A case of pots and kettles

Am I alone in wondering what on earth the fuss is about over Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s appearances in black and brown-face images decades ago?

Is this not another case of imposing the judgements of today on incidents long ago when attitudes to what was acceptable were very different?

Is it really a scandal that will doom Trudeau’s bid for re-election as some commentators are breathlessly predicting?

Or is it the case of a young man larking around in an era when this kind of thing was not looked upon in the same way as it is today?

Let me put this into context. In my youth in the United Kingdom, the British Broadcasting Corporation ran a light entertainment program called The Black and White Minstrel Show.

It featured male dancers and singers in black-face performing traditional American minstrel and music hall songs together with females and other supporting artists who did not wear the black make-up.

The show was not a one-off. It ran for 20 years and at its peak had a viewing audience of 21 million. I watched it myself and to this day I do not believe it encouraged me to adopt racist attitudes.

But that was then, and this is now.

The Black and White Minstrel Show would not last a single performance if someone was daft enough to put it on now. It would rightly attract condemnation for promoting racial stereotypes.

If Justin Trudeau turned up at an election rally wearing the black-face he thought was okay back in the 1990s that would be the end of him politically.

Times have changed, and both the BBC and Trudeau know that what was once socially acceptable is now beyond the pale.

Can we really believe the Canadian Prime Minister is a closet racist because of some youthful pranks all those years ago?

There would not be many people who pass through their younger years without doing something which, looking back, makes then squirm.

Remember Prince Harry turning up at a party wearing a swastika armband?

Trudeau has offered a fulsome apology. “I let a lot of people down and I am sorry for that,” he says.

I suppose it’s inevitable that political opponents are going to play it for all its worth. There’s an election on after all.

But in most cases — and especially for people over a certain age — I would say it is a case of pots calling the kettle black.

Dear me, did I let slip a racist remark?