A photograph has been uncovered by TIME magazine which shows the Canadian prime minister attending an ‘Arabian Nights’-themed costume gala at the West Point Grey Academy in Vancouver in 2001.
Since the photograph came to light, Mr Trudeau has apologized. In a televised news conference on his campaign aircraft, he said:
‘I take responsibility for my decision to do that. I shouldn’t have done it. I should have known better. It was something that I didn’t think was racist at the time, but now I recognize it was something racist to do and I am deeply sorry.’
At the time the photograph was taken, Mr Trudeau was a 29-year-old teacher at the academy. He is shown to be wearing a turban and robes with his face, neck and hands darkened, which of course has caused outrage, and many would say, ‘rightly so’. But allow me to voice a possibly unpopular opinion on the matter…
Before judging Justin Trudeau too harshly, let me tell you this: if anyone has earned the right to do blackface, it’s him. Over the past few years, Trudeau has stacked up more than enough woke points to be able to cover his entire body including his ass cheeks in brown makeup and run naked through the streets of Vancouver, singing ‘Daylight Come and Me Wan’ Go Home’ if he so wishes.
Now don’t get me wrong, if we uncovered a photograph of Donald Trump so much as eating a taco, we should hang him out to dry for cultural appropriation because that level of disrespect coming from a despot like Trump is not OK. But Justin Trudeau wearing the garments of other cultures is another matter entirely. When he does it, it is out of respect. When he donned ceremonial outfits on his tour of India last year, it was done in such a way that showed reverence towards Indian traditions. When he wore a Chinese robe at the Vancouver Chinatown Spring Festival Parade in 2017, he did it as an homage to Chinese history. And when he daubed his face and hands in brown makeup and stuck a turban on his head while placing a comforting hand on a female friend’s chest when he posed for that photo at a gala in 2001, I am in no doubt it was in recognition of his utmost respect towards Arabian folklore, and possibly his love of Disney’s Aladdin.
Apparently, since the Arabian Nights photograph came to light, another one has surfaced of Trudeau again wearing blackface, this time with an afro which he has also addressed:
‘When I was in high school, I dressed up at a talent show and sang “Day-O” [coincidentally, the ‘Daylight Come and Me Wan’ Go Home’ song] with makeup on.’
One significant fact that people are conveniently omitting when they express their outrage at Mr Trudeau’s ‘racism’, is the fact that he was a very young man when that high school photograph was taken, it was a different time, so how could he possibly have been aware of the implications of it?
This also rings true for the Aladdin yearbook photograph. He was only 29. A mere babe! Who, before the age of 30, is mature enough to understand that painting their body in brown makeup and wearing a turban might be perceived to be racist? OK, I’m 22 and I know it’s problematic, but then I am unusually attuned to the sensitivities of PoCs. As a super woke white ally, I have a natural gift for deciphering their exotic ways and am able to empathize with their curious little foibles without being patronizing. Not everyone has this innate talent to really understand their cultures without belittling or talking down to them. Think of me as the Jane Goodall, if you will, of social justice.
The fact remains that Justin Trudeau has done a huge amount of good for Canada as a result of his progressive attitude towards woke culture. He is a beacon of all that is politically correct and as a bonus, he is also tremendously good-looking. He is the Derek Zoolander of Canada. I firmly believe he has earned the right to dress in blackface, use the ‘N’ word, dreadlock his hair, and wear a Native American headdress if he wants to, and the fact that to date he has only done two of those things is an example of just how amazingly woke he is.
