, I have never see anyone who has worn blackface. Ever. And mind you, I did my share of partying in the '70s and '80s.
5
He’s playing Aladdin. Should we ban Halloween?
4
To me, wearing blackface is sort of goofy and humorous. I don't see it as particularly racist or evidence that a person dislikes other people who happen to have different pigmentation. It seems it would be like a man wearing a woman's clothing or wearing women's make up. Goofy, but who cares? Can't we laugh at ourselves?
6
. . . and yet drag is acceptable. Maybe in 20 years it won't be and some politician will have to grovel over a role in La Cage aux Folles. But the fact is that humankind's inventiveness and playfulness has manifested itself in stylized portrayals of other people from time immemorial. If not done maliciously, only virtue-signalers should pretend to care.
Mr Trudeau's trouble is that he's built a career on this kind of thing, sermonizing sanctimoniously to and about the insufficiently woke. He's a casualty of the cultural revolution he's profited from, so it's more difficult to feel sorry for him.
5
The world would do well to remember that liberalism is not about making sure everyone is, was, and shall be politically correct across all time and space. Quite the opposite: liberalism is about the free exchange of ideas, freedom of thought, and the pursuit of equality. Of course this man still represents liberals: he uses his power to fight for those things, and to advance progressive, rational causes.
What he doesn't represent perhaps as well as many people thought are crybabies who pout, throw a tantrum, and demand to tear it all down when anything offends them, rather than argue their position on principle and convince others. Blackface is nearly universally offensive. Clearly Trudeau has said as much and said he was wrong. What is there left of practical value to argue about? You've won the debate.
But no, you also desire blood and the suppression of any person whose thoughts or actions, past or present, don't conform to your world view. Is there anything more conservative and illiberal than that? Reactions to these scandals are little different from the Inquisition condemning a heretic.
5
We should be reminded that yes, Canada has a history of slavery.
Slavery was practiced by the First Peoples long before any Europeans arrived and then later by settlers/invaders from Europe.
While there is no history of black slaves being brought from Africa to Canada they were brought from the colonies/US and the Caribbean. Worse, whites enslaved some First Peoples.
Canadian slavery was ended, largely by the courts, in the very late 1700s/early 1800s.
What saved Canada from building an extensive slave society, as in the Southern US, was the lack of a plantation system for agricultural production. Other French and British colonies did establish slave societies, in Haiti for example.
3
@Barooby
You forget to mention the slavery practiced in the pre Columbian Americas.
2
@Barooby I apologize. I should not have said "Worse" I should have said "As bad..."
And that is my bad.
1
Justin Trudeau is being called into account for his actions from about twenty years ago. They might be judged more harshly in hindsight but his deeds were callow and insensitive at the time.
On the other hand, the political operatives who oppose Trudeau have trotted out the videos and images solely to destroy his image. It's a cynical ploy for political advantage, not an effort to have honest conversations about issues to the benefit of Canada.
Trudeau's acts were distasteful and insensitive and not in keeping with his image or Canada's values. But I personally worry more about the hacks who are attempting to subvert politics with personal attacks instead of addressing problems for common benefit.
3
I think that there is always a sign of cultural blindness when a white person of privilege appropriates another person’s ethnicity, seemingly blind to the sensitivities or hurt that ignorance can cause.
But this should be a teachable moment and not an outright condemnation of a person who has shown quite a bit of integrity while maneuvering the crass world of politics. If we cannot start educating each other on sexism and race relations, we are just putting up greater walls that fuel division, not tolerance.
4
Liberals created this PC World and they ought to take responsibility and condemn one of their own who should have know better at age 29 to be be falling foul of it. Let’s face it, if it were a conservative politician the tone of some of these comments on here would be somewhat more heated.
1
Maybe we should be a bit more careful about judging the past with today's perfections. Societies are complex affairs with complex, and multiple dynamics which are constantly being played with. So maybe cool it.
10
So can we re-erect the statue of Confederate General Lee? I respect him as a great military commander who cared for his troops, and it always hurt to see liberals pull down his statue and spit and stomp on it
1
The opposition leaders find these photos offensive and objectionable and are using it as much as they can to denigrate Justin Trudeau. However, my partner, who is a South Asian brown skin, and his friends were not in the least offended by his wearing of brown skin. In fact they found this whole episode quite risible. They in no way felt that this was a hurtful act. Just anecdotal, I realize, but worth saying nonetheless
19
I'm glad they don't find it offensive.... I do. He is by far the most calculating and fake PM this fine country has ever seen. This incident was by no means a juvenile act.....he was 30. His real colours have surfaced over the last 2 years. His blatant obstruction of justice in the SNC Lavalin affair is by far the most criminal act a sitting PM has been committed. Blocking parliamentary and RCMP investigations. Oct 21st can't get here fast enough.... swept out like the trash they are
Sounds like Trudeau was playing a role or two when he applied his make up. Just like Anna Netrebko was when she applied brown makeup to play Aida last season at the Met. Not very bright of either of them, or the Met. But then Canadians might never have been as aware of the offense as Americans given that their history is not one of slavery.
Trudeau’s liberal party seems to be much more concerned about improving the standards for Canadians than the Conservatives. That should be what the election is about, not something stupid that an otherwise acceptable candidate did in the past. The job he is doing as Canada’s elected leader is what matters. I know that he is criticized for his policies, which is fake. Many politicians create an image that can be quite different from reality.
The election should not be about the person he is or even who he pretends to be. It should be about the job that person,real or pretend, has done as Prime Minister. In the US after all we have a president who doesn’t even know how to pretend he is compassionate and capable.
16
@Bashh The word should be Fair, not Fake. Typo.
1
So who's perfect? Two colleagues of South Asian background I spoke to today are shrugging it off. plus the prospect of the regressive conservatives is far more scary. cuts cuts cuts
20
@Debbie My sentiment precisely: Who’s perfect?
2
I am conflicted when we rush to push today’s standards on another time - especially when it’s a single event which can be so easily taken out of context. As a kid, I’m sure that i played cowboys and Indians in the backyard - is this much different? We have more than a dozen professional sports teams with Native American names - with thousands of people performing screaming tomahawks on a weekly basis. Each weekend - not twenty years ago. Is this different? I dunno - and glad that i don’t have to be the arbiter of someone’s future.
The press is seemingly breathless each time is happens - and rushes to proclaim “a new scandal”. Funny, how were the newsrooms of twenty years ago? I don’t see any breathless reporting of race, sexism, and patronage that happened in the mirror.
People aren’t perfect - at least i know I’m not. In the future, the only people who will qualify for office are those who are so introverted that they stayed in their basement - and didn’t risk doing something that would be appraised as stupid in the future.
Do i agree with everything Trudeau’s done? Certainly not. But, he seems that a very decent man - and I’d love to have more “leaders” have his decency and temperament. But, that doesn’t scream scandal! It just says he’s like the rest of us...
9
The problem is not that Justin Trudeau made a regrettable mistake (though he made it repeatedly it seems). It’s that, as Maclean’s helpfully points out, his party has spent the last year digging up dirt and dropping opposition research on his political enemies for past indiscretions large, small, and imagined. Justin Trudeau helped create the world we’re living in, but now that he’s quite literally been hoisted on his own petard, wants a pass for his own behavior. His past and present behavior and statements reeks of privilege and is quite truly shocking in its hypocrisy.
13
Don't be ridiculous - pictures from more than twenty years ago of the Liberal leader in customs doesn't prevent him from calling out the Tory racism of today.
3
Well written
Yep, dumb mistakes by a much younger person. But given his actual track record of service, "spokesman for the world’s beleaguered liberals, standing up to President Trump, supporting gender and Indigenous rights, welcoming immigrants and fighting climate change and racism," why would we question his bona fides as a flagbearer for liberal causes? I'm growing tired of the purity tests that have allegedly been failed by unquestionably good people. The list is growing, and the harm is substantial. Let's focus our ire on those who really deserve it.
10
A. he was 30 B. Look up his track record of misogynistic acts and then post or leave it to the Canadians who have lived his nightmare for 4 years
2
Koho please first get your facts straight... Justin Trudeau has been a complete fraud and hypocrite on many huge fronts particularly Climate Change, Indigenous Rights and gender equality in his own cabinet and let's not forget his mammoth ethics breaches more than once and all for his fancy elite corrupt Liberal doners... it's all factually documented in extreme detail since he's taken office ... please do your research wisely ... Justin Trudeau is a liberal fraud and hypocrite to the extreme and this latest debacle is simply more proof.
1
Here I am thanking, humbly, commentors for their 'muricasplaining. I must be enlightened now, and must I not now be admitted to that heaven that is the shining light on the hill, the good ol us of a? Or at least, on bended knee, be worthy of your benediction?
4
Now that Trudeau's history ..
.. let's turn our attention to other racist things like tan lotions, tan beds, tan salons, and sun bathers at our beaches.
6
Ahhhh, the woke poster boy of identity politics has hoisted himself upon his own petard....
15
We knew that, as a grown man, Trudeau fought for Haitian refugees fleeing the 2010 earthquake, for progressive tax reform in 2015, and, in the face of mounting white identitarian, anti-muslim and anti-minority sentiment, passionately defended the contributions of muslim immigrants to Canadian society.
We've now learned that Trudeau, as recently as 2001, wore his posterior as a chapeau. The question one should ask is, would Trudeau be replaced by as passionate a defender communities of color? We confuse good manners and good hygiene with good policy and good outcomes. I bet David Duke never wore blackface.
3
So if a brown person puts on a black face or a black person puts on a brown face, is that considered racism?
3
@Qcell
First commandment of political correctness:
"If a brown person puts on a black face or a black person puts on a brown face, that is not considered racism.
Not unless a white person says it is so."
You are welcome.
1
He is a Racist who is only deeply sort that he was exposed. He is an embarrassment to Canada and must resign.
7
It’s okay. He’s a liberal so other liberals will throw a fit for publicities sake and then forget about it. Just like in VA.
9
What he did 20 years ago is not important. Focus on the present and the future. What is he doing now? What will he do in the future? This is so stupid.
8
DBA.... he was a grown man who is a complete fake and misogynist. Google SNC Lavalin affair.... criminal is also something that he can be labeled
Please give your readers the year it be came unexceptable in show business to wear blackface.
6
@hsc. It was acceptable last season at the Met when Anna Netrebko wore brown makeup to sing Aida.
5
@hsc
If you're a conservative, it's OK
Big deal
7
What, you say he's racist because he dressed up like a popular Disney character? Really? The US president pays hush money to porn stars, the Saudi Prince has a journalist murdered and chopped up and the Canadians are ready to nail JT to the cross for a costume ten years ago. For Real?
27
Aren't there more important things to put on the front page?
10
Who really cares about dressing up a few times. It's not about the color of skin but the thinness of it. If he did it last week, I'd be concerned but otherwise go from something newsworthy that can benefit society instead of fraying the edges.
I can't imagine what a couple of collegiate communications majors were dressed up for during Halloween.
4
How does the New York Times make sure that bots are NOT using the comments section to polarize us? Some comments on this story seem quite extreme.
3
While I’m definitely not voting for Justin Trudeau’s Liberal party, I must ask: other than big business and money politics, what does Andrew Scheer’s Conservative party stand for? Fundamental human necessities, such as housing for the poor, are not their concern.
While smugly boasting of and promising “balanced” budgets past and future, they callously omit the humane equation, as though very tight finances are of any good to the large portion (if not the majority) of Canadians who are struggling to make ends meet. Assuming they even were genuinely balanced and not just creative accounting fudge-it budgets, smilingly spouting nonsensical platitudes that somehow simply by being in the black the budget will leave sufficiently “more money in Canadians’ pockets” in these financially tough times is insensitive, at best.
And, besides, as conservatives they sure subsidize corporate causes and allow the fossil fuel industry to pollute our natural environment quite liberally.
5
So what? This pales in comparison to the constitutional crisis in the US. Canadians should rest easy.
4
I want to be educated: does Canada have a
history of minstrel shows and slavery? I feel this may be America foisting their own sins on the leader of another country.
A decade or so ago, a Filipino magazine editor (an acquaintance of mine) in the Philippines was accused by American media of racism because he styled several models in blackface in the cover of his men’s lifestyle mag (the conceit was that they were blending into the background, versus that month’s hot new model sans dark makeup, posed in the foreground). I thought the accusations were utterly ridiculous. At what point in Philippine history had we as a people ever oppressed anybody, of any skin color? Wasn’t it obvious that there was no subtext to the magazine cover, and that any subtext that existed was supplied by guilty American consciences? The women, as dumb as the concept was, were functioning purely as a literal physical background, blending into the black magazine cover. with no reference to race.
These accusations annoyed me then, and they annoy me now, many years later. They’re AMERICA’S history, they’re not ours. Don’t punish us for your sins.
I’m thinking this incident with JT isn’t all that different.
3
We’ve all done stupid things in our past; it doesn’t mean we are terrible people. What’s most important is what his policies represent and what he has done NOW.
4
@Linda
That's not helping your argument. His record speaks for itself.
"Racism" hijacked for political purpose is just as bad as bonafide racism, imo.
6
Enough already. Just stop the requirement to be perfect - we are human and people do things that in retrospect seem wrong but at the moment didn’t. Look forward and don’t confuse mistakes of the past with the real threat in the present and future.
8
If the wearing of blackface is offensive, I don't think there is any necessary connection with the history of blackface. I don't believe that a black person who is offended necessarily sees an allusion to historical events, or that the offender has such a connection in mind. If the offender (and/or offended) has to be educated in the matter, then it can't be part of the meaning of their act.
Rather, it's more basic: does the offended person see a demeaning caricature of his or her race?
And here I think intention comes into play. I cannot understand the blanket statement that darkening one's face "is always unacceptable," because it can be makeup for playing a role, and whether there's something wrong about that depends on what one's intentions and purposes are in playing the role. There is a difference between dressing up for a costume party and making fun of, or demeaning, a class of people. The two can conceivably overlap, but I don't see that they have to.
6
So Sheer the Conservative candidate just admitted that the Conservatives released the latest tape to a "reputable news agency" for confirmation.
3
As a person of brown skin color I don’t see the offenses, although I’m one case, I can understand how someone who has had history of discrimination could feel after seeing this.
Well, thats what happens when you decide to go into politics and have a dubious flavor of peculiar costumes; which says a lot about his circle during that time. Either nobody found it offensive or they just wanted him to look afool or mostly likely both.
4
Here's what I want to know as an educator - did he get in trouble for wearing black/brown face in high school? If teachers and administrators permitted the use of brown face in high school, then why would he think it's racist when he was in his 20's? Did his boss reprimand him when he was a teacher for wearing brown face? Probably not because it made the yearbook. What could have been a teachable moment in high school wasn't because he was allowed to do it. We are trying to apply today's social norms to an event that happened 20 years ago. Let the man be.
7
Is any career politician ever whom he represents himself to be?
2
I am 49 and female of mixed heritage- Native, Hispanic and European. I have brown skin and dark hair/eyes. I cannot for the life of me understand why people insist a costume is racist. It's a costume, nothing more, nothing less. We have serious issues in this world - real racism included. Focusing on someone's costume from 2001 a seriously misguided effort to be holier than thou.
19
Apparently there's now at least a third instance of Trudeau in blackface. If something like this happens once it is a huge problem, twice can destroy you, three or more times means we must ask entirely different questions.
How often does Trudeau actually do this? He did this incredibly regularly, not simply changing his appearance as a one-time, or even a two-time thing.
While people who are ignorant may think that the more one does something this radical to alter one's appearance it should be worse, it isn’t.
If a person does anything to radically change their appearance regularly enough it must be classified, to use left-wing language, as a question of identity, not a life-style choice, certainly not a mistake.
It is evident at this point that Trudeau possesses some inner perception of himself as a person of color. This only seems absurd to the less enlightened, older, and more conservative. (Those 3 things already go together).
We now live in an enlightened age where no one can ever question another person's inner idea of what they believe their actual physical identity is. As any who might have be foolish enough to even doubt it have learned, they must treat all such identity issues as objective reality.
