For anyone who may be puzzled about the uproar over Justin Trudeau's forays into brown and black face, I strongly recommend the following, which provides a historical context for what are inherently (whether one realizes it or not) racist acts:
For a deeper dive into the topic, take a look at this:
This shows deeply childish and ignorant behaviour. We'll see if Justin pays a price for it.
ReplyDeleteWhile I doubt that he is racist, Owen, that Trudeau would desport himself thus calls into question his intellect, judgement and maturity.
DeleteI daresay Slick's gaffe has increased his popularity here in La Belle Province. They're writing it off as a silly costume he wore decades ago. I ponder whether my fellow Quebecois would afford Scheer the same leniency. I think not.
ReplyDelete-MC
Very interesting, MC. Given their recent legislation that affects so many minorities, perhaps their 'pure laine' is showing.
Delete.. each and every one of us .. can and should, take a trip down our backtrail, with an expert tracker. Our 'sign' will be obvious to the tracker.. but it may be invisible to us. In other words we may wish to be oblivious.
ReplyDeleteWhen I say 'we' I am speaking of my friends, family, classmates, teachers, neighbors when we were young.. say right up to higher education if we got that far or voyaged in that direction. Or as we moved into work environments and/or relocated to new community or county or country. My life and experiences and perceptions and those of my big sister changed drastically numerous times. As a five year old we were basically abducted.. to Toronto Island by our mother who then it seems kind of disappeared, as far as us, forever.. I was a toddler.. 'dad' (I use that term loosely) was MIA .. both Catholics by the by. After Grade 7 and the years of nuns, priests and religious brothers teaching us, I was abruptly relocated to our new family farm.. After 6 wonderful years, I went to University and was exposed to music, wild women, and alcohol. I had my first car by then.. but could drive anything on the planet. Then I went to Banff. Eventually I got pregnant.. ok We did.. and We got married. We ended up back in Toronto, The Beaches. I was divorced.. I have an astonishing son, mucho friends. I have had many 'careers'
My point ? I have a backtrail.. where I saw my first black person. Met my first gay person. Saw my first Asian. Worked for my 1st sociopath. Met a policewoman. Met a trans person .. Had a gun pulled on me. The first knife waved at me.. and so on.. and I went blackface twice to Halloween parties.
Nobody on this planet.. spaceship earth can call me racist.. and I hate to say I aint apologetic about the blackface in 1977. I dressed up as two of my heroes.. Jimmy Hendrix and Lew Alcindor.. I had already read Black Like Me at age 15.. but I had not met a black person.. I had met many a Mennonite and Amish by then and shared a seat on the school bus for 6 years with the coolest Asian Jonathan Wong.. who let me ride his family's quarter horses with him.. and he rode my big hunter like a champ.
What would I know about what was in Trudeau's mind ? Maybe Alladin & the genie inspired him as a kid. I laughed out loud at the stupidity of social media expert Kathryn Marshall, Hamish's wife.. who seemingly from a single photo taken with no premission or credit off young Ms Andreecu's Facebook page was able to declare from her body language, that Trudeau had uncomfortably invaded her personal space.. Kinsella stated he would punch any adult who tried that with his daughter.. and Senator Frum simply made an ass of herself and 'sober 2nd thought' .. as usual.. Houdakis much the same.. Where do we draw a line ? How many dressed up as Indian Chiefs or Pocahontas. Or as Bruce Lee ? Yes yes.. I know who Who Al Jolson was and I know who the Last of the Mohicans was.. and hiyo Silver Tonto.. said the Lone Ranger.. Where does 'cultural appropriation' begin or end ? And racism takes over.. Anybody read Rudyard Kipling lately ? And someone explain 'personal space' to me.. relative to Oscar night bussing and smootching or pussy grabbing.. I have seen a wicked ass face slap applied.. at a social function.. and it put a grin so big it hurt.. on my face.. there would be every male except one fool.. see and defend the immediate reaction and justice of that moment.. no brainer.. never saw that stinkin lout again. Asked her later.. and she said 'he put his hand on my ass' - whap ! Farm girl from Port Dover, Simcoe area.. huge mistake for him.. mebbe he learned something.. or backtrail oblivious ?
We all have such experiences, I suspect, Sal. However, as was pointed out today in a couple of pieces in the Star, there is more than a little bit of hypocrisy in Trudeau's behaviour, owing to the fact that he has been relentless in his judgement of others who have offended:
Deletehttps://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2019/09/20/poof-trudeaus-virtue-signalling-vanishes-in-the-blink-of-an-eye.html
https://www.thestar.com/politics/political-opinion/2019/09/20/a-sanctimonious-liberal-leader-squirms-as-he-atones.html