Well, the summer is over and a chill is in the air. I don’t mean the weather, I mean we are having a federal election. It could be that the chills are the thrill of living in a functioning democracy where we get to flex our democratic authority like few in history have been able to do.
But it isn’t that. It is the chill caused by measuring the reality of the election against that potential.
Given the timing of this posting you might worry that I’m going to blather on about Justin Trudeau in blackface. Rest assured, I won’t do that!
Just kidding. Of course I’m going to talk about that.
Why It Matters
Imagine if you belonged to a Group. A smallish Group that you never signed up for. A Group that everyone can see you belong to. A Group that was made fun of by others not in the Group, to the point that in theatre and movies people in your Group weren’t even allowed to represent the people in your Group. That is a result of and a propagation of power and slavery towards the Group.
Instead, people in the majority would dress up like you and mock you and your whole Group. Now fast forward a few years and things are better, though not perfect, and someone dresses up like someone in your Group just for fun. Many in your group would think it was fine, perhaps, but many wouldn’t. That seems fair to me.
It isn’t something the majority would even see. They wouldn’t care if a black person dressed up in whiteface. They don’t have the same history, the same social vulnerability as a group.
Several decades ago a white man took a drug that made his skin turn brown, and he toured through the southern United States. He documented the difference in how he was treated. The very same person. Things he hadn’t even noticed happening before.
Instead of assuming that everyone complaining of barriers and prejudice are whiners, perhaps we need to give them a little credit, and think that perhaps the barriers are invisible to those of us that were born with the magic pass key that opened all those doors. That is what the very polite word ‘privilege’ is really about.
Who Trudeau Really Is
Now, I only like to post when I have something new to say on a topic. Here’s the scoop: I am going to tell you something I don’t even think Justin Trudeau knows about himself ! Yes, this is that… scoopy.
First, the facts:
.1. Justin Trudeau used to be a drama teacher.
.2. Justin Trudeau talks like William Shatner.
.3. Justin Trudeau likes to play dress-up (example: his entire trip to India, where he paraded around in tradition Indian attire to the point that someone had to remind him that Indians don’t dress that way on a daily basis. He couldn’t help himself – what fun it is!)
Now all we have to do is connect the dots. Justin Trudeau is, and always has been, someone who likes to dress up and play pretend. He has, numerous times through his life, used make-up to extend that to black-face costumes.
The only reason I can think of for him not coming out and admitting he likes to dress-up and play pretend is that he isn’t willing to admit that about himself.
Okay, I can see why. My kids like to play pretend, and I love them dearly. Many adults like to buy clothes they don’t need in order to try and put on a little bit of the aura of the brand. If Trudeau wants to be an adult who likes to dress up and play pretend, there are avenues for that, including the theatre. That’s fine. I won’t judge.
Naive or Racist?
If he does go to the theatre, he may notice that no one in a reputable theatre is in blackface or brownface anymore, and hasn’t been for a long, long, long time.
Now some have accused Trudeau of being racist. It is an interesting discussion: is he a racist for doing something that he doesn’t even know at the time is racist? I would say that what he has done doesn’t make him a racist person, but here is the great lesson in this: You can be all squishy and warm on the inside and still deeply offend and hurt others by your actions.
I think it is safe to conclude that he didn’t know it was offensive. If you are the son of a former Prime Minister and you get photographed in blackface posing with two Sikh men, you’ve got to know that people are going to see the photo. Either he was naive or he is so blatantly racist that he wanted to be seen doing it to offend people. The latter seems unlikely.
I must say I was shocked when I first saw the photos, but now what I find most shocking is that it took this long to come to light. Wow. Just think back to 2015. If this had come out in that election, I bet Tom Mulcair would be Prime Minister right now. I bet he is jumping up and down angry that his people didn’t uncover this photo then. How politics have changed since then. Especially for the NDP.
I will add that Jagmeet Singh has done well with this as the first and only visible minority leader. I might have feared he would overplay his hand and been all outrage, which would be a legitimate way for him to feel. He has been smart with his focus on the ‘lived realities’ of those subjected to racism. Good for him. Elizabeth May, in her typical logical style, has also been measured.
