Justin Trudeau's woes.

[FloralBunting]

So I'm scrolling through Twitter, and of note currently is that Justin Trudeau groped a reporter some 20 years ago. He's been rather slippery in response to this revelation, and there's a clip of him saying something along the lines of "men and women interpret actions differently and we all have a responsibility to reflect on that".

I'm rather hoping he gets his arse handed to him repeatedly over this, because it's coming across as yet another sleazy brocialist pile of steaming hypocrisy...

"men and women interpret actions differently and we all have a responsibility to reflect on that".

Tbh, I think that's a position a lot of men (and, sadly, women) hold.

I was reading about this today as well. I found myself not knowing what I thought about it, and feeling very unsure. Which is unlike me. I think it's because I wanted to believe that he might actually be a half decent man with regards to women, but maybe male socialisation runs deep and it takes a lot for men to get away from it.

I wonder if there will be many more women who have similar experiences over the years between then and now?

Please don't let him be another Brendan Cox. Although sadly it won't surprise me much if he is. Many good-looking rich intelligent guys are brought up to think that they can have any woman they like. Plus I am naturally wary of 'woke-bros', into which category JT falls. I have met too many men telling me they 'identify as feminists' and then their actions prove the exact opposite.

On Justin. Are there no good men in positions of power?

Oh Justin

This is probably the clearest account of the incident I've seen.

www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/02/justin-trudeau-denies-groping-reporter-music-festival-2000-british-columbia

It certainly seems like something relatively minor, not a Brendan Cox scandal waiting to blow.

But at the same time, there is something I just don't quite trust about Trudeau (not necessarily sexual: just a suspicion that he's not quite what he makes himself out to be, coupled with a streak of narcissism which goes beyond even what you'd think of as business-as-usual narcissism for a successful politician). That said, the alternative, which would be a return to the conservatives who governed before, would be flat-out hideous.

He's totally fake. He just said the right things and smiled a lot, to get himself elected.

I have to confess this was the point at which my vague suspicions crystalised into a firm feeling of "I don't trust this bloke":

Now, Obama did a video, Prince Harry did a video, various national leaders did videos - all of them suitably jingoistic (because they were meant to be jingoistic in a friendly sort of way), but at the same time taking a back seat to the service people the games were about. Trudeau made it all about him.

He's smarmy, can't say I'm surprised.