Feminism, firepower and the PM

deep questions.

The Prime Minister received praise as well for combating the idea “that the feminist movement is female-centric movement,” a proposition which before this week I would have thought the purest tautology. Evidently, as a report in People makes clear, feminism is (also) “beneficial to men and masculinity in itself ” and having a “man in power” tell women that was just “great.”

Trudeau had a wonderful sit-down with the woman who colourized the venerable New Yorker, and attenuated the academic turn of Vanity Fair, Tina Brown. Brown, as noted by many, is an “acerbic” interviewer, proof of which came in her very first question to the feminist Prime Minister: “How does it feel to be cast as world’s big new superhero?”

There are not many politicians who could wiggle off a hook that barbed.

But Trudeau is a rhetorical Houdini.

He responded with a deft verbal shimmy on the “importance of listening,” which won smiles all around while leaving the question about his superhero status entirely unmolested.

Something of a shadow fell over the sweet accord of Women in the World with the intrusion of actual world affairs.

The chemical bombing of Syria started to steal from the event. Trudeau responded to a question on Syria Thursday afternoon by saying he was in some doubt as to the origins of the attack: “There are continuing questions about who is responsible for these horrible attacks against civilians, and that’s why I’m pressing on the (United Nations Security Council) to pass a strong resolution that allows the international community to determine first of all who was responsible for these attacks before we move forward.”

However, by Friday morning, following President Donald Trump’s strike against Assad, the thirst for investigation over responsibility, and the need to press the Security Council, had evaporated.

He supported Trump’s move, plainly saw Assad as the villain, and offered a much invigorated response to the Syrian atrocity: “These gruesome attacks cannot be permitted to continue operating with impunity.”

The Junos, the Women in the World, and Syria – a busy week for the Prime Minister. Feminism and firepower.

The only element missing, and the one I’m sure the world would really like to hear about, was whether he had a one-on-one with feminist-in chief, Hillary Clinton, and what he might have had to offer on her most recent complaint that “misogyny” was a primary factor in her last failed smack at the glass ceiling.

Plus, it might be fun to know what changed his stance overnight from restraint until investigation to full endorsement of missiles into Syria.