At this point the more images they find of Trudeau in brown-face and blackface the better. Trudeau needs to stop apologizing for what he really is, and proudly proclaim that he's always known from the time he was very young that he really wasn't a white man.
5
@Robert B
Wow. Thanks for the 'muricasplaining
2
There seems to be a dramatic lack of ill intent and malice behind this costume. While I won't call it a nonissue, I will say it's hardly a showstopper, and I suspect the media will care about this a lot more than voters will. It will drive a lot of clicks and ad revenue, but ultimately I think most people are smart enough to recognize the difference between actual racism and dressing up as a cartoon character of a different race than oneself.
3
This is becoming ridiculous. I do not really have an opinion on him as a person but my first reaction to this as well as all the others of this sort- have the article show facts covering his whole body of work and do they confirm or deny the implications being made via this one photo. My hero in all of these situations is Chris Rock. He made a mistake, apologized and a small number of people wanted more. He said no and walked away. I applaud him. We really need more of this
2
If Trudeau, as a highly privileged while male , said he didn't know wearing blackface or brownface was racist in the 70's, or even the 80's, many "might" have believed him. Saying he didn't know in the early 90's? Highly suspect. However as a 29 year old teacher working in an upscale private school in 2001 he says he didn't know? He knew. He just didn't care.
3
To what levels of intolerance have we descended...amazing!!
I am Indian born in the mid 1950s. Every year in almost every primary and high school there would be Sports Literary, art and other competitions. One of the most awaited events during those days was what was called 'Fancy Dress' competition. Students would dress up as Gandhi, Nehru, Kennedy etc. Also many would come as mullahs, reverends/pastors, Hindu priests. Girls from South India would dress up as Kashmiris or wear Japanese Kimonos. Boys would dress up as Sikhs with false beards and everybody would get an ovation. How is that simple pastime is frowned upon nowadays?
7
Dressing in black (or brown) face to mock or demean other races is terrible. But somebody who did it 20 years ago should still be given a chance to apologize and show that they've actively reformed. Dressing as a person of another race when it's a person you admire, like the commenter who now can't dress as Obama; or just in the spirit of fun, like Trudeau dressed as Aladdin, is a different matter. There is not racism there, no more than dressing up like a doctor demeans doctors.
Unfortunately the PC police don't see the distinction. Although in this case it's a smear job that we hope won't stick.
5
Why should we care about this guy’s personal history?
A) He has no impact whatsoever on the affairs of our nation—especially under our current administration.
B) The man who does reflect our own national culture, integrity and security is on record as having done far worse—especially when it comes to outright racism.
1
The saddest part of this and many similar debacles is how the self-ennobling Don Quixote press doesn't seem to get that when they say "dragon" a greater portion of the less-shrill world only sees a windmill.
1
Deny deny deny. It worked for the North Carolina Democrats.
3
Trudeau and his liberals friends believe their condescending paternalism makes them above reproach and criticism. Eventually, under the assumption they are untouchable because they are so noble and good, they will reveal their true selves - they will seek to prove just how above reproach and criticism they are by committing an act that says, “See, I’m so not racist I can do something terribly racist and it’s not racist.” I won’t work.
2
Trudeau's 's cabinet of 31 ministers that was sworn in on Nov. 4, 2015, included 15 women, five ministers who were visible minorities and two others who were Indigenous. What other national government can match the diversity of his government? He is not a racist.
1
Can this week get any better? It’s like the universe did the ‘hold my beer’ thing and proceeded to completely embarrass the hypocritical left despite the MSM’s best efforts. Can you imagine if the media had a photo of trump doing what Trudeau has done??
3
Come on guys! WHO cares what JT did twenty years ago, and why do we need to measure it with today’s hyper-ultra sensitivities?
It is weird that we live in a World where despotic populist evil-doers thrive and profligate from the Philippines to Brazil, Turkey, Hungary, UK to, not least, the US, while the liberal nedia are obsessed with pulling down with these kinds of ridiculous non-stories the few upright, honest politicians We are pinning our hopes on : Merkel, and Macron and Trudeau.
2
Sorry, more to do with media/political opportunism than revelations of leadership racism. Many of your readers would recall the very popular 'Black and White Minstrel Show' that was pure fun and musical talent? I had friends who were part of it and at no time during socialising were there any racial references to the show. Political correctness is thrusting so multi-directional that classics as 'Showboat' will soon be gone with the wind. So don't sing 'Mammy how I love ya' too loudly in the shower without expecting a loud knock on the door.
I don’t believe that we should fall back on the “boys-will-be-boys” excuse for this one, but OTOH, who among us in our teens and twenties (especially males) did not do things that were incredibly stupid, and which we regret today? Trudeau has apologized. It’s time to move on. This is political correctness run amok.
The Canadian critics seeking Trudeau’s ouster should think about the possible alternative: a Trump-like figure who would seek to have them all deported.
1
It’s time for him to go.
2
In truly Canadian fashion he will say a clipped “sorry”. This is certainly an event he’d like to take back. But come on folks doing something insensitively stupid does not take away from this guy’s thoughtful brilliance. He is good for Canada, North America and the world. We need alternatives to Trump and Johnson.
3
Is it bone deep weariness over Trump and his malevolent doings that incites The Times to keep this little story about an instance of bad judgement on the part of our prime minister front and centre for going on twenty four hours? This over doing it during our general election feels like no less of an assault on a good leader than the front page reporting the Times did on clearly nothing to see here stories about Hillary's emails in the final weeks of the 2016 campaign
3
Is this behavior from 20 years ago disqualifying in 2019? No, just as Ralph Northam's behavior from 30 years ago isn't disqualifying. People change with time, and the willingness and ability to change is what matters to me.
Frankly, I am very surprised to see so many highly recommended comments defending the behavior itself. We have here the whole gamut:
"What he did isn't even blackface!"
"My teacher made me wear black makeup for a play when I was 9. Am I a racist now?"
"But he was only dressing up as a cartoon character!"
"I'm so sick of there being a permanent record of everything!"
Sounds to me like there are quite a few older white people in these comments who are nervous that their own past casual racism will be brought to light. These lame excuses are just preemptive deflections.
So if somebody dresses up as a fictional character (Aladdin), they are racist? Does this mean that only a person with brown skin can ever dress up like Aladdin? That would seem a bit more racist to me then someone dressing up as a movie character. Maybe I am missing something. Not saying what was done is right or wrong, just trying to understand it better. The Blackface part for Day-Oh, yes, I get that, completely racist. But when did we start defining racism by people who dress up like fictional characters? Maybe the creator of Aladdin was racist then since he made the character to have brown skin. If a person of brown skin dressed like Elmer Fudd, would we say that person is racist? Oh, and what about Eddy Murphy who (on SNL) dresses up like a white person, that wasn't racist back then. Is it now? Oh snap, Eddy Murphy is not running for Prime Minister! I forgot that.
1
What looked this morning like an innocent costume party now seems to be part of a pattern of bad behavior. The guy is a complete phony and every move he makes now seems pre-planned for political advantage. Another posturing, insincere liberal.
@Larry. I will consider him an insincere liberal when I hear him say that there are decent people who march under a swaatika flag or refer to some developing countries as $h/#$’l,s, deny people entry into Canada based on their religion, country of origin or the color of their skin, or snatch chilren from their parents and hold them in cages.
Until Trudeau does those things which Republicans in the US find perfectly acceptable in their President I have nothing serious with which to be critical of Trudeau . Whatever Trudeau may be privately is not reflected in his policies as Prime Minister. Unlike our own president whose personal racism is demonstrated regularly in words
and actions. Trump doesn’t even know how to pretend.
1
Liberals only care about racism and wokeness so long as it's a bludgeon against their political opponents.
When the offending party is one of their own, liberals will bend over backwards with semantics and context to excuse themselves. Interesting that the luxury of context is never afford to the conservatives in similar situations.
3
Such a fuss! -- he wore black face to a party!
Big deal, I for one care to look at the accomplishments of his life and they FAR outweigh a party costume.
From now on, we can only have black people play Othello?
Well shame on YOU, Orson Wells, Anthony Hopkins and Patrick Stewart.
Sick and tired of punitive political correctness in Denver!
2
@Mamie Watts. Singers at the Met and in other opera houses stopped wearing blackface for Otello a few years ago. For some reason they did not see it necessary to stop doing the makeup for Aida.
Anything that's happened in High School stays in High School, which leaves the Brownface incident. What would Arabs in Canada say about this? Do you think the Syrian refugees in Canada would find it in their heart to forgive him. But hey, it's of course time to take down a proven liberal for some semi-offense he committed 20 years ago. (I.e. if he's a racist he's atoned with a lot of code-switching... .) Let's see how much those poor wounded liberal souls prefer the right-wingers in power. Looks like it's about time they saw it again.
1
It would be very nice if racism and sexism and religious intolerance could be wiped out with a wave of a magical wand. It would be nice if we didn’t have to talk about these issues, grapple with them and this not talking about these issues would fix them. It would be nice if we all weren’t racist, sexist and religiously intolerant. But we are not. And we have tried not talking about it and it’s still here.
Becoming an inclusive, tolerant society is hard work. So, please get over that it has to be simple and easy attitude. Justin Trudeau is part of that group that knows they will be utterly exhausted after having made some serious inroads towards eradicating racism, sexism and religious intolerance. But it will be worth it!
5
@Morgan. Exactly what inroads has he made?
1
@Jackson
Promoting totally unqualified people (just because they are minorities) to positions of power, who then of course go on to embarrass themselves.
Consequently further negative stereotypes are propagated about minorities, making it harder for competent, qualified minorities to get ahead.
Case in point: Myriam Monsef, a 20-something whose prior job experience included such things like washing windows and working as a volunteer at the YMCA. This is before she modified her LinkedIn profile to add some more secretarial/communications positions on her Wikipedia page. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryam_Monsef
She proceeded to embarrass herself by holding a press conference with a square root sign, explaining that Canadians are too stupid to understand such a complicated thing, so electoral reform promised would not be done.
I think we need the arbiters of PC to explain this and tell us what we should think. First, we had him in "brownface," which was apparently OK, but now he is in "blackface," which is worse, it seems. Perhaps a color wheel?
26
It's time for a conservative Government in Canada anyway.
Why should we have all the fun?
7
Here come the Republicans pretending to be "outraged liberals" insisting Trudeau must go
How many more times do we have to suffer through these contrived "scandals" ?
13
@Marion Grace Merriweather ahhhh..... so blackface is now OK by the liberals.
@Marion Grace Merriweather. So a teacher doing this is okay with you? It’s amazing how a liberal like yourself is only outraged when a Republican does something.
3
Men like Trudeau, who bend over backwards to project the most perfect, lovable, politically correct image possible, always turn out to be phony creeps. Meanwhile Trump, who has never done anything like wear blackface, and never will, is called a racist every single day in this paper. The blatant partisan hypocrisy is getting pretty thick. I demand to see at least one editorial a day condemning Trudeau for his racism for the remainder of his term.
15
Live by identity politics, then die by identity politics, Trudeau
27
Is this a good time to point out that "O Canada" was composed by a one-time blackface minstrel artist (who went on to fight on the Union side in the Civil War)? Asking for a friend...
8
He was 25. He was teaching school. It was 18 years ago. The guy is a fraud. Throw him to the wolves. I can’t wait for the Times to dig up their editorial and do a word replace for Grantham (VA Governor).
9
Another liberal bites the dust because of small time stupidity.
The minorities of all persuasions are beginning to show their teeth. To bad they are destroying their own tribe, while the conservatives reign untroubled.
Sadly, I think it has become apparent that the minorities don't want equality as much as they want revenge.
13
I’m perplexed. I am in my 60s in a profoundly red , arch conservative state. I can attest with certainty I have never seen a white person in black face. It obviously happened ,apparently a lot. Trudeau, what’s his name in Virginia.....it just all seems so idiotic. Defending those who apparently “costumed” themselves as such vs attacking them as evil,immoral human being just reeks of nonsense and stupidity. I’m putting my energy into worrying about Donald Trump reving up the war machine to avoid any more scrutiny.
14
Was Trudeau PM in the 1990s or 2001? No. Is blackface racist? Yes. Does Trudeau harbor some racist animus? I highly doubt it. He was at some silly costume party being an idiot. Trump and his cabal ... those are racists.
Immigrants who seek to punish Trudeau by voting for the New Democrats or Conservatives will also be condemning countless others fleeing death and violence. The man apologized, he is ashamed and is asking forgiveness. Forgiveness is not exoneration, but a necessary step for healing and reconciliation.
14
Trudeau is shallow, phony, and pompous, and maybe even a crook.
But racist? Or something called a "cultural expropriator"?
Just because he enjoys dressing up?
No way.
11
The moral “flexibility” of the left never ceases to impress... Saul Alinsky would be proud.
11
@Matt Carey You need an award for this comment, comrade.
@Mystery Lits
Thank you sir/madam....
Et tu, Justin? Sigh...
3
It seems that the nature of the comments here imply, yet again, that blackface is despicable only if your politics don't align properly. Stay woke and anything is acceptable.
7
@Intrepid. Blackface is despicable but if your policies as the leader of a country do not reek of racism and white supremacy your apology can be accepted. When your speeches at rallies can be used to incite violence it is not so easy to forgive, even though you may only be orange.
Tell me why he can't put on a black face when he "peroforms" Day-O.
If I come out with a flannel shirt and a pitchfork and sing "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" and I making a derogatory statement about farmers?
How about if I came out with a top-hat and spats and performed Singing in the Rain? Does that mean I'm making fun of Gene Kelly?
You guys are out of your mind making such a nothing-deal about this.
19
With more video surfacing daily, the best strategy for Justin Trudeau may be to assert that he actually is of African descent and the times he appeared to be a Caucasian he was wearing white face.
4
So what? Canada didn't have slave plantations. Is the USA exporting its righteous indignation too?
4
@Aristotle Gluteus Maximus ahhhh... so good for me but not for thee. Sounds like the moral consistency of the Left.
3
@Mystery Lits
I am offended, therefore, I am.
I can totally imagine what Trudeau might be thinking. "I helped kill thousands of Yemenis with the weapons I sell to Saudi Arabia, contributing to the creation of what Amnesty International says is the worst humanitarian disaster in the world and not one peep from the world, a photo of me wearing a blackface back when I was in kindergarten pops up and the world goes nuts, is this for real?"
7
30 years ago I was a college student. We were very aware that you were not supposed to imitate other races, including putting on makeup and Afro wigs.
But then again I have more than two brain cells to rub together.
So Trudeau is stupid, ignorant, or lying. None of these things are leadership qualities.
3
Some years ago several homophobic conservatives were outed as closet gays. Today we have woke, politically correct liberals being outed as closet racists. Can't make this up.
9
Watching Dems call for moderation in the comments is absolutely hilarious.
The only thing Trudeau should apologize for is being behind the times, everyone knows that Liberal Anti-Semitism is the new thing.
10
Do Americans even realise Canada is still subject to punitive tariffs on steel and aluminum as a supposed "national security risk to the US" ?
And Americans here expect to be taken seriously? On anything?
2
Isn't this just great? The Arabian Nights costume party was one thing, but the blackface episodes are of a different order entirely, and like very many Canadians, I am disappointed and dismayed by the antics of a juvenile, privileged, entitled, rich white boy who should have known far better. However, against this nastiness I have to weigh the appalling prospect of a Conservative government led by Andrew Scheer: Scheer has a repulsive history of homophobic statements and positions; his campaign history has disgusting links to the most virulent exponents of the alt-right; and several candidates in this election have said racist, anti-immigrant, anti-Québec things -- and Scheer seems entirely comfortable with that. While I am critical of some things the Trudeau Liberal government has done, and has failed to do, it has on the whole done some good things (to address poverty and reconciliation with aboriginal peoples) at a time when this diverse country is almost impossible to govern. This is a very somber day for Canada.
7
It sounds like there’s more to come.
So who is worse? The white liberal racist or the white conservative racists?
I guess it's up to the Canadian voters to decide.
4
As someone who was once a big Trudeau fan, this is another blow after the scandal involving SNC-Lavalin and his lousy treatment of Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, the first person of First Nations origin to hold such a high Canadian gov't post.
