{"id":598,"date":"2017-06-30T22:36:10","date_gmt":"2017-07-01T02:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zatzallfolks.wordpress.com\/?p=598"},"modified":"2017-06-30T22:36:10","modified_gmt":"2017-07-01T02:36:10","slug":"the-prime-ministers-new-so","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zoe.zatz.us\/index.php\/2017\/06\/30\/the-prime-ministers-new-so\/","title":{"rendered":"The Prime Minister’s New Socks"},"content":{"rendered":"

I grew up in the late 90s and early 2000s, so I remember JT meaning Justin Timberlake. He was\/is a great entertainer, and in 2001 he sported a lovely and iconic full-denim suit. As an entertainer going to awards shows frequently, it is no surprise that Justin Timberlake\u2019s fashion choices were analyzed. However, there is a more recent fashion phenomenon surrounding a different JT, who is not an entertainer but a politician \u2013 Justin Trudeau. That\u2019s right \u2013 we are hearing news articles about the fashion statements of the Prime Minister of Canada<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Justin Trudeau has a deep love of novelty socks. Personally, I quite enjoy fun socks (I am wearing snowflake-covered ones at the moment). However, it makes no logical sense for news organizations to focus on a political leader\u2019s socks rather than their policies. Justin Trudeau\u2019s socks have been featured in not one<\/a>, not two<\/a>, but three<\/a> <\/strong>separate New York Times<\/em> articles. Granted, two of them were in the Fashion & Style section, but why are we seeing a political leader in the fashion section of the Times<\/em>? Don\u2019t they have celebrities to cover? I hear Kristen Stewart has frosted tips now \u2013 maybe cover that instead. I was under the impression that when discussing political leaders, we should be discussing their actions, not their accoutrements.<\/p>\n

So, let\u2019s take a look at these bad boys.<\/p>\n

Here are his Eid-themed socks:<\/p>\n

\n

Trudeau wore Eid-themed socks to a pro-Pride church service. #MeanwhileInCanada<\/a>https:\/\/t.co\/nFNdCuH3xA<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/uCk0DcApFH<\/a><\/p>\n

\"jts-socks-size-custom-crop-800x533\"<\/p>\n

\u2014 Nick Ashdown (@Nick_Ashdown) June 25, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here he is rocking maple-leaf socks:<\/p>\n

\"27otr2-master675\"<\/p>\n

Here he is in NATO socks:<\/p>\n

\n

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had NATO-themed socks on today at NATO HQ. I guess he *really* supports Article 5. pic.twitter.com\/TKZaducN6C<\/a><\/p>\n

\"dat3arou0aa7uby\"<\/p>\n

\u2014 Steve Kopack (@SteveKopack) May 26, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And, of course, the very famous Star Wars socks:\"27otr3-master675\"<\/p>\n

Wow, the man really likes his silly socks. Coverage of his socks extends to the Washington Post<\/a><\/em>, Vogue<\/a> <\/em>(who attributed statement-making abilities to Trudeau\u2019s socks), and even across the pond to feature in two posts<\/a> at The Guardian<\/a><\/em>. Elle<\/em>, a fashion magazine like Vogue<\/em>, posted an article about a week ago about Justin Trudeau hugging a puppet unicorn<\/a>. You heard that right \u2013 a puppet unicorn. Elle <\/em>starts out by saying that Canada is \u201cactively trying to ascend to a higher, more magical spectral plane.\u201d All this from giving a puppet a hug. The Vogue<\/em> article is actually on the front page of Vogue\u2019s<\/em> website.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/p>\n

However, Canada\u2019s own newspapers are much less enthralled by the Prime Minister\u2019s socks. CBC, one of the largest \u2013 if not the largest \u2013 news organizations in Canada posted an op-ed<\/a> about Trudeau backing away from his campaign promise to replace the current voting system. The Chronicle Herald, <\/em>another popular Canadian news site, shows this when you search for Trudeau\u2019s socks, and the Calgary Herald<\/em> shows no results at all:<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot\"Screenshot<\/p>\n

