To the Editor:

Re “With Brownface and Blackface, Trudeau’s Liberal Image Erodes” (front page, Sept. 20):

So now it seems that a man’s entire life, his principles and his politics are to be judged solely on his actions in his teens and 20s. A maturing life be damned! The pranks and bad behavior of your youth shall follow you the rest of your days!

Lost in the outrage over Justin Trudeau’s brownface is the question of what exactly was wrong? Aladdin had dark skin. Did Mr. Trudeau mock him? Did he act like a buffoon or make insulting racist remarks? It seems he simply was depicting a character from a story. What makes him a racist? Was the great actor Laurence Olivier a racist because he played “Othello” in dark makeup?

At Halloween, if I paint my face green and wear a pointy hat, will witches around the world condemn me to hell? Actually, that would be a true witch hunt.

Ellen Shire

New York