If you've ever spoken to a real estate agent or apartment manager, you realize that people who often come across as educated and progressive have a strong curre

If you've ever spoken to a real estate agent or apartment manager, you realize that people who often come across as educated and progressive have a strong current of fear-based racism and bigotry. "Good schools" is usually, in my opinion, coded racism. Inevitably, the "good schools" are just white and Asian kids. The classism component is pretty big too. My Nextdoor and Ring apps are filled with (sorry about this, but it's true) white moms complaining about "suspicious" men. Where I live these days, most of the working class and working poor are white, but you know, the "wrong kind of white people" as the joke goes. A lot of construction happens here, and usually it's just contractors knocking on the wrong door or something like that. Complaints about a neighbor down the street who has his rock climbing buddies show up and sleep in their vans in front of his house are super common from these folks as well. And man, if you commit the cardinal sin of having a work truck with signage on the side, well, watch out. We wouldn't want people who work with their hands living here, would we? I'd really hate to see it where I used to live, which is in the South and is dramatically more diverse. My brother's now ex-wife, who despite voting for and advocating for left wing politicians CONSTANTLY, is deathly afraid of black men. She wouldn't ride the bus in affluent neighborhoods in the DC area, because they were "ghetto" (again a coded term for black people being present). In fact, I always noticed that buses in DC were absent white women in general. If you are white and consider yourself progressive on racial issues, ask yourself if you've ever lived in a neighborhood where you were a racial minority. I'd strongly suggest trying it out if you are committed to becoming a better person. I spent my childhood in predominantly black neighborhoods, but I still benefited hugely as a human by living in a mostly Salvadoran neighborhood when I first moved to the DC area. It was affordable, the neighbors were wonderful to me and my kids, and I was constantly invited to parties. I even met former MS13 gang members who were now reformed, model citizens. That was an illuminating lesson on the human condition for me.