"I'm not a racist but......." Do these words make you cringe? Do you just want to leave before they go any further? The best way to tell a racist is when they say “I’m not a racist but……”.
Meeting with so many potential customers on a regular basis, as I do, it doesn’t surprise me when I hear this but it does surprise me how often I hear it and who’s saying it. As REALTORS(R) we cannot go there! We must nip this conversation in the bud before it goes any further. There is a little law called the Fair Housing Act that we must abide by.
- * How do we do this?
- * How do we continue to work with this person?
- * Do we just ignore it and move forward?
- * Do we lay the law down?
I must admit that this always places me in an awkward position. I usually move forward at the speed of light then ignore it but I can never seem to forget it. It changes my relationship with that person.
Just last week I had a potential Buyer, for one of my listings, call me to cancel an appointment with one of my agents. The wife told me that her husband would rather work with a man. Since it was my listing I agreed to meet them over there. The first thing out of hubby's mouth was "I'm not racist but I work with foreigners all day long and I don't want to work with one when looking at houses" then he spit his chewing tobacco out of his mouth. Redneck asshole!! Oops! Did I just say that out loud? Oh well.....Redneck is not a protected class. But my agent, who is Hispanic, is.
My dream is that someday we will learn to appreciate people for who they are not despise them for the color of their skin or the way they speak. I live in the great State of Florida and one of the best things about Florida is that it’s very multicultural. I wish all people would see it that way.
I’m not racist but…………..I do have a vision. That's all I have to say about that. What say you?
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