racism, ethnicity, and real estate

Racism and stereotyping have been issues within our society forever. Although the amount of racism in our society has decreased within the past few decades, it still exists in many parts of our world today. Stereotyping plays a big role in racism and in general by itself. An example of stereotyping and racism against ethnicity was brought to my attention recently amongst my family members. My grandparents have gotten to the age where living on their own is no longer sensible. They moved into an assisted living home and since then their condo has been on the market. With the real estate market not doing so well, their condo has not been looked at by too many people, except this one couple. My grandparents are 100% German and strict Catholics. But that is not very obvious just by looking at them. A couple that came to look at their condo walked in, took a look around, and the first thing they said was, "we love this condo... but the people that own it are German Catholics. and we will not buy a condo from those type of people". They made that assumption from the various German artifacts and religious crosses around the condo. My grandparents, who are 95 years old and have seen and been apart of much stereotyping and racism in their day, were really upset when they heard what this couple had said about their home. The fact that just because they did not want to move in because my grandparents are German and Catholic was shocking to me. My relatives suggested taking out some of the items that made this couple come to the conclusion that my grandparents are German and Catholic. But my dad said he would not do this because my grandparents are not ashamed of who they are and of their beliefs. These artifacts should not hinder someones decision to buy a home, let alone voice such negative ethnic comments to the home owners instead of just keeping their thoughts to themselves. This just shows that many people today who may not seem stereotypical or racist may deep down have thoughts that hinder them from making decisions because of other peoples race, ethnicity, or their perceived stereotype.