But why care about the PM’s socks?<\/p>\n

What is notable is Teen Vogue\u2019s<\/a><\/em> coverage of Justin Trudeau\u2019s presence at Pride in Toronto. They point out that Trudeau\u2019s love of novelty socks wouldn\u2019t be bad if he actually backed up his pageantry. The teen fashion magazine has become quite the politically active magazine, and I want to give them kudos for that. They frequently cover news stories about pressing topics such as LGBT rights, racism, and feminism. When many magazines that claim to be hard news fail to cover LGBT topics, Teen Vogue <\/em>is there to pick up the pieces and run with them.<\/p>\n

I am inclined to agree with Teen Vogue.<\/em> In his op-ed discussing Trudeau\u2019s attendance at Pride, Pablo Mhanna-Sandoval states that \u201clast April, his government also approved export permits as part of a multi-billion-dollar arms sale to Saudi Arabia, a country infamous for their\u00a0repressive crackdowns\u00a0on the LGBTQ community.\u201d In fact, Trudeau has a history of friendliness with Saudi Arabia and Yemen, both of which are oppressive towards their LGBT citizens. He also points out Trudeau\u2019s failings to equitably treat Canada\u2019s indigenous communities.<\/p>\n

I now turn to the TrudeauMeter<\/a> from polimeter.org. On this site, I found 4 campaign promises that Trudeau broke which are troubling and revolve around environmentalism and\/or justice with First Nations. The first is Trudeau\u2019s continuation<\/a> of fossil fuel subsidies \u2013 rather than phasing them out as promised, Trudeau has actually \u201clocked in one recent liquefied natural gas subsidy until 2025.\u201d In his campaign, Trudeau promised additional funding<\/a> for postsecondary education for indigenous students \u2013 but did not do so. Even more troubling is his failure to back up his promise to guarantee First Nation communities veto power<\/a> over natural resource development in their territories. He has also failed to lift the two percent cap<\/a> on funding for First Nations programs.<\/p>\n

According to the National Observer<\/a><\/em>, it is unclear as to whether Trudeau wants to stand up for the Paris Climate agreement. TIME magazine repor<\/a><\/em>ts that Trudeau has broken his promise to reform the country\u2019s electoral system, which has been called a betrayal to his own Liberal Party as the \u201ccurrent\u00a0first-past-the-post<\/a>\u00a0voting system, which generally benefits conservatives who vote in a block for the Conservative Party of Canada, and leaves out smaller and more liberal parties.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In searching for Canadian news about Justin Trudeau\u2019s socks, I came across an op-ed in The Star,<\/a> a very popular Canadian news site. This hilarious op-ed has much of the same sentiment as me. The author, Vinay Menon, is tangibly annoyed at the prevalence of Justin Trudeau\u2019s socks. Here is a snippet from the op-ed:<\/p>\n

Canada, we have a problem on our hands.<\/p>\n

And that problem is on Justin Trudeau\u2019s feet. The endless obsession with the man\u2019s socks \u2014 his\u00a0socks<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 has tiptoed past the point of annoying and is now getting dangerously close to\u00a0someone-hold-a-pillow-over-my-head<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

As far as I can tell, Trudeau\u2019s socks are now running the country. Bow down, citizens, and pledge fealty to your new woolly overlords that come in one-size-fits-all. I mean, why are we even paying taxes? Should we not just divert this money to the bespoke unit at McGregor to help pay for Canada\u2019s future sock diplomacy?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is fine that Trudeau has fun socks \u2013 I am of the belief that fun socks make for fun walks. However, using socks to cover up unfulfilled campaign promises and the continued environmental racism towards First Nations scalds the good name of the fun sock. When we see the fashion choices of a political leader plastered everywhere we look, there is almost definitely something shiftier going on. I\u2019ve got my eyes on your socks, Trudeau. Keep them walking in the right direction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I grew up in the late 90s and early 2000s, so I remember JT meaning Justin Timberlake. He was\/is a great entertainer, and in 2001 he sported a lovely and iconic full-denim suit. As an entertainer going to awards shows frequently, it is no surprise that Justin Timberlake\u2019s fashion choices were analyzed. However, there is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,6,9],"tags":[39,51],"class_list":["post-598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-free-posts","category-from-the-new-york-times","category-post-count-all-posts","tag-justin-trudeau","tag-socks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zoe.zatz.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zoe.zatz.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zoe.zatz.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zoe.zatz.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zoe.zatz.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/zoe.zatz.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/598\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zoe.zatz.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zoe.zatz.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zoe.zatz.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}