In looking at the "Aladdin" photo, though, I have to say I think that even more cringe-inducing than the brownface is the way he's got his arm around all those women...that makes Trudeau look like he's getting into Al Franken territory if not worse...
3
@Don Carleton
The New Yorker ran an excellent piece at the end of July which actually debunks a lot of the accusations against Al Franken. I will never forgive Kirsten Gillibrand for the way she spearheaded the movement that railroaded him out of Congress without any investigation.
1
@Don Carleton
If you are foolish enough to consider the snc Lavalin affair as a scandal then you probably deserve a Scheer government. Good luck with that.
1
This brown-face/ black-face thing with Trudeau, which has gotten worse in the past 12hrs, seems in the main to be more about glamorizing a candidate for elective office than anything else ... hiding and “spinning” if it becomes necessary. And the other side is about getting the “dirt” to de-glamorize and hold fast to the moral high ground. In the immediate sense, this is Canada’s problem. In a broader sense, it’s our problem too ... right now ... not only for how candidates for office put on a “show” to please, but how easily many of us go for that. A non-substantive game show is what it comes down to. And after all of this, so easily forgotten, the complaint is about the attractive candidate elected to office ... that that individual is not up to the job.
1
I am not Canadian. And I was born in India so I don't have to color my face unless I want to appear white.
I can't ever imagine doing that.
But that's my taste.
I think what concerns me most is what that one sentence in the article summarized "he is acting to be a prime minister."
I say that because I was in India last year when this handsome man along with his whole family made what seemed like a never ending vacation.
While Indians are obsessively biased towards whites - he went way over by dressing in garments that even Bollywood actors would be loath to wear.
I was in Amritsar where the Sikh holy temple is. As is required, I wrapped my head with my own handkerchief even though they give you one.
But what did this man and his family do?
They dressed up as if they are Sikhs. If I were a Sikh, that would offend me.
I don't know if it is immaturity or a constant urge to show folks that you can be just like them.
That to me is troublesome in a leader.
But hey, this man need not worry.
Any Bollywood director would hire him in a heartbeat - if he loses in October.
11
@Neil
Not credible.
1
I do not think that what the Prime Minister did, many years ago as a young private citizen has any bearing on his suitability for high office today. Period.
10
@Les Bois What of Kavanaugh?
1
I am waiting for the video showing Trudeau dressed as a Japanese geisha.
3
Yes, something to apologize for.
But please, Canada, realize that this is a nit compared to the atrocities that our president is doing.
Consider what Trudeau's actions have been in recent years, and judge him for that.
Don't fall for the "purity" tests that have poisoned our politics.
9
@SLB So, the argument is forgive him because he's a liberal? Just like Bill Clinton?
2
It seems ridiculous that this would be an issue he would loose votes over. His policies have done a lot to help minority’s. Would a person vote for someone else that would have policies that are not pro minority, because that person never put on blackface at a party. It seems like the politicians that do more good things for their constituents are held to much higher standards. I know he’s got some more serious issues that are hurting him, but this shouldn’t be important, especially considering his age and he’s in Canada.
4
This is also the same man who invited 25,000 Syrian refugees to come to Canada 3 years ago. As a liberal, I think I’ll go out on a limb and say that he’s nothing if not a good liberal, the sins of his past notwithstanding.
18
Eventually, the truth comes out. It is only a matter of time.
5
I'd much rather have Trudeau than a Conservative party government. They are basically Trump-lite. We have enough of a headache going on with Ford as Ontario's premier with constant cuts to services people need like education and health... and giving that money to the gambling sector.
This incident is not even comparable to the historical implications of blackface. Of course this is not a good look for him. But Canada is not the same as America and Americans aren't voting him in or out either. I'd rather have him as a leader than Trump. And he apologized!
8
For those who think this is a scandal over putting on blackface when he should have known better, it’s not. Trudeau created the image of himself as the Liberal to beat all liberals, the world leader who will always do the right thing, reconcile first nations, create an open, tolerant multicultural nation even more than Canada already is, prove he can out-feminist feminists and much more along those lines, including greenest guy in public office anywhere. And one by one over 4 years, he’s destroyed that image by acting in contrary ways. He has two ethics violations.
And he has for years demonized the conservative party unfairly and with characterizations that only apply (sort of) to former PM stephen harper, not the present leader. This election is all about winning at any cost for Trudeau and he’s been in the gutter smearing opponents for months. The entire thing for Trudeau is about branding and marketing, never mind truth or personal integrity. This election he has made tolerance, multiculturalism, harmonious society among multiple races etc the very core of his campaign. If the tory leader had a photo like that surface, Trudeau would be the first to eviscerate him. Now, his people say he simply made a mistake. It’s hypocrisy, writ large. Trudeau has been consistently shown to be not anywhere near the white knight on his high horse he to this very moment portrays himself to be. He’s callow and shallow, not at all like his Dad.
6
@N. Cunningham
Demonised the Conservative party unfairly is where you lost me.
Honestly, if you don't understand that after Harper the Conservatives are done for a generation, your opinion counts for nothing.
3
Canada doesn't have a history of slavery like USA does. Why is this an issue there? I think this changes nothing about him being a great leader.
5
@David sooooo... you're saying that white Canadians can wear blackface but white Americans can't.... ahhhh the moral standards (or lack there of) from the Left.
2
I’m a 63-year-old privileged white male. Wasting print on “dug up” things > 20 years old and totally out of context is such a waste of time. I recommend people spend more time on solutions not problems.
7
If only people in the US, including Congress, cared even half as much about the things Trump has done--and continues to do and say--as they do about this Trudeau debacle, maybe we'd get somewhere. We're so blind to truly awful acts of racism and hatred but explode about this non-story.
3
In these hypersensitive times, we need to give the guy a break. Yes, what he did was dumb and insensitive. It also occurred a long time ago. He has apologized repeatedly. Let’s move on.
7
Maybe he admires certain people to do that. ( its a good)
The third incident was not a costume. It was Trudeau in blackface wearing T shirt and jeans. Actually, not just black face, arms, hands, legs, too.
3
Now definitely 3 instances including a blatantly racist video and yet the whitesplaining excuses continue. There are many white people who knew even decades ago that this was racist and wrong. Only certain types of white people and racists thought this was amusing but never thought they would be called on it. They aren't laughing now and instead act as if they are being persecuted. The very definition of privileged. Even if he wins he won't be giving anymore phony liberal sermons.
5
What I find odd is, I spent most of my formative years in Texas, which I found incredibly racist after growing up in Detroit, MI but I’ll say this, I never saw a white man do this kind of thing. Must be a rich boy thing. Anyway, it’s not who Trudeau is today. He’s a decent man. Let’s see if he survives.
So the guy running against Trudeau has historically made comments against LBGT rights. He has yet to apologize. Somehow that is missing in all of the stories around the world. He also would approach climate change with an approach similar to Trump's (let the corporations decide).
Not much of an alternative.
As to the rest, I think we need to consider intent or things are going to get stupid.
6
The only result this faux scandal will have IIS to make choices extremely clear to voters.
Choose a progressive or choose a fascist.
I dare say it's no different in the US.
3
Thank heavens Justin Trudeau never acted in the role of Othello ... and those who have had better never run for office lest they “awake the snorting citizens with the bell.”
2
Trudeau has figure how to make this work for him.
Basically, he is at the center of attention now. Turn it around. Talk to the offended groups and explain why you are still the better choice.
When a teen and young adult I did and said terribly immature things. Many years and many, many hard won life lessons later I am changed and chastened man. A mature man. A loving husband. An example to my son. Should I be held to account; lose a job or worse because of immaturity, frustration, anger or confusion of youth and past circumstances? Says who?
2
@Outer Borough the very large left wing of the democrat party is who says.
@Outer Borough
Trudeau was 29 years old and a teacher to boot.... he can't lay claim to immaturity and ignorance. He got caught and now he shall eat crow.
1
Gender identity is quite fluid these days. Why not racial identity?
18
@BD ask Rachel Dolezal how a white woman who identifies as black was received.
1
Justin Trudeau's latest scandal simply underscores a long-established pattern of saying one thing, but doing something else altogether. Trudeau positioned himself as a champion of diversity, while concealing a past that includes no less than three separate instances where he dressed up in blackface - as an adult. He campaigned on a platform of transparency, yet has shut down multiple parliamentary investigations and a police probe into allegations he interfered in a judicial investigation involving SNC-Lavalin. He was elected on a promise to balance federal budgets by 2019, and is presently running massive deficits with no end in sight. His biggest problem is that absolutely no one believes a single word he says any more. He has proven himself completely unfit to govern and I sincerely hope Canadian voters show him the door in their election next month.
4
I believe that everyone is racist / prejudice at some level / time. Even when I try to be completely objective I am not. Surely there can be no person without something they feel shameful about in their past. We have met the enemy and the enemy is ourselves.
8
I think we understate the kind of killer drive that leads one to try to destroy someone politically and socially with a nugget of impulsive past transgression. They remind me of the people who rounded up "collaborators" at the end of the war in Europe. Yes, they may have been collaborators, and they may have sinned, but what you are doing is far darker and more sinister than anything they ever contemplated. Does anyone seriously think Trudeau is a racist, after looking at his record of the past three years?
8
When I was in college, I went to a costume party as a "bum", complete with fake whiskers and a bundle of possessions on a long stick on my shoulder.
Does this "transgression" of "stereotyping" and "mocking the less fortunate" make me ineligible to hold a job twenty years (and much personal growth) later?
I used to disagree with my more conservative friends who claimed that the "Political Correctness Police" have gone too far.
Not any longer.
32
@Greg
If dressing up as a homeless person is your go-to costume for any fun event requiring costumes, there's definitely something wrong with you. There's a difference between a one-time lapse in judgment and a regular practice, as is the case with Trudeau.
And yes, regular should disqualify you from certain jobs - like say certain ones that require good PR and outreach to voters, including the homeless.
1
The "true north strong and free" has always been racist. Look at the treatment of First Nations in Residential schools, the internment of the Japanese in WW2 and the Chinese Head tax. This is shameful behaviour and he was raised better. He will apologize and he does that well at least. Interesting this is coming out now after years in power. There was no way the Conservative government would have won the last Federal Election. Stephen Harper was disliked so much it was the "anyone but Harper" result. Timing is everything. The return of the Conservative Party would bring a culture of racism and sexism that they don't bother to hide. I'm hoping for a minority Lib/NDP government.
4
@Dawn Copeman
So on US terms basically you're saying you're voting Jill Stein.
Look how that worked out.
1
@Andy not this election. My riding swings from Conservative to NDP every election cycle or so. I will be voting NDP and hoping for a seat gain that will hold the Liberals accountable. Worst case would be a Conservative majority so that is probably what will happen.
@Dawn Copeman
Good plan then. Best of luck.
As for me, I will not pull the lever for anyone who does not have things in their past from which they have learned and grown. I have a hard time spending any amount of time with the puritanical and I sure have no plans to put them in a position to rule over me. I'm 52 and I inherently distrust the perfect or those pretending to be perfect. If I have anything against Mr. Trudeau, it's his extreme hypocrisy (I can accept minor hypocrisy) in these incidents and his pseudo support for the environment.
1
There is ZERO question where Trudeau’s sympathies lie today. He is against racism, sexism, and climate change deniers; he is in favour of recognizing Indigenous rights and the right to love whoever you want. He seeks multilateral solutions to multilateral problems. He stands up to Trump and Xi.
Was he less sophisticated and sensitive as a young man? Perhaps. I can say I was. I was clueless about LBGTQ people, and grinned (uncomfortably) when friends made casual but unmistakably racist comments. Today I know better. My insensitive former self does not mean my present enlightenment is fake or hypocritical.
I want a PM who can grow, and if Trudeau needed to grow up some between then and now, he has. Past mistakes may be evidence of true character, but that is certainly not always the case.
There is a poisonous tendency in politics to castigate as hypocrites people who change their outlook. The same tact is being taken with Biden. Avoid it.
17
How quickly we forget how Democrats eagerly ate one of their own, Al Franken, and the sad after-the-fact regrets of Christine Gillibrand. He’d have done so much to rescue our crippled democracy if he were still in office. He might even be running for president this year. Think about that, genuine Biden alternative.
Don’t expect me to get to fired up over decades old outrage. The self-righteousness is nauseating.
9
@Erich Richter
I'm nauseated by it and I'm not even American. But since the US is so dominant everywhere and more than elsewhere, in Canada, US politics matters to me. I do have a vote in this one, though.
2
The stigmatization of blackface is both justifiable and necessary - in the United States. The United States has a cultural history to answer for, and the rejection of blackface is a social construction arising from the American history of slavery, segregation, jim Crow and racial oppression. Any American caught in blackface should be held to account and the act should not be tolerated.
Canada, however, is not the United States. We know exactly who and what Justin Trudeau is, and a racist he is not. He was doing nothing to disparage people of darker skin and he simply cannot be judged in what is rightly a purely United States context. Doing is is just another form of American cultural imperialism.
3
That makes sense in the US for someone wearing blackface today, but even 20 years ago? Who cares what someone wore to a costume party a long time ago? Times have changed. What are they doing today to solve racial and economic inequality? Getting upset about this is a distraction from solving any real issues. In the US. In Canada. Anywhere.
1
Costumes. Enough about the costumes.
If you think Trudeau's policies are racist or that his leadership has been questionable, then vote for the other people. But come on - enough about the juvenile costumes.
8
I’m finding it ironic that many of the defenders here are also silent when the left constantly goes after white males or others who transgress even the slightest on issues of race.
Is the hypocrisy any more apparent?
10
I do not believe that a high school student in Canada who wore black makeup while singing Day-O, a song made famous by a handsome, famous Black singer, almost 30 years ago should lose their job because of it, whether they are a grocery clerk or a country’s. There is a big difference between the kind of blackface that made fun of Black men and women and a young kid dressing up as a famous, sophisticated singer. And consider the context—apparently no one who watched it—including perhaps Justin’s very famous and liberal parents, thought anything of it. But we live today in the 2nd coming of the Salem Witch Trials where the slightest affront must be punished very harshly.
9
This kind of hyper political correctness is not only ridiculous, it is also a pity to see the NYT chiming into this vilification on it's front page. He did this almost 20 years ago and many of us dressed up in Europe's carnivals portraying all sorts of ethnicities 50 years ago in my school days without meaning any harm. Trudeau has done more for racial diversity than most heads of state. There are certainly more important issues to judge one's fitness for office than student pranks from long ago.
17
The more I read the comments, the more Americans make me sick.
Keep your culture wars out of my country. Your economic and military domination is more than enough. Seriously.
9
How can people support this guy? The hypocrisy is positively overwhelming. Were all of you Trudeau defenders speaking up on behalf of Virginia Governor Northam too? Of course not, because he's a Republican. And Trump, who has never worn blackface, never used a racial slur, never mentioned race, is somehow called a racist, day after day, while Trudeau is so quickly let off the hook. Credibility. That's what's lacking on the Left.
5
In my opinion it is not the gesture of painting your face black or brown that is offensive, but is what you do after you have painted your face that matters.
If you paint your face brown to impersonate a magnificent Arabic prince you are not being offensive
If you do it to impersonate someone that you have enslaved and want make everyone believe that an enslaved life is enjoyable, that is offensive.
We need to see what is important and what not.
5
@Alessandra Massa
"If you do it to impersonate someone that you have enslaved" No American, alive today, has ever owned a slave. Your justification is an effort to justify the hypocrisy of the left when it comes to the place that race, sex and politics collide.
NY Times comments section is filled with people willing to throw morals out the window for Trudeau for some reason.
People are playing mental gymnastics to excuse the Canadian PM on these instances - plural.
Why are we making a special exception, actually two special exceptions for Trudeau?
This is madness.
His father was a former Prime Minister of an industrialized nation. And one incident was from 2001.
To indicate he didn't know better is nonsense.
Why are we lowering the bar on standards of behaviour for Trudeau?
He does not get a pass just because he happens to sit on one side of the political fence.
Moral standards apply to all world leaders, including two-time blackface wearing Trudeau.
What's wrong is wrong.
12
It’s now three and counting
Call for the tumbrils.
