Well, some days it just feels like that. The latest in a long line of strange encounters on Planet Earth appeared a few days ago when a well meaning train conductor greeted passengers by saying, "Welcome aboard, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls." This seemingly innocuous announcement was met with a complaint from a `non-binary` passenger, who felt `they` had been excluded by the announcement.
Now I`m afraid I had to look it up but I discovered that `non-binary` people do not identify as male or female and they use pronouns such as `they` or `them` instead of he or she. So the complainant in this case prefers to be referred to as `they.` And they considered the announcement on the train as being sufficiently excluding to lodge the one formal complaint which the railway company received.
("Stand by, Scotty. Phasers on stun.")
Now what might compound the felonious act by the railway conductor is the swift and grovelling nature of the apology issued by the rail company, whose representative said, "Our train managers should not be using language like this and I thank you for bringing your concern to my attention. Please could you let me know which service you are on and I will ensure they remain as inclusive as we strive to be."
In a follow up statement, the train company said, "We are committed to diversity and inclusion in all that we do for our customers, colleagues and communities and we encourage all our on-board teams to welcome all customers." All well and good but how is the `on-board team` supposed to know the identity preferences of each and every one of their passengers? In former posts on here I have sometimes referred to my preference for being identified as a giraffe, gambolling happily across the Serengeti whilst nibbling away at high level foliage - so I would expect giraffes to be especially welcomed aboard any train I might jump on to. Where are we going I wonder? Where will it end? What is our final destination?
("Beam me up, Scotty. There`s no rational life down here.")
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