It is an illness that strikes without warning — without regard for age, religion, ethnicity, gender, or economic background.
OK, in reality, it isn’t an illness, but for all purposes, it might as well be one.
What am I talking about? Stupidity.
At one time or another, it has affected us all. Sometimes it is only for a brief moment when we are stuck in traffic, and for some reason, we do something without warning or explanation. Contributing factors are often inattentiveness, distraction and inexperience, but in the end, it boils down to just plain old stupidity.
And it seems our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau isn’t immune to the stupidity bug, which probably doesn’t come as a big surprise. There have been more than a few incidents where he has put his foot in it.
That said, it seems the latest incidents that have surfaced seemed like he had a particularly bad case of the stupidity bug.
For those that are not familiar with the story, it has been revealed that Trudeau repeatedly wore blackface, once when he was in high school and another time when he was a teacher at a private school in Vancouver.
The first time, in high school, it was for a talent show performance of Day-O. The next time, in 2011, when he was 29, he dressed up as Aladdin as part of “Arabian Nights” themed gala.
I for one am willing to give the PM a pass on these discretions attributing them to old-fashioned stupidity. Much like Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi, I do not believe these incidents are evidence that Trudeau is a racist. Stupid and insensitive, yes, but not a racist. Especially when you factor in his government’s policy on immigration, as witnessed during the Syrian crisis.
However, what does concern me is that in both of these cases, ( and especially the one at West Point Grey) is that there wasn’t someone who stopped him and said, “Don’t do this, this is wrong and insensitive.”
What does that say about our society?
But I digress. What I really want to say to people is that we still need to keep an open mind. I have always believed a party’s platform and policies are the most important consideration in an election. Leaders come and go, but it is a party’s core beliefs as seen through their policies that you should judge. Certainly, the leader’s character should also be factored in, but elections shouldn’t be won and lost based on charisma.
I guess what I am trying to say is to keep an open mind at the all-candidates forum on Oct. 2. Listen to the candidates, what their party’s platform is, question them before you write them off for a case of the stupidity bug.
In a long campaign such as this, we are bound to see candidates and party leaders on every side of the political spectrum fall ill to the bug before the election.
