Justin Trudeau Regrets ‘Peoplekind’: ‘I Made a Dumb Joke’
LONDON — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada is known for pushing boundaries on how politicians deal with gender and the language surrounding it. And he appeared to have done it again recently when he told a woman she should use “peoplekind” instead of “mankind.”
But on Wednesday, days after video footage of the exchange spurred accusations of sexism, Mr. Trudeau told reporters that he had made “a dumb joke.”
“You all know that I don’t necessarily have the best of track records on jokes.”
What was all the fuss about? Here’s a primer.
Maternal love at the town hall
The exchange occurred on Thursday in a town-hall-style meeting in Edmonton, Alberta. The unidentified woman complimented him for recognizing the “ability and power that women actually possess.”
Then she said, “Maternal love is the love that’s going to change the future of mankind.”
The prime minister interrupted her: “We like to say ‘peoplekind,’ not necessarily ‘mankind.’ It’s more inclusive.”
The crowd cheered, footage shows.
“We can all learn from each other,” he said, with a beatific smile.
But others were not having it.
Critics pounce
Much of the derision came from British, Australian and American commentators, and from the conservative and far-right fringes. They accused Mr. Trudeau of “virtue signaling” and political correctness run amok.
A conservative tabloid, The Toronto Sun, accused Mr. Trudeau of “mansplaining” and unfurled footage of what it called the “gaffe-tastic” prime minister’s top three malfunctions.
The American political commentator Ben Shapiro lobbed insults like “idiotic” and “sycophantic.” The Australian conservative commentator Rita Panahi said Mr. Trudeau’s use of “peoplekind” was an attempt to “appease those desperate to find offense where none exists.”
Christina Sommers, the author of “Who Stole Feminism?” and a resident scholar at American Enterprise Institute, posted on Twitter: “Dear [MENTION=4708]Justin[/MENTION]Trudeau Using the word “mankind” is fine. Publicly embarrassing someone for using it is not.”
Robyn Urback, a columnist for CBC News, and Michelle Rempel, a Canadian politician, also scolded Mr. Trudeau.
In an appearance in Ottawa on Wednesday, Mr. Trudeau acknowledged, “I made a dumb joke a few days ago that seems to have gone a little viral.
“It played well in the room and in context. Out of context, it doesn’t play so well, and it’s a little reminder to me that I shouldn’t be making jokes even when I think they’re funny.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/07/world/canada/justin-trudeau-peoplekind.html