{"id":23866,"date":"2024-07-19T13:28:03","date_gmt":"2024-07-19T13:28:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.anthonydidonato.net\/wordpress\/?p=23866"},"modified":"2024-07-19T13:28:05","modified_gmt":"2024-07-19T13:28:05","slug":"zero-tolerance-for-hate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.anthonydidonato.net\/wordpress\/zero-tolerance-for-hate\/","title":{"rendered":"Zero Tolerance for Hate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After his yard sign was defaced, a Georgia agent stayed positive and focused on turning the incident into a teachable moment for the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was early September 2019 and I was in the midst of a normal, busy day in the office, surrounded by paperwork. I\u2019m the only millennial that I know of to reject paperless progress, and this \u201corganized chaos\u201d has been my life since I got into real estate 16 years ago and refused to take my first broker\u2019s advice to change my look and assimilate into the crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, I\u2019m gay, and I don\u2019t hide who I am. I went against the advice of that broker and gave away Blair dolls and Blair-branded balm and wrapped three Prius cars with my image. All this helped get me cast in \u201cLike a Boss\u201d on Oxygen TV, and I was Honey Boo Boo\u2019s agent on TLC. Now that was a blast!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also became the highest-ranked transaction closing agent in Georgia and the only agent in the central part of the state to ever rank in REAL Trends\u2019 \u201cThe Thousand\u201d list. I can\u2019t go many places in the Macon and Warner Robins, Ga., region without being recognized. People are usually friendly, but when I\u2019ve encountered negative opinions about me, I\u2019ll often use humor to deflect them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So around Labor Day, I was working feverishly, answering my iPhone when my assistant walked in, carrying one of my yard signs with its back facing me. He was hesitant to flip it around. Someone had scrawled on the sign in red paint: \u201cF\u2014k you fag.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The listing was in a rural area, and the 64-year-old woman selling was upset when she saw it. The sign was on a main road where it meets the dirt driveway leading to her property. She took it down and called us. My assistant replaced the sign right away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was the most directly hateful thing I have experienced while working in real estate. But I chose to turn it into a positive experience and share what happened within the industry. I created a post on the members-only Facebook page of the National Association of Gay and Lesbian Real Estate Agents. I wasn\u2019t looking for sympathy, but I was interested in connecting with others who\u2019ve been targeted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was eye-opening to learn that I was not alone. \u201cI\u2019m so sorry. It\u2019s something that we are going to always have to deal with,\u201d wrote one person. \u201cI\u2019ve had this happen to me in my small town,\u201d said another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the post, the Georgia Association of REALTORS\u00ae sent a memo to its members reminding them of Article 10<\/a> in the NAR Code of Ethics. It notes that \u201cREALTORS\u00ae shall not be parties to any plan or agreement to discriminate against a person or persons on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acknowledging that both blatant and subtle discrimination exist should be a core part of every brokerage\u2019s mission. LGBT agents and others from diverse groups who experience discrimination may not be performing as well as they could. It\u2019s important that agents receive training to raise awareness about the biases that agents and clients potentially face because of their background or culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few other tips:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n