The Conservatives are a different story. Here is a top-secret wire-tap of a Conservative campaign office:
Voice 1: Did you hear about the Justin Trudeau blackface thing?
Voice 2: Yeah, wow. [cough] Apparently it’s a really bad thing.
Voice 1: I guess. That’s what the pinko media is saying and all the leaders, too.
Voice 2: What an opportunity for our party! This has got to hit them in the polls, eh?
Voice 1: Yeah, sure.
Voice 2: What’s wrong.
Voice 1: Well, I’m just not sure what it means for us. Like does it mean we get to say all the things we are thinking that we’ve been told for years we aren’t allowed to say out loud, not even on Facebook – unless we are willing to apologize for it, of course. [nervous laughter]
Voice 2: No, no, no! Word is we are going to be even more careful than ever to hide what we really think so we can look superior and bash Trudeau for it.
Voice 1: What! Damn him!
So What?
So basically Justin Trudeau was a naive childish goof. In many ways he still is – that is what his trip to India showed. He probably shouldn’t have been elected leader of his party, but at the time no one wanted the job except Bob Rae, who had his own past people wouldn’t forgive him for, but Bob Rae’s past was public at the time.
Now Justin Trudeau is a goof of a Prime Minister. He really shouldn’t be Prime Minister. This would concern me more, except all the leaders seem like they would be a bit goofy as Prime Minister, albeit in different ways. It has been a while since we had a Prime Minister who wasn’t a goof, come to think of it. I liked Jean Chretien, and he might have been the goofiest of all. That is partly why people liked ‘the little guy from Shawinigan’.
So if Justin Trudeau wants to keep being Prime Minister, I won’t be outraged, which is a little bit sad – it shows how low my expectations are. I think, though, that it would be very interesting – if the Liberals win – for Trudeau to lose his seat. Papineau, say no to Trudeau. What a message that would send.
But if he wants to be Prime Minister, the childish goof in him needs to hear what I say to my kids: we need to be responsible for our actions, even if they weren’t intended. It is how we make people feel that matters. It is the wake we make.
I don’t buy it when people say 2001 was long ago and a different time. No it wasn’t. Not that different. If it was 1901, maybe. Maybe. The heyday of blackface shows was the 1800s, after all. He should have known better, as should we all, but that does require education.
Why education? Because the Golden Rule is garbage. Don’t do unto others as you would have them do unto you. That is only at stage 3 of Kohlberg’s 6 levels of moral development. Do unto others as they would wish. To do that, people need to develop empathy for how others think and feel.
This is where online trolls, if they knew I existed, would say “how am I supposed to know how everyone’s going to feel? I can’t and shouldn’t tip toe around so I don’t hurt all the sensitive little self-victimizing people out there.”
There are limits to what we can expect from others, sure, but racism towards black people? Not exactly under the radar.
There are cases where public dialogue is needed to help those with ‘privilege’ to see what is invisible to them, but in general we should be expected to have a basic level of empathy and awareness, or the sense to give others the benefit of doubt for what they say is an issue. As for polititians, I expect even more. It is fair to judge them not just on intent, but on effect. It is fair to judge them on the level of respect they afford to those that don’t have a magic pass key.
Now, I think Justin Trudeau is actually an empathetic guy. I think he likes to play dress-up and pretend because he like to get into the role of being someone else (okay, and also because he likes attention). That is an empathetic goal.
He was a naive goof because he could be, because he grew up not subjected to racism, or sexism, or likely any form of systemic prejudice. Problems that are real to others were invisible to him.
Justin Trudeau is not alone in that ignorance. I can’t be sure I’m free of ignorance. The thing is that he has offended a lot of people and embarrassed the country on the international stage. That is not pretend, and that is more than just goofy. It is not enough to admit to privilege.
I hope the polititians feel the chill I’m feeling too. I hope they feel the weight and the thrill of representing the broad public in a functioning democracy. I hope that gives them chills. I hope also they feel the chill of our eyes on their public faces. They make far, far bigger wakes than the rest of us make, and those wakes don’t come from their intentions, but from their actions.