A third image of Trudeau in brownface? Oh My God! I know what's going on here. Trudeau really is brown. He's been putting on white face all these years because he figured that was the only way he could get elected. Time to come clean Mr. Trudeau (so to speak ).
3
When black singers sing Irish or French folk songs, do they don white makeup and golden whigs? No. Does Alladin character have to be "brownface"? No. He might or he might not be, he's an Arab after all not a Somalian. Why this rich white boy's being moved to blackface and brownface makeup not dictated by circumstances (he was not playing Othello or King Shaka after all)? - Well, it was precisely b/c for a rich white boy of a privileged background the colored people experiences are only meaningful as something to parody, to make fun of... well, to enjoy playfully and to dismiss in reality. Racist or just insensitive, a cultural appropriation or a mockery, young Trudeau's behavior is disgusting. And from this behavior - a direct line to PM Trudeaus' dancing bhangra on an official visit to India and PM Trudeau's wearing Eid Mubarak socks to a gay parade. This is neither multiculturalism nor support of diversity. It is a clownish behavior that is offensive to those it claims to represent. Shame on you Mr. Trudeau.
4
@Michael
No-one needs your permission. I'm voting with knowledge of the alternatives. Vote as you please. But if Scheer gets in, I'm blaming you.
2
The leader of the Parti Quebecois, a party that advocates the independance of Quebec and the absolute worst enemy of Trudeau, said he didn’t think he was a racist. End of story.
2
@Skiplusse
So Northam is not a racist either?
If this is not a huge issue given the time and setting of the event as a lot of commentators here aver (and I broadly agree), why the heck is this guy apologizing endlessly?!
2
Mom (Margaret Trudeau) goes commando in an infamous 1979 Studio 54 photo while Dad (then Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau) flips the bird to protesters in Salmon Arm circa 1982. Now the cringe worthy family triptych is complete with a picture of junior (Prime Minister Justin Trudeau) in blackface.
5
@Warren
Stay in Mexico. It's all good.
1
@Andy
Haha! That sounds like the new Liberals bumper sticker.
Can we just give this "I wore brownface/blackface/yellowface at party 20+ years ago" a rest. Clearly, nobody would do it today, and even now it is not offensive to me that someone, somewhere at a young age wore it for a themed party - not to denigrate, but to celebreate a movie or theme.
5
The Obama-Trudeau bromance: Enjoy!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpNknqySZl8
3
Oh my, gosh, ….he.....did...wh----YAWN. I saw the photos. Not a drop of intent to bemean in any of them. Not even a hint. Just in costume.
23
I'm sorry, but there's more pressing issues. Yes it sucks that Shane Ellis made fun of Chinese accents, and worse, but good thing he's just a comedian. It sucks that various Virginian politicians donned black face, but maybe they're still doing something to ensure a fair election. It sucks to some people that so much of liberaldom is still dominated by old straight white men, but they're still much better than Trump et al.
C'mon, just today it's reported that Trump may have sold out America to another country and 29% of all birds have died in the last 50 years.
Getting rid of Trump/GOP/Conservative hardliners and doing what we can to salvage earth is a lot more pressing. If Trudeau can slow the death of earth, then at least I get to live longer and get upset about his brown face later. If we're all going to die soon, then there is no later and his brown face is not my biggest worry right now.
7
@William Fang. I hate to tell you, Willy, but the article is about Canada. You might want to hang up your TDS for a while.
@William Fang Finally somesone from the left just admits it. We really don't care what our guys do because they are our guys.
Thank you for your honesty.
1
Oh please - this was not unearthed, or used to sully Trudeau, when he was first elected as it wouldn't have been the "scandal" it is now. It was almost twenty years ago and a lot of people have stuff in there past that they would be shamefaced to have revealed now but hopefully, youthful indiscretions give way to maturity and self-awareness to do better and not repeat the questionable mistakes of our past. I"d rather have Trudeau as PM any day than Scheer who will plunge the country back into Harper politics (zero press briefings was not invented by the Trump White House but somehow Canadian media just sat back and said, "Okay, sorry, it must have been our fault," and run the country as Trump lite. Nope, Trudeau has apologize. Is he really the only adult in the room or cannot the rest of us accept an apology anymore and believe a person is contrite and sincere? And for all of you out West who think the PCs are going to get the pipeline going any faster, they won't. It's a court, BC and indigenous rights conflation that is going to tax any government moving forward.
6
I'm posting this anonymously as worry about backlash. I honestly do not understand how what Justin Trudeau did, at the time he did it, and with the intentionality which one can reasonably infer, is racist? He doesn't appear to be engaged in mockery or disdain. He was presenting a facsimile of a character, and doing so at a time when this was socially acceptable behavior. And, this isn't the same as blackface", which is something entirely different in a US context. Whatever anyone might reasonably believe or perceive about Mr Trudeau, is being a "closeted racist" a serious concern about his character? Is there any substantial data point, other than these unfortunate choices - made decades ago - which affirm such a view? There are those who appear to believe that all we ever are is what we were. Are we seriously willing to deny individuals the opportunity to mature, to grow and develop, to learn from indiscretions? But please educate me. If this transgression supports a narrative that Trudeau is a racist - how is that conclusion derived? I suspect Trudeau's decades old behavior is not proof he's a racist. My humble suggestion is that character assassination ends, and the focus be placed back on the real and substantive issues facing Canadian voters. Finally, for what it's worth, I'm a member of two minority groups. Both of which have experienced a long history of derision, civil right violation and even genocide. I have first-hand experience with acts of hate. This is not that.
11
@Anonymous
Basically one must grow a spine and tell the truth.
Justine Trudeau is not God, so he probably shouldn't be compared with the almighty. He is, and by a very large margin, a much better choice than the alternatives on offer. Because of the 3 party system in Canada, that's even more important to stress than in the US.
Take the lesson, Democrats. Eat your own and enjoy 4 more years of Trump. Or make a grown up choice and rally.
There's not much more to say here.
1
This represents a major if not calamitous crisis for the Liberal Party of Canada, insofar as it associated itself with Trudeau's name and persona to a degree few political parties do worldwide. Over the past few months I've remarked that the Liberals were one affair or scandal away from the political abyss, and this may well push them to that destination.
Justin Trudeau is the Andre Agassi of politics, emphasizing image over everything else. Following this and the SNC-Lavalin affair earlier this year, Trudeau's progressive credentials have been revealed as superficial at best and counterfeit at worst. Indeed, this is a textbook example of a political party and leader visiting misery upon themselves. Gravitas, for whatever reason, has been misplaced or lost regarding Justin Trudeau.
If Canadians have a new Prime Minister in Andrew Scheer on October 22, 2109, the world shouldn't necessarily view the results of this federal election as that we've somehow liberalism; it should be perceived as an example of how governments aren't voted in, but voted out.
What's m
4
If more images of Trudeau in brownface emerge than the ones he has admitted to voters will start referring to him as Justin Un-trudeau, the un-prime minister.
3
Thank god I grew up before smart phones and my friends didn’t take too many pictures at parties...
Whom among us isn’t different from the person we were 20+ years ago—and doesn’t cringe at the memory of some things we may have said or done. Should such acts define who we are today? I think most of us would hope not. There is such a thing as personal growth. People do change.
Revisiting decades-old transgressions when possibly criminal is one thing but stupid and insensitive acts that surface and are earnestly apologized over...?
Trudeau the public servant has shown himself to be thoughtful and considerate in speaking to concerns and trying to help address issues that affect women and minorities. Quoth Maya Angelou, when someone shows you who they are, believe them. He is who he says is, and he’s remorseful for what he did. I believe him. And I don’t think this mistake should void all the rest of him. Nor should it dismiss him from public service.
4
Can’t believe this story is getting so much attention from the world:find someone in your entourage that never did something as Justin did? It was 18 years ago in a country that is not as thin skin as other countries in the world.So maybe he did something that today nobody would accept but in those days,in that time it was part of a party when he was a teacher:come on Aladdin was a cartoon...Watch the Halloween’s costumes in october..
Jean-François Laferté
Terrebonne,Québec
Canada
8
I find the breathless reporting of this (in both Canada and US) so irritating.
Justin Trudeau as a prime minister is one who has never failed to disappoint me. But mainly because he didn't live up to the expectations he set, starting with abandoning his promise to reform the "first past the post" electoral system.
But blackface from 20-30 years ago? Give me a break. I care about his words and actions while in office.
And conservative leader Andrew Scheer says it shows Trudeau is not fit to govern??? Scheer lost my support long ago due to anti-immigrant dog whistling to his supporters.
This is ridiculous.
8
Racial discrimination is human nature. Why so many people in America and Canada are so much concerned with the color of skin? We are all humans. Justin Trudeau is a true liberal. Because he wanted to have some fun with a black face when he was young, it doesn't make him a racist. If someday black people is the majority of the world's population, would they be racists too? Let all people with different color of kin live together happily and peacefully. News media like to create confrontational issues. So they will have more sensational news.
Years ago I had a hero . She was the aunt in Sanford & Son TV series. So for Halloween in Austin,I went as her both to work ( we had a costume competition) & to Sixth Street. I came off an elevator at the hotel I worked ,as two black women were coming on the elevator. I realized I might not be taken in the intent of why I was doing drag in blackface,so I apologized. They told me not to,my intent was admiration for the character. They said the Aunt was a hero of theirs ,too.
So if we go to Halloween as Peppy La Pew, do we insult all French people? It is intent! Going in costume is paying homage. Even the white minstrels who did black face were paying a compliment. It is a waste of effort to fight battles on the point of a needle when people are dying for the lack of training by the police,while children die in their schools ,etc. The public discussion is being hijacked by those who want anarchy/libertarian freedoms to carry on their hate. Don't fall for their preying on us.
3
If this happened to any other liberal candidates Trudeau would throw them under the bus in a second and make them resign. Trudeau is the epitomy of hypocrisy.
9
"Blackface" is an American historical phenomenon, how did America's cultural psychosis get transferred to the rest of the world?
When it's done in Canada, or elsewhere, it is not "Blackface", because Canada and the rest of the world don't share in America's historical sin and guilt.
(Reminds me of Americans insisting on using the terms "African-Americans" to refer to all blacks of the diaspora throughout the world.)
4
I can imagine a costume party where the rule is that you should dress up as any race and gender other than your own, or where you randomly get assigned a race (and/or gender) other than your own. Offensive identities like Nazi and KKK would be banned. Degrading depictions would also be banned. That still leaves a lot of room. With a large enough pool of attendees from any major US city, there would be people from many races. Samuel L. Jackson in "white face" could dress up as Quentin Tarantino, Tarantino in "black face" could dress up as Jackson -- there is nothing inherently wrong with that. I do not think that dressing up should be automatically and inherently taboo. But it seems that the problem is that there has been and is so much racism in the world that such cross-race dressing-up is automatically taboo -- because the worst intentions are automatically assumed. In any case, such representations have, clearly, become taboo. Maybe that is an inevitable effect of positive course correction from centuries of vicious racism. Maybe in 500 years it will be OK.
3
As a Canadian: what a lot of baloney. Can't we work on the environment? The north is melting as we speak.
15
Just imagine that this is the worst case scenario: that JT likes to dress up in blackface, that he does so while well aware of the racial baggage, and that he takes some enjoyment from play-acting as a person from a different race. Maybe he even enjoys the negative attention from people of color, as the payoff for flaunting his privilege. Maybe he still does it, every night, in the privacy of his own home, or with close friends, because he's now aware of the negative optics. Maybe he's just a weirdo who gets a thrill out of seeing his piercing eyes staring out a dark face.
Now, consider this question:
So what?
2
The only positive thing about this, is not Trudeau's apologies (needless, as I am sure he is not and never been the least bit racist). The positive thing is further public proof, that "woke" liberals who excuse what he did (when they would have crucified a Republican/conservative who did the same) are absurd hypocrites. Further, their absurd hypocrisy is on public view, thereby ensuring they will be kept further and further away from political power or influence in as much of the world as possible. Done in by that 'holier than thou' attitude that voters the world over despise. ["Hey Kristen - how did running Al Franken out of office do for your Presidential campaign? What - you actually quit before DeBlasio?]
4
@Richard Excellent comment.
This is taking political correctness to a new level. Does make the NYT look a bit like a tabloid. This is unbecoming.
But granted, I am from a part of the world where these matters are not at the top of the agenda in an election - in particular when they happened almost 20 years ago.
6
This news shouldn't be that important, because it is not racist at all.If a black man puts makeup to be white, nobody cares, but if a white guy puts makeup on to be black, then everybody will be shocked. I think equality is not fair. A canadian neighboor.
3
As a POC, I'm a lot more offended by a person, of any race, dressing up as a caricature of another race than as a particular person of that race. If someone wants to dress up as Kim Jung-Un or Vladimir Putin (to scare people) that's a lot less offensive to me than dressing up as a stereotypical Asian or Native American.
3
@Justin
As a Canadian I couldn't care less about imported culture wars.
1
@Justin He dressed up as Aladdin. That's pretty specific...
4
@Andy The Canadians that I have known don't make it a practice to characterize particular races. Maybe you're the exception.
As a Canadian, we do not share the history of Blackface with our American cousins. In the USA, entertainment was largely segregated, particularly along the US East Coast. This meant that white people could not watch black entertainers - so in their place, they watched white people - like Al Jolson - sing "blackish" music while in Blackface.
Entertainment in Canada was not nearly as segregated as it was in the USA. For instance, blacks were allowed in the same venue - but may be seated in the back of the room (still not right), And black entertainers were not prohibited from white establishments.
It is sad when a Canadian Prime Minister, is viewed through the lens of American history - not Canadian history, which is one of greater tolerance and inclusivity. BTW - I can't stand Justin Trudeau - but in this matter, I think he is getting a bad rap caused by the prevalence of American culture in our Canadian society.
6
Do Americans even realise how irrelevant their questionable values and culture wars are beyond their borders? Honestly makes me wonder.
In Canada this is empty political posturing. It won't sway one vote to candidates Scheer nor Singh.
10
Is he hugging a student in the original picture that was released? I think that is also inappropriate.
2
I will still vote for Liberals any day, even after this. After what Dough Ford has done to Ontario it will be insanity to vote for conservatives. Period !
8
Here’s a way out that keeps the liberals in charge. Pledge that if re-elected he will resign on day 1 and let a successor from his party take over.
2
To quote the bard "Much ado about nothing".
8
I dressed up in blackface for halloween when I was in high school; I also recall dressing as Juan Valdez while in college, complete with a cutout donkey.
Will those incidents be used to judge my character and will I forever be known as an insensitive black man?
Our course not.
4
@Kipper Of course not, unless you decide to run for public office at any level or rise to prominence in your profession. Then you are at risk.
1
@Kipper:
Don't bet it. The wokerati live for this stuff. They'd be only too happy to pillory you.
1
The issue isn't so much Trudeau in blackface and brownface. The issue is how he would have reacted if the same photos surfaced of a member of an opposition party.
And how would he have reacted? Resign now!
13
I don't think blackface is racist.
Tasteless? Yes. Culturally cluess? Yes. Sure to offend? Definitely. Likely to make black people uncomfortable? Yes.
But racism is about theories of racial inferiority or racial superiorty.
Trudeau is reaping what he sowed. Even worse - he's a hypocrite; there's no question that if someone in his cabinet was photographed in blackface, he'd have forced then to step down immediately.
7
I can vote and - more importantly - I can think.
1
Who did Justin Trudeau think that he was playing?
Al Jolson? Lawrence Olivier? Amos? Andy? John Wayne? Chuck Conner? Warner Oland? Marlon Brando?
1
It is incredibly troubling how the masses interpret the negative actions of a person that they feel they identify with.... thank goodness the masses are not sympathetic to people who commit rape/sexual assault... because some people would justify that too—oh wait—
Stop justifying and rationalizing racist outputs...politics aside it was wrong and he was either completely unaware or unconcerned with the history of North America’s assault on black people character through film/print. It’s wrong, it’s okay to make mistakes, it’s okay to learn and grow, it’s not okay to justifying and rationalizing terrible deeds.
3
@Kenneth E I love that you use the term "the masses". You folks are supposed to be on the down low about that stuff.
