I guess it does help to be white

Don't get me wrong: I still think it's socio-economic status and not race that is the source of most of the disadvantage people are "born into". It's why I'm not a fan of race-based affirmative action: It helps black kids from prep schools, but does little for Cambodian refugees.

But I digress.

Yesterday I found myself in the predicament of having to convince a paranoid and skeptical potential land lady with a property management company to let me lease her apartment. On Sunday she called and subjected me to hostile interrogation about my income, since I'm currently a self-employed consultant, and she had only my faxed application to work with.

I've been doing this independent consulting thing for just a little while now, but haven't moved without an "employer" before. I knew proving I could make the rent would be a challenge anywhere, but I'd been doing my best to show up and comport myself as "nice young man" when looking at properties. I know that, when dressed right, and presenting one's self right, people tend not to worry about the paperwork. Many of the property managers I saw said "I'm not worried about you, I can tell." Granted, they ought not to worry. I've got flawless credit.

And that's why it was so humiliating and infuriating to be treated so contemptibly by this lady over the phone on Sunday. But I really wanted this apartment: It was the best I'd seen for the price. So I resolved to get a face to face meeting on Monday, during which I could be my persuasive, clean cut young professional self.

After barraging her with a small mountain of documentation establishing that I could, in fact, afford the place, she started to warm up to me. "Excellent" I thought, "My strategy has worked."

She went on to discuss her real estate business with me, and talked about how the two malls in the area are different. She mentioned that the mall in the less affluent (i.e. middle class) area was going to have its roof taken off to make it an outdoor mall like the one in the more affluent area. She went on to tell me that outdoor malls attract more attractive clientele, and pointed out in a hushed voice with a tone of disgust that at the indoor mall, one hears "so many other languages you think you're in a foreign country". Right. Wouldn't want to shop around all those brown people.

But I didn't say anything. I wanted the apartment and had just won her favor. I didn't think trying to change this 70 year old's ossified ideas on tolerance was going to help my cause. I suppose I'd have been tight lipped if she had said anything else political with which I disagreed.

But it doesn't change how I feel about my silence, which implies assent. While I'd like to think that if I presented myself in the same way with the same words and the same clothes, but happened to look like Cuba Gooding Jr., I'd have done just as well. But the fact is that being a blue-eyed white boy helped me yesterday.