What's wrong with Blackface?

This week in culture war news, Justin Trudeau, liberal prime minister of Canada, wore black-face 20 years ago.

He looks proud

While conservatives are twisting the knife over what they see as liberal hypocrisy (without recognizing that if they don't defend Trudeau they're being hypocrites too), liberals seem split over whether they should accept Trudeau's public apology or cancel him the same way they did with this guy, this girl, this guy, this guy, this girl, this girl, this guy, and many others.


I already wrote a post about how we're always confusing the symbol for the reality. So in the same spirit, I have to ask the question everybody's too obsessed with the symbol to ask, why did he put black paint on his face?

100 years ago people put on minstrel shows where white people would put on black shoe polish and depict black people as lazy, buffoonish, and superstitious. It was obviously racist, but instead of learning a smart lesson; don't mock entire races of people, society seems to have learned a stupid lesson; don't put black paint on your face!

As I write this I'm just now realizing how much I hate my society. Excuse me while I cry in the bathroom.

Was Justin Trudeau mocking black people like people who put on minstrel shows? Or was he taking part in a costume party with an Arabian Nights theme with belly dancers and middle-eastern music? Let's cancel cancel culture and start talking about real problems again.

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This post is about my society's relentless confusion over symbols and reality. Other examples like this include:

1. "What are you, Gay?" (and tiny American flags falling on the ground)

2. When a liberal politician uses blackface

3. The upsidedown cross and the confederate flag

4. The capital T True meaning of Christmas

5. Swastikas aren't just for Nazis
6. Swearing Children