But seriously, are we talking about justifying real , proven terrible deeds or alleged terrible deeds?
3 times....at this point I’d like to see proof that Trudeau has been to a costume party not in blackface.
5
I'm not sure Canada has the same racial taboos we have in the US.
2
@DC
Ya don't say?
Americans generally are beyond exasperating but reading these comments? I think their best before date has past.
Do you realise Canada is still subject to punitive tariffs as a national security risk to the US? And Americans here expect to be taken seriously?
1
When did Trudeau "cast himself as a glittering spokesman for the world’s beleaguered liberals?" Do you have a link?
3
Don't step down, JT. This will all be over when the next thing that gets the Twitter brigade up in arms about drops.
Remember Virginia's governors black face controversy? Yeah, I thought not.
3
Not that long ago Megyn Kelly was fired by NBC for defending blackface, even though she never wore it herself.
This is now the THIRD time Justin Trudeau has been caught wearing blackface, and he has yet to resign.
Funny world we live in when an American TV station cares more about racism than the Canadian government.
O Canada, indeed.
12
@Chris. I'm no fan of Megn Kelly, but I believe she questioned it, no defended it. It could have led to an interestin discussion, but in our knee-jerk American society, she was booted out.
More overblown hype. This is getting old. Are the Wayan brothers racist for "White Chicks?" The definition of "racism" is becoming wider and wider, encompassing just about everything a person does consistent with their knowledge and upbringing. We need perspective here -- intent matters, and quite frankly, things that have happened years ago are hard to "prosecute" in the media (even though seems to love doing it) as they lack historical context. Anyone commenting here without some kind of bad behavior in their past? I'd hate to be called out for every stupid thing I did 20 years ago (because there's so many!). It's called living.
10
When we are young we are stupid, insensitive and do things that we as grown ups will never ever dream of, approve of or will be proud of. Part of the problem is the environment we grew up in, which sometimes is very insular. I have done my share of stupidities and I am not proud of them either.
The important thing is how we change and behave as we grow up and learn better. Unlike Trump, who never grew up, Justin Trudeau is already a grown up and responsible person and I will vote for him anyday.
6
Oh Canada, I wish this a problem of this magnitude was all the United States had. At least your leader doesn't know everything and can apologize.
6
Not just one evening as a Disney character. Whoever he thought he was presenting to the world is dead.
Sorry Canadians and sorry white people who don't get that it's wrong and was wrong when he did it and that it doesn't matter if he's good looking and charming and seemingly has your politics.
1
Make a statistical analysis with weight --good vs bad he's done. I'm sure he'd come out weighted at least 10:1--good to bad
2
Are you enjoying this as much as I am?
8
@Dante Yes, very much so.
This is not blackface. He was playing Aladdin, a positive character. Blackface is intended to humiliate.
Why has the Times become so sensationalist, often ignoring the real news (e.g. Sen. Sanders-- not his hair-- in 2016.)
6
All my life I've heard white people say they don't see the color of people's skin. And yet there is a seemingly endless parade of photos of them with their skin darkened, albeit for various reasons. I've never seen a black kid dressed up as Washington with his skin lightened. I wonder why that is?
3
I think it’s funny to watch progressives devouring each other. But really, only a humorless snowflake would be bothered by this.
3
I think Trudeau is a gift for the Canadians.
Canadians, look south if you wanna see bonafide raging racism, the real deal with all his cruelty.
Now, can we talk about these UFOs flying around and bewildering our navy fighter pilots. ?
3
The bulk of these comments astound me. I get that for many non-Canadians my country is often portrayed (and portrays itself) as a post-racial paradise and Trudeau is generally adored at the international level, but his discourse vs his actions has been less than desirable. His party, and for the 7th time, refuses to adhere to the Human Rights Tribunal on their discriminatory funding practices toward Indigenous youth. He has bullied female members of parliament (i.e. Jody Wilson-Raybould, Celina Caeser-Chavanne, etc). And now he claims that he didn't know that appearing in blackface (both as a high school student and as a 29 year old teacher) was racist is disingenuous at best. It was racist then, and continues to be racist now. He knows that.
But the public generally doesn't get to see the private Trudeau. The one who mocks protesters at a Liberal fundraiser over the mercury poisoning of the Grassy Narrows Indigenous community. But please continue to remind me, dear Americans, about how ideal and dreamy my Prime Minister appears to be.
5
along with his advocacy to mine the tar pits of Alberta and now his 'black' face 'humor' these actions must have caused his father to be rolling in his grave.
1
Brown face. Black face. Red Face. Yellow face. People, even smart people, good people—even liberals—do stupid things. This penchant to now annihilate any and all who may have done something that may have been racially insensitive, especially with the history of systemic racism imbedded in a culture dominated by the Caucasian race for hundreds of years, is getting tiresome. It's as if everyone, all of a sudden, is miraculously 'woke', which is an absurdity in and of itself.
If anything, I would hope, moving forward, that people today would be more aware and sensitive in how they approach ethnicity, even in a party setting, irregardless of actions in the past. Trudeau is not a member of the KKK, let alone a white supremacist group. He isn't Stom Thurmond or George Wallace or Jesse Helms. He's hasn't lynched anyone, or shot them. How was it done in disrespect or mockery, given the image, given the social mores of the time? You cannot deny that—unless you aren't interested in being fair-minded. The past is what it is. You learn from it or you don't. It's what you do moving forward that says it all. One mistake and you're dead.
Whomever is without sin cast the first stone.
6
@Jim "Whomever is without sin cast the first stone."
Unfortunately, the "woke" don't believe in that or the golden rule.
We all make mistakes and only some grow and mature from them. Trudeau has and you should give him credit for that. The alternative is the morally stunted but non black faced Andrew Scheer
2
Both Intentional and Unintentional Discrimination are wrong.
On the other hand, we may perhaps find more hope in Unintentional than Intentional Discrimination. That’s because the offender may have a better chance of learning from the act of discrimination if in fact it was truly unintentional.
To Learn is to admit fault, to extend sincere apologies, to think deeply what and why it was wrong, and to pledge a firm determination never to repeat the same mistake. That possibility to Learn seems more real in the case of Unintentional Discrimination.
Trudeau seems he can Learn.
5
I am deeply disappointed in Mr. Trudeau's past actions. I heard his apology, and believe that he has remorse for those actions. I will see what his next ACTIONS are to determine sincerity for moving forward.
As for context, timing, experience. I am only slightly younger than my PM; i consider myself fairly well informed and aware. Now. Although i never participated in coloring my face for a costume i can see how it was done back 20 years ago, or 30 years ago for specific situational costumes. I likely wouldn't have questioned it myself at the time, but i have learned that this is not OK.
I do believe that Mr. Trudeau will never do black/brown face again, and i do believe he has been a reasonably ok prime minister. He had a very competent cabinet that worked well. I didn't vote for the liberal party last time; i likely won't this time either but that is because i vote for the candidate, not the party.
I do significantly fear that this revelation (which seems very conveniently timed) will have significant impact on our election and we may end up with something we regret. Mr. Scheer and the CPC does not represent me, my values or my hopes for Canadian progress.
This is a very significant turning point in our election.
2
The worst immigration experience of my life took place in Vancouver airport last year when I was on my way home to the US from China. I don't care how "liberal" the Prime Minister of Canada is or how Canada pretends to be a "liberal alternative" to the US during the Trump era. The border patrol at customs was hostile & machismo, and most Canadians I meet seem to be far more conservative than the average American (even though they're more than happy to utilize their "socialist" health care system).
4
What is the man today and what actions has he taken in office to make Canada and the world better?
I believe in redemption by actions, and few of those demanding his banishment can meet his measure.
The parable of the man branded on his forehead ST comes to mind.
4
All public figures have dirt, but only a small amount comes out. Society has changed, hopefully progressed, since the 2000s, when Mr. Trudeau wore these now unfortunate costumes. He has apologized. The YouTube Right is behaving predictably in response.
Who wants to take down leaders of democracies? Where did these "revelations" originate?
4
Coming on the heels of the click-bait apocalypse over new Kavanaugh allegations, I'm afraid that this story looks like another example of how Twitter is out of touch with general American attitudes. Coming on the heels of Trump's attempt to belittle Trudeau, it may even be celebrated as a vindication of MAGA-dom. Coming on the headwinds of the 2020 election, it seems to demonstrate why a charge of political correctness is every bit as effective as a charge of racism or sexism.
1
It bears keeping in mind that Canada was just recently given the distinction of being the Best country in the world to live in.Due no doubt to Prime Minister Trudeau's Liberal Party policies .
Trudeau has acknowledged that he was wrong, he has said the incidents in question he now sees as being racist and that he is sorry and annoyed at himself for engaging in this behavior. Albeit that he was a teenager when two of the incidents occurred and the third was whist attending a Theme Party as an adult.
Normally I am pretty much PC, but this is way overreach on the part of the media' who I know have to report the news factually' but more annoyingly by those who see everything in life through a prism of pristine progressiveness . As for those on the right their opportunism is sickening given their own record when it comes to issues of race and sexuality.
Canadians have now the same decision to make that we do in the US regarding our Democrats running for President.
Do they want the Best or the Perfect. Trudeau's record on Human Rights and all that matters most to Liberals make him still the Best pick for Prime Minister .
6
Racism vs exhibiting racist behaviour; racial insensitivity; moral relativism; white privilege or more specifically elite white privilege; incorrectly imposing a US Jim Crow history and aggravating factors of blackface onto this harmful instance of brown-face set within Canada's own harmful history of racism and or insensitivity towards people of South Asian or Middle Eastern descent. These are all factors that aggravate, conflate and confound the issue of Justin Trudeau's inappropriate behaviour. This all has to be set within Canada's complicated history of colonialism, immigration and race, not US history of slavery and oppression.
If I could take the liberty of describing our Prime Minister, he is a privileged small-l liberal (of an Adam Gopnik definition) who is the leader of the capital-l Liberal Party who has made mistakes that are clearly not aligned with small-l movements and issues that are in the cognitive horizon of current liberalism. Although some would dispute, I believe he has had his woke moment when it comes to issues of race, women and indigenous issues.
He may not be a liberal trailblazer (clearly considering his behaviour from as recent as 2001), but that not dismiss his sincerity of advocating for change and progress. Neither does it forgive past actions that are and have been hurtful to others; that is up to other small-l liberals and the victims of racism. The terrible irony is that his inappropriate behaviour could result in Conservative government.
1
Yes, let’s destroy him based on a few trivial moments, ignore the good work he has done for minority groups and get a climate change-denying “Conservative” in power. That will advance the cause! Maybe the Conservative will be more woke.
6
The current PM's father, Pierre E Trudeau flirted in his youth with fascism,yet became a statesman who repatriated the Canadian constitution, initiated medical and pension plans for all Canadians, dedicated a ministry to address native Canadian issues, although unfortunately ,sinking the finances of Canada for the ensuing 30 years or so.
This preamble to say that voters best interest would be well served focussing on the country's actual progress rather than obsessing on a picture or a video clip taken 20 years ago. Such trivial pursuit is interfering with a cool headed assessment of the qualities needed to face the challenges Canada will encounter in the coming years. One requirement is continuity on the international front, and Canada has fared well under JT's stewardship. Another issue is finding precisely which priorities mr Scheer will be proposing once elected:looking again into restricting abortion rights, intruding into the intimate life of Canadians, aligning with Donald Trump's immigration views and of course reducing taxes for the well off.
Some comments read here mention mr Trudeau along with the likes of H Weinstein, and even J Epstein. This is obviously off topic, if not libelous. Mr Trudeau has been a teacher who worked for a living, has a great family of his own and is serving his country with dedication and pride.
4
What about Joni Mitchell on the cover of "Don Juan's Reckless Daughter?" Before you give your opinion, read up on why she wore makeup to darken her skin and how the black jazz community positively responded to it. Believe me, I am furious and will protest fiercely anyone wearing makeup, clothing, wigs, fashion, and the like to express a degrading point of view towards to others, but I don't think that's what's happening here with Trudeau. What I see is the ultra left being inflamed to give an edge to the right who really could care less overall about racial justice. Liberals ask how Trump could get elected...it's extreme response from the right to those on the left who are also extreme.
3
Trudeau during his public life has been a fierce advocate for equality, immigrants rights and the equality of races. A video and two pictures from years ago make his more recent ADMIRABLE leadership on the topics meaningless? No way. Apologize. Apologize. Then keep fighting. The groundswell is from groups looking to take him out for political reasons.
In the good ole Disunited States of America we have a leader with no pictures (yet) but is someone who gives us weekly examples of racial intolerance and racial animus. He keeps creeping forward causing long term harm and erosion of our institutions and moral standing. Barely a peep. He has worn down America and the Press. Disgusting
4
First:
Neither of the actors who portrayed the Genie in the movie versions used black face to present the character on screen.
Neither Will Smith nor Robin Williams resorted to darkening their skin for the role.
Second:
Is it time to consider destroying every version of Lawrence of Arabia? Both Anthony Quinn and Alec Guinness are too dead to shame, humiliate and punish. So should we go all Fahrenheit 451 on all offensive movies? Song of the South. Heckle and Jeckle.
Al Jolson?
Of course this is a non-issue. Now if it had been a conservative, or Trump ally, well... that's different!!
3
Really, when you go to a costume party dressed as a Moor, you darken your face. When you dress up as a ghoul, you whiten your face. For God's sake, let's move on. No fan of costume parties or dressing up, but a costume is a costume -- no intent to demean there.
8
@B. Yet, of the hundred or so other people there dressed in "Arabian" costumes, no one else did. Also, please explain the Afro-wigged body-blackened jumping around making faces video.
Funny how the Conservatives are so quick to decry racist incidents from two decades ago—incidents that we now know to be wrong but that many of us incorrectly thought were harmless then—yet, as is the case with the Republicans, theirs is the party racists identify with. At least Trudeau is taking responsibility for his actions and apologizing, instead of crying “fake news” and playing the victim. Scheer may see an opportunity to score some points here, but he’s also revealing a petty Trumpian streak that most Canadians find repellant.
3
As a non-American from a country with no history of black slavery I don't think non-Americans need be as politically correct as those in the former slave state.
But Trudeau has embraced the notion that he represents all things good and liberal, including extreme political correctness.
As such he has trampled on his own professed principles and should suffer the fate of the heretic.
Resign - now.
3
I guess I can't be Obama for Halloween this year without being called a racist or something worse. As a society we are still allowing the color of our skin to separate us when what we should be doing is coming together as human beings, as equals. We are all subjects born on this living planet we call Earth, all of us human, coming together for the greater good. If we did this, if we could just come to terms and actually learn from our own ancestors history of bigotry and hate, blackface or anything else we find racist today would be laughed off at dinner. Is this such a bad idea that it can't exist? Love triumphs over hate.
2
Where does this ridiculousness end? What about the right to freedom of expression?
The man was performing in a pantomime. It was costume. He meant no disrespect to anyone.
We *must* consider intention in speech or freedom of speech is dead.
4
So Am I to believe that no one who we consider a minority has ever gone to a party and wore or said anything that would would be, maybe in jest, meant to depict a white person or maybe even another minority? Be real.
3
Oh Canada. So busy obsessing on the wrongs due South but lacking self awareness. No surprises here. I recall a conversation while on vacation in Maui, of two Canadian couples (white) enlightening a couple of native Hawaiian guys on the ills of white Americans. It was funny like Trudeau... but more so than that... not funny.
5
Trudeau likes to play dress up. Like when he dressed his family up in Indian traditional clothing when they visited India. That was every bit as tacky and clueless as his blackface, though blackface is much worse. Excuses about it being innocent fun just don’t cut it. Being clueless is a big part of a certain kind of entitlement and racism.
1
I am no fan of Trudeau, as a progressive I can't stomach neoliberals. However I am a fan of fairness and reasonableness, and the so called "blackface" or brownface here is not what the politically correct horde of outrage hobbyists suggest.
He's dressed as a rich Arab or Indian, the makeup & costume actually looks great, nice job there. It's honorific not denigratory. (It only makes sense that he'd gravitate toward imitating the privileged class of other cultures.)
