Moral outrage, anyone?
Moral outrage, anyone?
Let me preface this by saying I am not going to sue anyone nor am I going to stake a civil rights claim or call in the NAACP or anything else. However, we "privileged white people" rarely get to display righteous indignation so I thought I would share something with you. I am looking to rent a two bedroom apartment for me and my three children. (There are no three bedroom apartments within the school district borders and I couldn't afford it if they did. Not that there is any justification or excuse for what just happened, simply so you know all the facts.) So, I called a place that said they would not have a two bedroom available until October but that a one bedroom would be open until the end of the week if I just wanted to get a feel for the place, take the tour. So I showed up and had a little conversation with a woman, mid fifties, white, soon to be proven conservative. When asked, I said I needed the two bedroom for myself and my three children. She balked and said there was a city ordinance against it and she would not be able to rent a two bedroom to a single mother with three kids.
I called city hall.
They said there is no ordinance. They said the apartments are zoned individually based on square footage and they did not care who slept where or what the ages of the people were as long as it did not exceed the maximum capacity for residency. The woman even laughed and said it wouldnt matter if we put cots in the kitchen and kept the bedrooms for our arcade games.
I called the apartment back.
I explained to the woman who answered what had happened that day and what city hall had said. Then I asked "Do you have any apartments available that are zoned for four people regardless of relationship?" Instead of answering she transferred me to the woman I had met with that day. I again explained what city hall had said. She asked me -point blank- what the ages and sexes of the children were and who would be sleeping in which rooms. I said two girls in one room, my son and I in the other. She said she did not think that would be an acceptable situation. I asked very straightforward and clearly "Are you objecting to me sleeping in the same room as my son?" She said yes. I asked if that was the apartment complex policy or her personal opinion. She said it was simply not right for that to happen. She said if they were renting through section 8 the government would frown upon it as well although she was quick to "reassure" me that they do not rent to section 8. I said, "I don't feel that my sleeping arrangements should regulate whether you rent to me or not, but for the sake of argument, my son is autistic." That's as far as I got before she said that if he was special needs then presumably he would need assistance through the night and proximity would be important and of course I could come see the apartment and made an appointment immediately.
So there you go. Plain and simple this was prejudicial, right? Someone's antiquated ideas of separate sexes ( or should I assume the worst and question if she thought I could be a sexual predator?) kept me out of housing because I couldn't possibly move in there after all that could I? I would love to hear some opinions on this...
Let me preface this by saying I am not going to sue anyone nor am I going to stake a civil rights claim or call in the NAACP or anything else. However, we "privileged white people" rarely get to display righteous indignation so I thought I would share something with you. I am looking to rent a two bedroom apartment for me and my three children. (There are no three bedroom apartments within the school district borders and I couldn't afford it if they did. Not that there is any justification or excuse for what just happened, simply so you know all the facts.) So, I called a place that said they would not have a two bedroom available until October but that a one bedroom would be open until the end of the week if I just wanted to get a feel for the place, take the tour. So I showed up and had a little conversation with a woman, mid fifties, white, soon to be proven conservative. When asked, I said I needed the two bedroom for myself and my three children. She balked and said there was a city ordinance against it and she would not be able to rent a two bedroom to a single mother with three kids.
I called city hall.
They said there is no ordinance. They said the apartments are zoned individually based on square footage and they did not care who slept where or what the ages of the people were as long as it did not exceed the maximum capacity for residency. The woman even laughed and said it wouldnt matter if we put cots in the kitchen and kept the bedrooms for our arcade games.
I called the apartment back.
I explained to the woman who answered what had happened that day and what city hall had said. Then I asked "Do you have any apartments available that are zoned for four people regardless of relationship?" Instead of answering she transferred me to the woman I had met with that day. I again explained what city hall had said. She asked me -point blank- what the ages and sexes of the children were and who would be sleeping in which rooms. I said two girls in one room, my son and I in the other. She said she did not think that would be an acceptable situation. I asked very straightforward and clearly "Are you objecting to me sleeping in the same room as my son?" She said yes. I asked if that was the apartment complex policy or her personal opinion. She said it was simply not right for that to happen. She said if they were renting through section 8 the government would frown upon it as well although she was quick to "reassure" me that they do not rent to section 8. I said, "I don't feel that my sleeping arrangements should regulate whether you rent to me or not, but for the sake of argument, my son is autistic." That's as far as I got before she said that if he was special needs then presumably he would need assistance through the night and proximity would be important and of course I could come see the apartment and made an appointment immediately.
So there you go. Plain and simple this was prejudicial, right? Someone's antiquated ideas of separate sexes ( or should I assume the worst and question if she thought I could be a sexual predator?) kept me out of housing because I couldn't possibly move in there after all that could I? I would love to hear some opinions on this...