By Jon Gericke
It’s time for me to start sharing some opinions.
This morning, 16 March 2018, 702 presenter, writer, author, and man who uses big words, Eusebius McKaiser started his open line as he does just after the news at 9 am. I missed the very beginning of the show and as probably tuned in from around 9:15 am and Eusebius was on a little monologue about certain people not “feeling at home”. This feeling, according to the presenter, was the uncomfortable feeling “certain individuals” get when they are not comfortable at work, at a pub or at any public space. He spoke about how those individuals are experiencing something new as they have always been able to mix with their own kind, be comfortable when they were on public transport or at work. Eusebius then became very serious and reminded these people that that was what other people have experienced all their life – cut to an advert break.
Now note that at no point did the presenter refer to race, sex or religion in his monologue but he did mention that he was a black man and he is often heard saying that he is a gay man.
It has to be inferred that he is referring to white people who are no longer comfortable at work, at the pub or other public space because now there are people of other races in that space. Eusebius’ assertion that people must accept “not feeling at home” was what started to gnaw at my mind.
It’s a common argument that is used:
Because I had it bad, you need to have it bad too.
Because I was spanked as a kid, I need to spank my kids too.
Because I am a vegetarian, you need to give up meat too.
This argument is a poor one, at best.
Eusebius then later in his show, started discussing how, as a black man, he can be a liberal. How can a liberal be happy or demand that a certain group of people, in 2018, must feel like they have no home because that was the way it was almost a quarter of a century ago?
To me, a liberal, and anyone with a sense of decency. should realise that someone is uncomfortable and bring them into the fold, int the family, int the home, so to speak.
Using Eusebius logic, should men make women not feel at home in the workplace? No, as men, we need to make women feel at home at the office, somewhere safe, with no harassment.
Using Eusebius’ logic, is it okay to make a gay man feel unwelcome? No, because it has nothing to do with you if he is gay or not and it would simply be wrong, as a human being, to do so.
So why is okay, Eusebius, if a new group of people do not feel at home?
This is petty revenge and is certainly not a liberal thing to do.
Now I know, if you bother to reply, will use lovely big words to justify your argument, you have a much bigger vocabulary than I do, but it’s not the words that irritated me, it was the thought that you were happy that there are people who are uncomfortable going to work. You might well argue that the point of your argument was to develop a debate, if that was all, then well done. You have me debating.