Misuse of blackface is properly related to pickaninny or minstrel show denigration, theatrical Jim Crow that mocks Africans as entertainers or servants that do not command any respect whatsoever. This case has none of that in it.
Political correctness is murdering beloved liberal ethical values, it's a travesty of cheesy modern pop-culture misunderstanding of what constitutes the public good.
3
Literally nobody cares, this a US cultural taboo. Irrelevant in Canada.
2
My distain lies not with these minor innocent incidents from long ago but for pandering news outlets like the New York Times who aggrandize minor issues stirring the pot, fueling the world’s escalating divisiveness for their own economic gain.
The shame is on the media not a then school drama teacher playing dressing up.
1
The predominant tenor of the comments here seems to be that it's no big deal, he doesn't have "hate in his heart", and other similar deflections.
But we all know, that if it had been a conservative dressed up in blackface, multiple times, as a 29 year old (not a kid), in the year of our lord 2001 (not the 70's), the same progressives here would be howling for blood. There would be multiple articles explaining the horrible history of blackface and how racist it is, impassioned op-eds by Bouie and Blow about how this person clearly hates black and brown people, etc.
But I'm glad of the comments. Shows that most of the liberals and progressives on this site are blatant hypocrites, and any assumption of moral virtue can be ignored.
2
@KM
Because a Conservative, in Canada, is a lot more likely to be a racist in word and deed. It's a fact conservative hypocrites won't acknowledge because they're... Hypocrites.
1
The fact that he did something stupid and insensitive once (well ok, at least 3 times) when he was younger, still does not compel me to change my vote. He’s still infinitely better than the alternative, so let’s keep everything in perspective. I hope my fellow Canadians are smart enough to not put Scheer in power because Trudeau failed a purity test. We know what happened when people stayed home or voted 3rd party in 2016, rather than hold their noses and vote for Hillary...
4
Yesterday all the comments from the liberals here were "oh he's just doing Alladin, oh he said he's sorry..." What now? Can't wait to hear the "yes but Trump..." nonsense. Let the double standard come forth just as it did in Virginia.
1
This incredible PC madness is becoming a little annoying. People are happy to get offended at everything, they like to pretend they are sensitive. Nobody owes you anything, no matter what colour is your skin.
1
I try to be principled about this. If a Republican dresses in black face or other exaggerated ethnic outfit, I call him out. If a Democrat (or in Canada's case, Trudeau) does it, it's OK with me.
1
Many people to this day don't know that blackface or brownface is racially insensitive. Many people wouldn't know that dressing up as Aladdin and adding make up is racially insensitive. If these people they find out and then apologize, Story Over! Move on!
@toronto joe
No-one needs to bow to these control freaks. Don't apologise, move on!
1
As a racial minority myself, this isn't terribly shocking.
Trudeau comes from the monied class and was groomed and pedigreed in elite (predominantly white) institutions. Their disdain for the poor and minorities manifests itself in such mocking dispalys at parties.
Now there may be trickle of minorities who come to defend Trudeau, whose destructive neobliberal policies are masked in an Obama-like veneer of affability. But one should scrutinize those people of color who come to his aid, for there are racial minorities within these elite institutions who crave to become accepted into this exclusive inner circle of power and are ocassionally rewarded, yet are ultimately despised by those white elites at the top.
3
Yes, it is sad that Justin Trudeau chose to wear these costumes and make up at a Halloween event and for a play 20-30 years ago. I distress however that this is the latest smear campaign engineered by the Conservatives to steer Canadians away from discussing the real issues facing Canadians in 2019: affordable housing, a national pharmacare program, expanded early child care development programs, poverty reduction and of course climate change. We have yet to see the full Conservative platform on these issues - our election is 4 weeks away- its time to focus credible debate on these topics.
5
@Greig
This material is several decades old. If the Conservatives knew about them, they would have brought them up in 2015. They did not.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but this is Liberal party infighting. My money is on Freeland, because she's been extremely thirsty for leadership, much like her backhanded campaign to be named Foreign Affairs Minister.
Like in Ontario, they know that his numerous scandals mean the Liberals aren't going to retain their majority with him as leader. He obviously doesn't want to resign, so they are trying to push him out.
As we have seen in the USA, if a liberal gets caught doing this, it is embarrassing but we can learn to get past it because it was a long time ago. If a conservative gets caught doing it, the world will never be the same and no amount of time will erase the shame.
At the same time, regarding violent criminal behavior, we are told to forgive these things because it's been a long time and the criminal has served their debt to society. We need to even let them vote. But a politician committing the "crime" of merely insulting anyone is unforgiven forever, and it gets treated like it happened yesterday, not decades ago.
15
Sorry but this is so not a thing in Canada - and I am so sorry but we do not enjoin the US's history of minstrel shows and slavery.
Americans are in no way sensitive to vikings and Scandinavians or any other country's cultural past.
4
@Estelle. The minstrel shows toured Canada and the UK.
1
He went to India and wore indian dresses.
I don’t think it was a clandestine camouflage when he did it. If he were to be photographed by a major newspaper then, looks like he wouldn’t have objected. Maybe he didn’t realize then it was being insensitive. Now he knows. It is somewhat unfair to judge someone’s past from the perspective of the present.
On the other side, what should one be offended by? Some of the very things that people are offended now, after some cultural evolution, education, may not have been the things one would have been offended by back then.
It is not as if everyone decided overnight what’s right and wrong — it is also an evolution of opinions. Even in the past, it might have been a judgement call rather than a clear black and white call and maybe he even made a bad call. Maybe he has grown up. South africans got over much worse simply by narrating and accepting what each of them did(truth and reconciliation committee) — Canadians should do the same.
In Canada we elect parties to govern. We actually cast our ballots for the local candidate. The leader's name is only on the ballot in his or her home riding. I'd probably be happier if Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland led the Liberals, but the character flaws of the leader are only a small part of the voting decision here.
"Blackface" is not freighted with as much sad baggage here as in the US, and I hope this revelation will not distract us from electing the most sensible party (or parties) for these perilous times. A minority Liberal government, propped up by Greens and/or NDP, is starting to look more likely. "Only time will tell" is a cop-out, but the best I can do at this point. PMs are not presidents, although sometimes they act that way when they have a majority, so a minority humbling might not be so bad.
4
I really think the issue is that Justin in simply a party boy, son of a prominent politician, and really should not be chosen as the leader of Canada. It makes the country look like a joke.
7
Interesting perspective. More of a joke than the US? Who's the joker here?
1
@Lilly
The saying is "people that live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones".
It is rather ironic that while you criticize Trudeau and the country, you have forgotten that sitting in the Governors Mansion in your state is a duly elected governor that during the Gubernatorial primary and until he was confronted about it, was one of the administrators of a racist/white supremacist web site and continued to espouse those views towards is opposition(Andrew Gollum) during that primary.
Are we to assume then that Florida is a joke?
1
It’s definitely a positive to know he apologized, but the excuse of not knowing what is or is not racism hasn’t gotten others a free pass. It might not be what he wants, or what his supporters want, but I think in some ways it would be appropriate for him to resign. On the other hand, there is President Trump who is an abhorrent bigot and misogynist, who mocks persons with disabilities, brags about grabbing women in their private areas, pays a porn star to keep quiet about their affair so he can win the election, and on and on. No one there really cares. I wonder if Canada will lower their standards like the USA has?
I have no problem with it because it's a non issue. I'd wear black face tomorrow if a costume I chose required it (Michael Jackson ?) because I'm not an American.
That's not insensitive, it's not bowing to a foreign culture of fear and retribution.
Americans shouldn't either but my opinion is Americans must be fearful sheep who aren't great at reasoning and generally lack spine, at least it looks that way. The US military must be some form of overcompensation.
1
I can imagine what the readers would be saying if a similar video of Trump from 1975 appeared. They would be calling for his head.
6
Prime Minister Trudeau’s record on human rights, gender, ethnic and sexual orientation policies are positive, innovative and solid. And, not only from his declarations, but his actions. Mistakes were made, but - big but - as Prime Minister, Mr. Trudeau has made amends and errors of youth should not be held against him. Hopefully, he will be re-elected. Nationalism has to be disappeared from the global stage.
8
@Ted
Trudeau and the Canadian left are intensely nationalistic....whenever the US is involved in any way. Even in the arts, Canadians so resent US influence that they enacted laws requiring Canadian content.
However, the Canadian left acts above nationalism in international security and other international matters. It is easy to be so generous when they rely completely on the US to protect them from the stupidity of their attitudes and behaviors.
1
@Errol
Rely?Hardly!
There is nothing wrong with coloring your face to look like a person of a different ethnicity. Likewise, if everything said about two the Supreme Court members were true, I would not care. Let's back off the hysteria. Meanwhile, I will go back to watching Orson Welles portraying Othello and Fred Astaire portraying Bojangles on the Criterion Channel.
2
I think making an issue of incidents like these is an example of the evil of political correctness. egregious However, in the case of Trudeau, it will be immensely satisfying if this brings Trudeau's political downfall. That is because Trudeau has been an intense user of political correctness in order to advance his selfish interests to attain political power. It is entirely fitting that the chickens come home to roost.
7
"To some, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is a powerful symbol of global liberalism"
...and that's exactly the issue many take with him.
3
The people in the picture are smiling. They clearly are complicit and must be punished as well. This is getting absurd.
6
You know what's really going to further energize conservative voters? Headlines like these.
No, I'm not condoning what Trudeau did, but just like Democrats did with forcing Al Franken to step down, liberals end up cutting off their noses to spite their faces.
Moreover, these kinds of headlines make Trump voters and conservative-leaning voters -- and critical swing voters -- even more certain that a conservative vote is a right vote.
7
@JB
So, essentially you advocate a hypocritical double standard, an intense political correctness demanded of everyone except for those whose political agenda it is to force their political correctness on everyone else.
I applaud you for at least honestly admiting your double standard hypocrisy.
@Errol Quite the opposite, I'm arguing that the left's political correctness will only serve to get Trump re-elected and his ilk elected.
"One showed him at an “Arabian Nights” party, dressed up as Aladdin in brownface makeup and a turban, his arms wrapped around a woman. The picture was taken while Mr. Trudeau was 29 and teaching at a school in Vancouver, British Columbia."
Aladdin was a fictional character in the movies, one had to be brown to portray Aladdin as seen in the movies.
3
Funny thing is that Aladdin was originally a Syrian tale. Last I checked, most Syrians are as fair as JT. But stereotyping is fun.
1
Aladin is a fictional character. What’s next, retroactively classifying every white actor who put on black face to play Othello as racist? And who would be the cultural appropriator, the white actor, Shakespeare, both?
Unless someone can show that Justin Trudeau’s conduct all those decades ago provides an important insight on his current views on race today, this endless trolling for something embarrassing at any point in a person’s past to score cheap political points today needs to end. It diminishes, by dulling, real objections to real instances of racism.
7
When comedian Eddie Murphy put on white face for a Saturday Night Live skit, nobody thought there was anything wrong with it. And they were right. As long as somebody is changing the color of his/her skin for costume purposes and not for ridiculing purposes, in my opinion it’s acceptable. No reason why Mr. Trudeau should be red-faced about his donning a brown face.
4
@Jay Orchard
I agree with you. But did you publicly say the same when Kavanaugh was being confirmed for the Supreme Court?
@Errol
As a matter of fact I did.
Context is all. I had to paint my face and body with "Texas Dirt" to darken my skin for my first professional singing job in the chorus of "The King and I" at the Kansas City Starlight Theater. I guess if I should want to run for office now, I should be prepared for that part of my history to be dug up and used against me by political enemies. Might as well get it out in the open right now, eh? "Let he who is without sin...."
2
Gotta love the moral contortionists from the Left making excuses for Trudeau’s adult (29 years old) faux pas. The fact that he did it when he was a teacher and molding impressionable, young minds makes it even more delicious.
What’s good for the goose is good for the gander...
7
He was a spoiled rich kid. And he was absolutely out of touch.
Blackface has a long history as tool to ridicule dark-skinned human beings. That's why people found it so "funny". That's why he did it.
None of this is really very surprising. Like most contemporary politicians, Trudeau's "beliefs" are more expedient than heartfelt. He is a bit phony.
But his motivations matter less than his deeds and in that regard, he has been a good leader for Canada. What is needed now is a sincere explanation and an honest apology.
4
Much ado about nothing...theatrical makeup, which is close to nothing.
Some people just look for an excuse to be offended. They must be bored, with nothing useful to do.
4
All I have to say to our Fine Young (seemingly) Liberal Hero: Namaste, man!
1
I see a pattern forming here as with many of those in the past whom claimed to be fighting for minorities all while mocking them privately.
5
How about the media lets Canada deal with this. None of our business.
4
@Donna
This is being fought in the media because Freeland took it there. She is, after all, a former journalist and VP at Reuters.
Yes, this is intoxicating for the media and the opposition, but come on - these are really non-events which occurred decades ago. We all do foolish things, we all grow-up, mature, and change, and life goes on.
I recall many amazingly moronic things in my past - but now I am an adult with several degress from the world's top universities (and, admittedly, I still do the occassional moronic thing). Point - perfection is not possible nor desirable in anyone leave alone those seeking to be leaders. Note to media - please find a real scandal . . .
3
Everybody has a dark side. Judge someone by their current behavior. Deep down we all have less than saintly beliefs, attitudes and desires. Imagine if people got in trouble for the porn(legal) they watched. A whole bunch of people will suddenly look like misogynist rapists, but they are not. Don't believe me? How many people enjoy a good shoot 'em up movie or FPS video game? Yet, how many of those fans actually devalue human life, let alone engage in violent behavior? Finally, there are people who don't wear their serious professional hat all the time. If you ever have the opportunity to sit in on a bunch of young doctors talking about patients in a back office, you would be flabbergasted at the disparaging and disrespect way people are described, mimicked and ridiculed. But most of those doctors genuinely care and many have wonderful bedside manners. But one hidden cam and the lot would be dismissed.
1
I am 60. White male. Ivy educated x 2. Worldly to some extent. And, I understand the offense as much as a white male can. But honestly, while I don't think it would have occurred to me to wear blackface at an Arabian Nights party, I don't believe it would have occurred to me that it would be offensive. Or that decades later my entire body of work would be reevaluated because of it.
I guess I am in my own bubble.
626
@Wenga. I absolutely agree with you. 20-25 years ago a white person was not aware that this would be hurtful and offensive. Why not consider the entire body of this young man's work for his country. I have never heard a Republican apologize for anything while a Liberal is hung out to dry. Instead, take a long, hard look at the racist in the White House.
72
@Wenga
Good for you Wenga for recognizing that you exist inside a bubble. It's not your own bubble however, it's the white privilege bubble that envelops so many.
Your next step should be to pop this bubble for yourself and realize that your entire character is affected by it. Those who exist outside the bubble would certainly have known applying blackface was offensive, even all the way back in 2001!
38
@Wenga As Kenny so eloquently put it, it's time for you to pop that bubble. For someone so well educated it would be a shame to stay wilfully ignorant of the state of progress. Always try to do better.
19
I went along with the Aladdin costume, but these additional photos are more significant. Sorry Trudeau, you’re finished.
6
In elementary school, I dressed up as a Native American Indian for a school event (along with the rest of my class). Photos are out there. I am doomed.
If people spent as much energy actually making positive contributions to society as they do trying to tear people apart, we would all benefit from it. Nobody knows what his intentions were when he colored his skin to attend an Arabian Nights-themed party, and those who accuse him of the worst probably have bigger demons within themselves that they should probably give more attention to.
1
Many, and sadly many still on the left, will explain this behavior as a mistake, a lapse in judgement, a miscalculation... etc. All of which are true, and it does offer an explanation. It doesn't, however, offer an excusal.
It is unfortunate that Mr. Trudeau made this decision, but it is his decision alone. And there understandably could be consequences. The takeaway should be that this behavior isn't normal, even coming from political leaders who you align with.
2
Oh please, enough already. The extreme sensitivity and constant IDing with victimization are not the way for any group to grow strong.
6
“This is about as bad news as you can get in a campaign,” he said.
Um, no it's not. It is so completely and utterly not. Everyone get a grip, please.
