Political or social debate in South Africa tends to be defensive or offensive. On race, people are largely defensive, on sexuality, offensive. This attitude or approach has tended to stifle progress, whether on a personal level or on a larger social level. Those of us who write social commentary often receive the backlash on the issues we raise. As a commentator and political analyst, Eusebius McKaiser is well accustomed with this terrain, and in his new book A Bantu in My Bathroom, tackles the issues with that familiarity.
McKaiser is no stranger to the masses - the chattering masses at least. As a go to analyst and radio talk show host, his name in bookshelves will not be unfamiliar. In his first book, A Bantu in My Bathroom, he confronts South Africa's most thorniest and current subjects with the language and posture of a debater.
What are the hallmarks of a coconut? Are they language, choice of music, self confidence? Is there something wrong about being a coconut? Is it even a topic worth public debate, philosophical or moral considerations? Do maids rank lower than pets in South Africa's suburbia? These are just some of the subjects McKaiser raises.
Although the reader would have come across many of these issues in the opinion pages in South African media, what makes the writing worth reading is the personal and practical take the narrator infuses into it. On the day he handed me my copy, we were headed for lunch, and decided to have it in Parkhurst. After a fair amount of consideration, we ended up at a restaurant which was hosting a large group for a birthday party.
As we sit down, Eusebius comments on how there isn't one black person at the table. "They don't have one black friend?" he says with an incredulous smile. "Maybe he couldn't come today." I offered. But is it wrong to not have black friends in a country full of black people? These are the realities McKaiser confronts and debates in this book.