Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau caught up in blackface scandal.

The yearbook showing Trudeau in blackface. Time.

Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau faces new scandal as a 2001 photo of him in blackface has been released. Time. The photo was taken at a 2001 gala dinner for the private school Trudeau taught at. It was an "Arabian Nights" themed event but only Trudeau had darkened his skin. The photo emerges when the embattled Prime Minster is preparing for an election. Trudeau has been criticized for racial insensitivity before. 

My Comment:

I'm of two minds on this one. On the one had, I despise Justin Trudeau and what he does to Canada. He's been a terrible Prime Minster and is exactly the kind of social justice warrior that pushes PC crap on other people. To see him get burned by the very fire he was pouring gasoline on is more than a little satisfying. 

On the other, I have never understood the objection to blackface. It always seemed like a major restriction of free speech. Sure it may make people uncomfortable, but most speech makes someone uncomfortable. I hate the heckler's veto in general but in this case it seems like special pleading. Nobody criticized "White Girls" when two black men dressed up as white women. Well, plenty of people did but not because of that, it was a terrible movie... 

I also think that photos from 18 years ago should be off limits. It's practically a lifetime ago and people change in almost two decades. Just because Trudeau thought it was ok to do so 18 years ago doesn't mean he does so today. I am sure pretty much everyone has skeletons in their closets if you go far enough back into the past. 

I do have to question Trudeau's judgement. Saudi Arabians aren't black, they have white skin pretty much. Though they aren't generally considered white, they certainly aren't black either. Coloring his skin doesn't even make much sense.  

And even in 2001, among the liberal elite, blackface wasn't something that would fly, even if you are impersonating an Arab as opposed to a black man. Trudeau was the son of a Prime Minster so he might have thought he could have gotten away with it. And to be fair, until now, he did. 

Will this hurt Trudeau's election chances? I think so. Many Canadians are upset with him. Polling has about 2/3rds of Canadians either strongly or moderately disprove of his performance. Many of the ones that do still approve of him are the very same kind of social justice warriors who hate blackface in the first place. 

I kind of think that Justin Trudeau's political career is over. He's been a terrible Prime Minster and he just pissed off the last group of people that would ever vote for him. I am guessing that after the 2019 Canadian elections, Justin Trudeau's party will lose and lose hard.