5
Recent revelations about Trudeau's past confirms his attention addiction
1
How ridiculous are we going to be? We can't live our lives always wondering if one word, or one mask is going to bring us down twenty years down the road. Horrors are going on in this world today and all I can say is: there are so many things to outrage us but we seem to pick the little things. People like pointing a finger because it's so much easier. White privilege? Really? Aren't we the moralists in such an immoral world?
2
This is the height of political correctness! I am brown skinned myself and I absolutely fail to understand why it is wrong for a white man to colour his face or wear a turban in jest. Do the so-called “liberals” have no sense of humour anymore? Trudeau of course fanned the demons that have come to haunt him now, by putting on a show of being extremely (politically) correct and preferring style over substance. But it is this extremely puritanical culture that I abhor.
488
@vnag I totally agree. I have read and watched so many comments about how it is unacceptable to darken your face and to look and act with exaggerated characteristics of a race. I wonder how many of the people making these negative comments have dressed as a woman for Halloween or love movies by a certain African American comic dresses as a woman and looks and acts with exaggerated characteristics of women? How can people continuously say this about race and claim it's so bad and not even mention or notice the parallel with men who dress as woman for laughter.
28
@vnag I can see that you live in Germany, though I do not know your nationality, ethnicity, etc. You may be a German national, an immigrant, or even an expat from the U.S. But let's tweak these facts about Mr. Trudeau a little. Let's assume that one of Germany's national leaders makes, "all in good fun" of course, insensitive or borderline bigoted jokes about Jews. How would German authorities react? Would they laugh it off? I doubt it. I suspect that the German leader would be gone in a heartbeat. How is that any different than Mr. Trudeau's situation? It is clear that you do not understand North American history. Germany had its genocide, but so did North America. North America's idigenous peoples were hunted down and slaughtered. Of course, the story does not stop there. It was not enough to almost exterminate the Native Americans, we brought millions more people of color to North America as slaves who were then brutally treated. I doubt that these stories are unknown to you regardless of your own background or where you live. Why is it, then, that a person from Germany cannot understand that we are just a little sensitive about this sort of thing? "Extremely (politically) correct" or "extremely puritanical culture"? I don't think so. Go back to your history books and consider the series of the genocides that white Europeans have inflicted upon people of color and then tell me that Trudeau was just having fun.
16
@vnag
“I’m not a racist because I have no ill will,” or “This isn’t racism, don’t you get it’s just a joke?” While so many people of African descent around the world have for so long demanded us to cut it out, the more we resist, the more intentional and hurtful our acts of discrimination will become.
A blackface performance grossly exaggerates and belittles Black people’s traits from birth, intended to be funny to the White audiences but demeaning to the Black community. It’s a cowardly act of discrimination that goes hand in hand with white supremacy.
Nevertheless, as shameful as it is, each and every one of us will most certainly be guilty of Unintentional Discrimination at least once in our lifetime.
However, the most imperative of all is what follows next. That is, what do we do subsequent to our Unintentional Discrimination? When we learn from that mistake, we discover hope to eliminate discrimination.
5
Look - the Prime Minister has profusely apologized and berated himself. He’s even changed the spelling of his last name to Trudoh! (ala Homer Simpson). Let it go already.
5
You know it's over when NYT commentators are excusing or dismissing this behavior. Why is it so hard for people to say "yikes, that was a pretty stupid thing to do and he deserves what he gets as a result?" Does it really matter if he was intentionally racist or not? People could be fired for this if they worked at RBC; why not Trudeau who represents his country at the highest level?
6
Let's hope Canadians don't follow the lead of the puritanical American left nor the hypocritical American right and recognize this molehill for what it is : garbage. If not, many of us who fantasize about escaping the USA's flirtation (I hope) with fascism will have to dream another dream.
7
This is an example of the many dangers of partying while white and male. Future politicians and judges beware.
3
.... more like the danger of being monumentally unaware or unconcerned with the history of North America’s constant assault on black/brown people’s character through such mediums (e.g., print/film) where blackface has been used a tool with malicious intent to degrade... when have you ever seen a non-white/non-ivory person depict themselves to be another color—foolishly—. If it was “normal” all color people what be coating themselves with some a color different then their own complexion for entertainment.... since that isn’t the case... you can’t “normalize” racism....think a little “bro.”
Do we need to build a Canadian wall and make Mexico pay for it?
2
The timing of this revelation is notable. The opposition Conservative leader Andrew Sheer is a Trump wanna-be. Sheer outright lies and a look at his policies will take Canada backwards, not forwards. Hopefully, most liberal Canadians see through this attempt to discredit Trudeau as an election ploy. About the "brown" face. It was a costume - an Aladdin "costume" . To go on and on about the impropriety is taking the matter over the top. Trudeau is not a racist and is asked, almost every Canadian can attest to that. His costume was clearly not intended to make a racial or racist comment. At least here in Canada we're not going to overcook this issue (thankfully we don't have Fox news) to skewer our PM on an daily basis. If that's all the opposition can up with, they have a big job ahead of them trying to convince the population that their present leader is a racist. Not going to happen...
19
Sorry. The cluelessness around the Aladdin character getup is exactly what racism IS.
2
@Sam Francisco
kindly explain how and why
1
A decision by someone to wear blackface or brownface is not only racist and insensitive, but it also raises serious questions about the person's judgment and maturity. Is it too much to ask for sound judgment, maturity and tolerance in someone trusted to run a sovereign country? In this sense Justin Trudeau's past behavior reflects on his ability to be an effective prime minister, and Canadian voters should factor this into their election decisions.
78
This happened long ago. People change. In the states there have Congress people who,at one time, were KKK members, white separatists,bigots. Some never changed. A some pretended to change. Others evolved and it was reflected in the policies they supported and the mixture of people they hired to work in their offices.
People do change, they evolve. The question isn’t what he did a couple of decades ago or so, but what he does now.
49
@Robert So do you feel that way about Justice Kavanaugh?
14
@Chris He was in university at the time, we all did things we regret. As a South Asian, I am not offended by what he did 20 years ago.
24
Can someone offer a legitimate reason for putting on blackface or brownface? No. Then why do it? It’s indefensible.
6
I didn't grow up in a racially charged atmosphere. In fact, my parents used to load our car up with foodstuffs to drop off in America's black districts while travelling through to Florida. I first learned about "blackface" in the last year. It's confusing to me why someone would be so offended: the National Geographic has, on multiple occasions, shown natives from other countries wearing "whiteface" and I wasn't the least bit offended. I thought it was cool, like one culture's peoples extending friendship and acceptance to another.
Although I once applied dark foundation purchased from Shoppers Drug Mart out of curiousity to see if I would make a 'hot' coloured woman, I've never applied 'blackface.'
I don't presume to know the intentions Justin Trudeau had when he applied this 'blackface.'
Given the baggage many coloured folks carry about 'blackface,' I feel it may be difficult for Justin Trudeau to now represent Canada's interests on the international stage and be taken seriously -if at all.
I think we’re in the tricky territory that most of us only accept at the distance provided by fiction, as in Shakespeare’s account of the transformation of Prince Hal, a privileged scamp, into Henry V. While youthful immaturity should not be a lifetime license to evade responsibility, that immaturity should not be a permanent disqualification if followed by a path of consistent and genuine growth. As a cross-border observer, I do not know the particular path that Mr. Trudeau’s life has taken, but fairness calls for considering evidence of character growth and not freezing character in the past.
6
Just to remind US readers of how Canadian politics work:
1) Canadians don't vote for PM. They vote for MPs, and the party leader becomes the PM. So a personal scandal is not quite as literal a tie as say in a US election for governor or president.
2) If any Trump supporters are dreaming of a conservative Canadian PM resulting from this, just remember that in Canada conservatives are still normal people and not the radicals they have become south of the border. Any conservative PM would still back universal healthcare, gun control, fiscal restraint, and infrastructure spending while leaving abortion rights alone. They would also battle Trump for his repeated and uncalled-for assaults on Canada.
16
@North your first point is only true in theory. In practice, yes, Canadians vote for who they hope to be PM.
I vote for a party. Based on policy positions.
Not on fallible humans.
It was the time of Disney’s “Aladdin”. No one gave it a thought that our kids dressed up for Halloween in those costumes, which are culturally insensitive. I’m glad we’re more sensitive about it now.
These images: Disturbing, yes. Requiring humility, yes. Unforgivable, no. Context is everything.
27
I have yet to see many leaders and people in power, especially our own president and many of his cronies, apologize for any past behavior. It seems that those who are contrite and genuinely admit mistakes end up gone, and those that "double down" and deny everything stay in power. What does that say about them and more importantly about the media and ourselves?
3
It's disheartening to see how many readers still don't understand why it's offensive and mean to paint one's face the color of another race for amusement. I'm guessing the same people saying they don't care about a politician dressing up in black- and brownface would also argue that reverse racism exists. The issue always boils down to power: who has enough of it to oppress others.
Black- and brownface inherently stereotypes and belittles people of color who have been--and in many cases are still are--institutionally oppressed in North America, Canada included. White people have had power in North America for centuries at this point. Context is irrelevant. It doesn't matter where one chooses to deride people of color; it's still derision and it's always racist.
To what extent choosing to partake in the ageold form of racism known as blackface calls into question the judgment and character of a politician is another question.
89
@Saddened reader we know it's offensive, we know it's childish and thoughtless and we also know he did this 18 years ago with friends at the age of thirty not knowing he would be retroactively punished for the remainder of his days. Are his life and actions full of racist acts? Don't think so. Your history lesson is known to all, and to him. Is there no judgment left today?
31
@Saddened reader I think nowadays most people understand why it's offensive and mean, but this happened twenty years ago. Are you the same person you were twenty years ago? Have you made mistakes? Do you know better now than you did then? It would concern me more if we saw a display of dishonesty and unaccountability like we do from Trump when he makes racist remarks in the here and now.
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@Saddened reader
He was being Aladdin who is a character in a story and more recently a cartoon movie. Can people of colour dress up as Santa Claus?
This happened a few decades ago as well. Are we at the time when we can only dress up as pirates and clowns? Oh wait, pirates were criminals, thieves and rapists so no pirates just clowns and robots.
36
We should be talking about the assault on liberties in Western democracies, the abuse of power of social media companies, endemic poverty in Latin America, etc. Or to be more positive, we should be discussing science, progress and the arts. This issue seems to be inconsequential. Are Canadians like me worse off because of this? Look at Trudeau’s overall record please. Grow up people (particularly in the media).
10
Doesn't matter-- he's of the left, correct? One of the enlightened. They will excuse this up so he can continue.
13
He seems sincere in his apologies, but on the other hand, he was doing this in 2001, when everybody knew better. Like, I can understand some of the cases from the 1900s-60s; blackface was not offensive at the time, particularly if they were raised in small towns, as we’ve seen a number of times. But 2001? He should have known that was unacceptable. Especially as the well educated and traveled son of a Prime Minister from diverse Montreal.
What is more galling is the hypocrisy from liberals and progressives and I am one myself. If this were a conservative, there would be protests and riots in the streets calling for him to resign. You do not excuse and apologize for racism, past or present just because one of your own does it.
9
This is extremely problematic, especially given that Canada's prosperity came from her participation in British colonialism. Britain subjugated the people of North Africa, the Middle East, India, Pakistan and the native people of Australia. Canada profited immensely from beneficial trade arrangements.
As a liberal, Trudeau may have expected a pass to this sort of racist behavior. But really his position of privilege and education makes him responsible to a higher standard.
America made a mistake and allowed our presidency to be diminished by putting an unworthy man in office. Canada should not make the same mistake, Trudeau should resign and stop seeking reelection.
3
@James Holy cow, you might want to pick up a history book. The only trade that ever mattered to Canada was with the United States (a relationship that to this day is regularly trampled by American leaders.) Trade with, say, the entire Indian sub-continent in the 1800s was likely less than trade with the port of Cleveland. Rationalize elsewhere please.
@North I am not saying Canada traded directly with India, rather the wealth of Britain (from oppression throughout her colonies) benefited Canada.
If America's legacy started in 1619, so does Canada's. Money is miscible, money earned by England from oppressing people is used to develop other parts of her Dominion, such as Canada. The money earned from England's direct and indirect role in the slave trade and trade of commodities produced by slavery benefited Canada.
Canada didn't truly stand on their own until 1931 - see below.
In 1931, England put Canada on equal footing with other Commonwealth countries through the Statute of Westminster, which essentially gave its dominions full legal freedom and equal standing with England and one another. However, Britain still had the ability to amend the Canadian constitution, and Canada took time to cut its legal ties to England. Meanwhile, it adopted its own national symbols, like the Canadian flag, featuring the maple leaf, which debuted in 1965.
Justin was young. Those were different days. Times and tenor were different. People did these kinds of things not necessarily to belittle or mock anyone. Oft times it was just to look different and evoke a laugh. But, then, now is also a different time period. The pendulum has now gone completely to the other extreme. We see an innocent prank or silly conduct and decode a deeper meaning out of it where actually none exists.
2
The liberals contorting themselves backwards to defend PM Trudeau's indefensible behavior should ask themselves if they would be quite so forgiving if it was, say, Mitch McConnell who had been caught doing the same exact thing. Just because you share his politics doesn't excuse his actions.
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All Canadian media have been reporting this hysterically as if it's the end of the world. On the contrary, the reactions among the people are otherwise and very collected.
Street interview to mainly brown-skinned people says it all.
" It's wrong but it happened 20 years ago. If his apology is sincere, I will forgive him" Unlike news media report, most dark-skinned people, including TV talk show panel members, seem to be forgiving.
One commentator, brown-skinned, on CBC said:
"Why all-white panel members are discussing this issue? Where are the dark-skinned people in the panel?"
Is she suggesting a more important issue than a blackface issue here?
5
Trudeau grew up with more education and privilege and access to people from all over the world through his father, Pierre-Elliot Trudeau. In his case, as in many of these cases, he knew better, he was raised with more opportunities than many of his contemporaries to understand why Brown face and Black face are wrong, but he was racist enough to do it anyway. He is not a victim of being exposed for unintended racism and bias. He repeatedly mocked people of colour, dismissing their feelings and these are only the very visible instances of racism we know about. He has had immense power and privilege his whole life. It makes you wonder.
Let us turn our attention to the kids that are still being taught by teacher like this, that mock their experiences, treat them differently, discriminate against them. This happened in a school not so long ago. What is this school doing to address the behavior they condoned? Do they actively deal with their history as a private school that housed racist behavior like this?
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Once could be considered careless.....any more than that??
In this century, a 29 year old repeating that behavior and claiming they did not know it was offensive isn’t going to wash. The political class has set these standards for itself and it’s to live by them. Will leave it up to Mr Trudeau as to what actions he will take in light of these revelations.
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For those making a non-issue out of this... you are clearly saying from the liberal left that black face is OK again. So I never want to hear another complaint about Ralf Northam, Sarah Silverman or any of the others who's head you were demanding last month. Leftist, hypocrisy is thy name.
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A person, anyone regardless of their political standing, participating in a fancy dress and painting their face for it is perfectly ok. Hope that’s clear for you.
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@Nearly Normal Good to know you think blackface is OK....
"During the last election, in 2015, his conservative rivals mocked him as an immature celebrity with nice hair. “Not ready,” was their slogan.
But he presented himself as a changemaker after a decade of leadership under the dependable but dour conservative prime minister, Stephen Harper. He went on to give Liberals a stunning victory, expanding the party’s number of seats in the House of Commons from 36 to 184."
Apparently, that can only be explained by his nice hair. Nothing else he could campaign for could have led to such a success.
As for the text in question and his present troubles (if those are troubles), if things as these can harm his chances for re-election, and having in mind his astonishing feat in getting the position, then the prime minister post in CA can best be described as 'easy come easy go'.
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I wonder whether the liberal Canadians in these comments who are standing by Trudeau would be singing the same tune if this same scandal featured the conservative candidate.
Yes, these incidents occurred 20+ years ago, but Justin Trudeau made the decision to dress this way -- repeatedly -- when he was a full-grown adult.
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@C Well, Conservative leader Andrew Sheer said this
Scheer anti-gay marriage speech from 2005
https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1591121475913
PC members are still with him.
@uji10jo Right, but the question is whether the liberals lambasted him for that more harshly than they would have someone of their own party. Not that it matters, but I say this as a far-left liberal -- I just hate the way that people are more willing to accept reprehensible behavior from their own party members.
Back in the 60’s when I was a little (White) girl, I wore a grass skirt for Halloween that my sister found at a thrift shop in the East Village. I made my own lei and tried my best to hula dance up and down the block. For the first time in my life, I felt beautiful.
That’s tainted now.
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The snowflakes have no one but themselves to blame for these controversies.
The blade cuts both ways. If they keep pushing the right will begin to play by their rules and start shaming people and their families, boycotting snowflake businesses etc.
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@John Gilday Rules for Radicals. Make sure your opponent adheres to their own rules.
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“Justin Trudeau … has dressed up in brownface and blackface on multiple occasions … reinforcing a narrative that has dogged him throughout his political career: that he isn’t really who he portrays himself to be.” Few politicians are, have been exactly as they portray themselves to be.
In the previous posting of yesterday most commentators did not find any fault in him because they were part of the costumes he portrayed himself as.
I don’t know why the Canadian voters should be concerned about this rather trivial matter. He ruled Canada for five years commendably. He elevated Canada’s stature in the world. He stood up to president Trump, in a firm but non-offensive manner.
I wish we had a president with about 75% of the caliber and character of Trudeau. Instead we wound up with Donald Trump who is now threatening to continue for another four years, with the numerous low caliber, rather silly Democratic presidential candidates as well as an overambitious Elizabeth Warren who wants it all, seeming to believing that beating Trump “is a given,” which is more a fantasy.
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@A.G. Ah, so your reaction to this is tribal. If Justin Trudeau wears blackface, "he ruled Canada for five years commendably". If Trump were to wear blackface, you'd be up in arms.
This has nothing to do with Trump. This is about Trudeau.
Why must everything be about Trump?
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@James
All I said was Trudeau is a good leader. Ours is a bad leader by comparison.
When we write from here about the leader of our neighbor to the north, is it that bad to compare him to our leader? I am sorry if offended you.
1
Sort of amazing how Canadian politics works -- or worked -- as opposed to the USA. Here in America, this from 20 years ago would have all been uncovered by "opposition research" by the time Trudeau decided to run for dog-catcher, let alone Prime Minister. It is effective, which is why you will see "Gotcha!" politics come to the fore in every nation.
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So I guess its aok that only POC may have recognized the disrespect of stereotyping a mere 20 years ago? Guess their concerns didn’t register then within circles spawning future political leaders. That’s telling but not surprising. Oh Canada!
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There seems to be no filter on the misuse of the term 'Blackface' in this story and the comments. The wearing of black make-up is a questionable act, but is not equivalent to the make-up used in Minstrel shows or Jim Crow shows, whose basic intent was derogatory. Mr Trudeau's errors were similar to those made by Ben Kinsley (as Gandi) or the Waynans as White Chicks, or i suppose all women's roles played by men in Elizabethan theater. These are reasonably honest attempts to portray people who are not of your own race, not an attempt to demean anyone. Actors, by definition almost, never portray themselves, the same could be said for any 'dress up event'. Your son or daughter dressing up as a princess, or prince is not insulting the monarchy nor being pro-monarchist. A poor choice in costume and or make-up is just that, rarely more.
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Question: was the Wayan brothers dressing up in whiteface in a movie a few years ago also racist? Actors playing a role will usually wear a costume to look more like that character. Part of representing someone could involve emulating recognizable characteristics like their style of dress, their body shape, the color of their skin, hair, etc. Would a skinny, clean shaven Santa Claus pass the kid test? Not likely.
Hollywood does this all the time... we 'normal' folks just don't have the same industrial light and magic at our disposal. God forbid anything like the prosthetically endowed alien creatures in Star Wars ever actually make it to Earth... for our sakes, I hope they interpret our attempted emulation of their appearance as the highest form of flattery.
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@beckel I haven't seen the Wayan brothers' film. But there are some exceptions in entertainment.
In Tropic Thunder, Robert Downey Jr. dressed in blackface to make fun of a method actor who takes himself too seriously. The joke being that he had gone to such extremes as to not only do blackface but to think of himself as a black man. Also, It's Always Sunny had the gang wear blackface to make a Lethal Weapon film to make fun of them getting carried away and to make fun of how racist the gang is. If the Wayan brothers were making fun of and saying something smart about racism, or simply making fun of someone who takes things way too far, that's not itself racism and is permissible.
Also, in comedy, you are not really supposed to make fun of a victim. You could tell a self-deprecating joke about a victim or a guest, but it's bad comedy to make them the brunt of the joke. With blackface there is a long history of racism, with it often being whites being racist against blacks. Blackface is racist and not funny, whiteface is kinda funny. Not to say "racism is about power". No, racism is about being a mean spirited jerk who judges people for the color of their skin. Simply that blackface often isn't funny, it's just mean.
@beckel Answer: No, it was not racist. It's the difference between punching up and punching down.
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@beck...Good point about the Wayans Brothers...the assumption here by the PC crowd is that 'Brownface' or 'Blackface' (actually, the term is being misused--'Blackface' was the term applied to Minstrel shows of the late 19th century where clearly, blacks were portrayed in caricature.)is always done to mock or offend...duh? It never occurs to them that, often, it is to compliment.
Decades and decades ago when I was a child, you would see many children wearing Indian feather headresses as part of a Halloween costume. You would never see that now, should not, because of First Nations Reconciliation in Canada and indigenous cultural training. The former practice was offensive to the Indigenous population but these children nor their parents were aware. Now they are.
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@AC Hello.... Your remark seems to take this assumptive position that kids wearing Indian headgear in Halloween costumes is somehow done to mock Native Americans?. Children doing this? Hardly. They are honoring the Native Americans just a African Americans do in donning gorgeous Indian head gear in Mardi Gras celebrations? Look it up. Click images...it's complimentary, not mockery, bub.
@spirited I looked it up on Wikipedia.
...worn by male leaders of the American Plains Indians Nations who have earned a place of great respect in their tribe. Originally they were sometimes worn into battle, but they are now primarily used for ceremonial occasions. In the Native American and First Nations communities that traditionally have these items of regalia, they are seen as items of great spiritual and political importance, only to be worn by those who have earned the right and honour through formal recognition by their people.[1][2]
Hmmm.... looks like hysteria perpetuated by opposing parties and a media that has lost its compass. I celebrate this new age of racial and cultural sensitivity - long overdue - and it’s emerging state of colour-blindness, but I’m doubtful that Trudeau is racist. Maybe a bit entitled, privileged, and inappropriate though.
5
Again, liberals will rush to forgive him, just as they did the Democrats in Virginia. It's only unforgivable if it's a conservative.
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Dear Canada,
We will gladly trade Donald Trump for Justin Trudeau.
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@Jim Bo.
No, no we won't.
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@Jim Bo.
Yes, we will.
Does anybody really thinks that Trudeau did this to demean or humiliate black or brown people?
He was dressed up as a character who has dark skin.
It was silly and insensitive, but does anybody really believe that Trudeau is a racist?
Trudeau is routinely attacked because of his support for minorities and multiculturalism and many of those attacks often come from those who are criticizing him today.
He has apologized and does not try to pretend that this was alright or defensible.
Interesting that this comes it in such a coordinated way in Canada and in the US.
7
This strikes me as PC gone too far.
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Please, give me a break. This is a 20-year-old event. It's time to stop being so hypersensitive and get back to reality.
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@Jimbo I hope you include Trump in your wish, not only Trudeau !
Americans should be more troubled by the case of Senator Elizabeth Warren who passed herself off for DECADES as a Native American...
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This article is clearly designed to provide cover for Trudeau and the Liberals. For example, the last few paragraphs portray the massive SNC Lavalin scandal as something that Trudeau "weathered", and was able to put behind him by summer time. In fact, a mere FOUR WEEKS ago, the ethics commissioner released his report stating that Trudeau had violated ethics laws in the affair. I guarantee you that any conservative leader would be getting the same treatment by the Times, had the shoe been on their foot.
5
This is going too far... nearly everyone has done or said something stupid or hurtful in their past. Unless these thoughtless bad acts are chronic and can be seen to have continued into adulthood and ones profession I'd say take a pass and let it go. Let he or she who is without sin throw the first sin.
NOTE: I am referring (above) to foolish costumes or a youthful misstatement-- NOT sexual abuse or harassment, violence, bullying, or felonies. No one gets a pass for those!
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We’re all human, but there are only so many times you can say, “When I was young and foolish I was young and foolish.” Eventually a pattern is realized. I don’t mean that Trudeau is racist, although blackface has always been racist. Rather I think something more insidious is going on.
Trudeau is not just a tall, good looking white man with money, he was born into power and privilege. He grew up in the Prime Minister’s residence, and since childhood he was told that one day he could, even should, take the office himself. And clearly many Canadians thought so too since there’s no other reason to make a young neophyte the leader of a country’s foremost political party. This is the same attitude that informs the Kennedys, the Gandhis, and all the other dynasties of the democratic world. The danger with people who come from that is that they start to feel the rules don’t really apply to them.
Ok, we’re not talking about Uday Hussein here. Still you can perceive what was going on in Trudeau’s head, despite his youthful lack of wisdom. He must have known that blackface is beyond edgy and bad taste. The point was, he thought he was the kind of guy who could get away with it. It was a display of his privilege and entitlement. That’s why he grinned for the camera. That’s why he has continued to think he can get away with stuff now that he has become PM.
This is why he should not be PM.
2
Come on. I was 29 years old in 1979. Even then, everybody knew that blackfaces were grotesquely racist. There's no excuse.
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Could we have some real news, please?
(I hope my comment isn't too insensitive... but, of course, it will be, today. Someone is always offended, whatever one says. Sp lay it on, all you sensitive folks.)
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Wow, he really went overboard on that Arabian Nights face makeup. Does he know what continent Arabia is on, and did he use ALL of the black shoe polish?
3
There are always enough fools to go around who have nothing better to do than attempt to take down a decent human being in the higher ranks of power. Shame on them!!!
1
@Cherish animals Yes, but the Mueller probe has been completed. Too late to put that cow back in the barn.
i just don't get it. if an Asian woman dyes her hair blonde and put on makeup so that her skin looks whiter, which I often see in Japan, Korea and China, is she a racist?
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@zw
No, but she is being influenced by a racist standard of beauty that says white skin, blond hair and blue eyes are best.
"Glittering spokesman for the world’s beleaguered liberals"?
Is that meant to be contempt for Trudeau? Or contempt at liberals who see themselves as "beleaguered"?
This beleaguered liberal, who doesn't glitter, marvels that a newspaper which is imputed to have liberal tendencies evidently hates liberals.
The headline in the linked Global News story ("Video shows Trudeau in blackface in 3rd instance of racist makeup") seriously lacks journalistic impartiality. Calling it racist is taking a side.
Trudeau called it racist
My first thought was, "C'mon, Dude." I mean, even if he didn't think it was racist, which, it has been for longer than back to when he did it, it's just dumb. He looks like an idiot and it was a stupid thing to do...MULTIPLE TIMES. Disappointing.
When he saw it being a big thing down here he should have gotten out ahead of it.
I'd still trade Trump for him.
6
At the time he put on the blackface he knew it was racist and bigoted, how could he not? He was relying on his white privilege to alleviate any criticism, it was all in good fun, no? Isolated incident? Nope, he's done it before.
Reason to step down? Yes, undoubtedly. It's indefensible behavior.
Will he step down? Of course not, there are plenty of Canadians (and others throughout the world) who will just brush this off as liberal hand-wringing.
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@Kenny B It might be more accurate to say he relied on his political privilege as the son of a liberal Prime Minister.
3
@Kenny B; does he have a history of bigotism? For a national leader to step down I think the transgressions would have to be much worse.
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@Kenny B
You're viewing this through a US lens.
Trudeau was dressing up like Aladdin.
He wasn't doing it to hurt people of Arabic descent.
12
A single act of stupidity is troubling enough. Repetition of the same stupidity through almost age 30 is shocking, incomprehensible and fatal.
I personally find these revelations sickening, because I was a big fan of the elder Trudeau, and I rejoiced when his son ended an incomprehensible and seemingly interminable conservative reign in Canada - Canada, of all places! The country that once welcomed principled fugitives who refused orders to Viet Nam. I know, I spent a sleepless night myself, trying to decide whether to steal away in the night and make a dash from the SF Bay Area to BC, or to follow my orders to an aircraft carrier, where I ended up spending most of 1972, becoming complicit in the aerial massacre of Vietnamese who had nowhere to go, because they were already in their own land. Now when people thank me for my service, I have to bite my tongue.
Just as shocking are efforts in these NYT comments to rationalize the younger Trudeau's behavior as contextually excusable. I knew racist mockery is wrong when I was 12, which was in 1961, a decade before JT was born. No, I wasn't a black living in Africa, I was a Caucasian living in California! I never considered that to be a particularly virtuous attribute, as I assumed it to be a universally shared sensibility. Apparently I was wrong, because the enablers are crawling out of their hiding places in droves, especially in recent years.
This is just one more confirmation that stupidity is hardly limited to regressives.
4
@Migrateurrice Fyi it is not enabling , you may have known better at 12 , most of us do however it does not mean everybody does , it all starts at home , but beyond that what was once deemed acceptable or ignored is now unacceptable . Surely at one moment in your life you did not laugh , joke at some other person simply because they were unattractive , shy , or otherwise different . We are all guilty of those little ugly sins . I disagree enablers are crawling out of their hiding places ; it is not condoning a behavior but looking beyond . If a person is a racist it will be more evident than the stupidity of doing blackface , brownface ; it appears to be a white thing and immature .
Agreed this is a bad image for any politician but one must look beyond it ; is there a history of racism , racist comments , maltreatment towards a minority? This smells like a dirty tricks political ploy ; would Canada be better off with Scheer as PM ? Canadians need to rethink this image and compare where Scheer will take them and especially the minorities . Will he attempt to deport all those Canada accepted when Trump shut the gates here .
@sm Trump has helped usher in the lowest minority unemployment rate ever, and the NYT is willing to call him racist because of his description of Baltimore.
Why do white people do this? because they think brown and black folks are beneath them. They've always done this. Considering the fact that Trudeau grew up in a rich household, was his parents forgot to teach him what is appropriate and what is not? White people love to blame black and brown parents for their children mistakes, e.g. "Biden" who recently said that Black parents aren't good parents. But do white people ever get questioned on how their kids are raised? Never. double standards. It is time for black and brown folks to start demanding respect from white people. It is time we start treating white people as they are beneath us.
2
@V In the '50s, Dakko-chan dolls were adored by Japanese, young and old, and they were flying out of the store shelves.
It's almost a social frenzy and phenomenon. Everybody wanted it.
In the ’70s, Japanese group Channels had a big hit in blackface to imitate black sounds.
Lately, a well-known TV character appeared in blackface to play his idle Eddy Murphy without knowing it's offensive.
Do you think they are offensive and tried to disgrace black people?
I will probably vote for the Liberals because we vote for the party rather than the leader. The Conservatives are just awful and the NDP has no chance. - But what a thoughtless moron Trudeau was in his 20s, any Canadian or American knows that blackface like in the video is horribly racist. Canadians are well aware of the history of blackface, especially an educated man like Trudeau, no excuse there. He should of exposed these photos himself knowing the political climate and to make reparations for his thoughtless racism as a privileged youth. Half of my immediate family is Black, I am deeply offended, I can't stand to look at it. And it was just as offensive back in the 1990s.
5
Oooh end of world!!!. Really, who cares.
1
Time, NPR, NYT now hard to distinguish from Fox News.
If it bleeds, it leads.
If it's blackface, it's front page.
18 years ago?
And now we've got reporters interviewing reporters about their big scoop.
Jouranlistic careerism run amuck.
Almost makes that Trumpism "lamestream media" sound real.
4
What an odd situation: a man who sincerely tries to honour black and brown people by imitating them is hated by the Times and its hound dogs.
Ban Halloween!
2