ABC Primetime: What Would You Do? / Are You Proud to be an American?

Probably this thread has already been created before, but I'm incredibly lazy to do a search for it (it's a Friday night, sue me.).

I was watching on Youtube videos of 20/20 Primetime (yes, primetime media, I know how you guys feel about it) and I came across this video that was shot in 2008.

John Quinones sets up an experiment with two actors, one playing a Muslim woman and one playing the store counter man. While I understand it's faked and staged, I can't help but feel that this is true to real life - the reactions are anyways.

What are your opinions on this? How would you have reacted?

Why do people hate Muslims so much that they are willing to readily discriminate against ANYONE who wears a hijab even though they it's been going around for years that the EXTREMISTS were the ones who caused the terrorist attacks?

ATS people are smart, thank goodness... but I'm still expecting a whole wide range of answers.

Who would really be one of the 22 people who wouldn't say or do anything?

It is times like these that make me highly ashamed of being an American.

Being an American is being FREE. Per the constitution, we give equal rights to people of all race, religion and belief, free of discrimination.

We all need to stand up and speak for what we believe in. I'm frankly less ashamed if these 22 people would have taken a clear side - America was founded on a revolution and rebellion against the English, and it is our willingness to SPEAK THE TRUTH that brought America to greatness.

Heck, it's what founded ATS.



[edit on 27-8-2010 by KarlG]

Its staged to see peoples reactions. The cashier and Muslim woman are actors.
If fact its on ABC right now.

I'm proud to be an American.

What does Walt Disney/ABC have to do with the news?
Whats next
Mickey finds Bin Laden
or Minny eats Sea Food from the Gulf?

Is Walt Disney/ABC an American Corporation?

Or did they sell out and built theme parks world wide?

Remember when Foreigners would come to visit Walt Disney Theme Parks in America?

reply to post by KarlG


Absolute crap the whole thing, I work on credit card net works I spend all day every day in stores of all kinds and this don't happen! Setting up people to let there feelings out does not equate to not being served!
some may think serve whom ever you want and support that right but this is a load of crap to play the race card, Show me tape of this for real ! this is one more fake GM truck story,remember Diane Sawyer's story on how GM trucks start on fire when they got hit in the side! The only way to make the trucks burn was with help from a pyrotechnician! Same thing I can twist people into looking like racist,by a simple freedom of serving whomever I want ! Most of the stores I get into are Pakistani gas stations and they are making lots of money! One I know owns over 75 gas stations, If racism was so bad why do they do so well in white neighborhoods all across this country! I have never heard one of them say anything like this has ever happened to them, And I'm with many many of them for long periods of time!

reply to post by KarlG


"Are You Proud to be an American?"

No, I don't hate the U.S. I just don't see the point in being proud. I couldn't help where I was born. It's a silly thing to be proud of. It's like being proud of being a blue-eyed person. You didn't have a thing to do with that so why are you proud? The cards just fell that way. I like it here, but I don't see it as a point of pride that I am a citizen of the U.S.

As to the meat of the OP, I think most American's are scared of Muslims. They have been trained to be afraid of Muslims. I don't think it's merely people being afraid to stand up for others. I think there is a very large swath of our population that simply doesn't care about these people and thinks they shouldn't be here. I don't give American's the benefit of the doubt. I don't give anyone that luxury.

[edit on 27-8-2010 by antonia]

Guess I'll be a silly proud american.

ABC, You Got Some ‘Splainin’ To Do — Now

Was I shocked when I read Andrea S. Lafferty’s article about ABC News sending an undercover photographer into a crowd of Ground Zero Mosque protesters?

bigjournalism.com...

I am an ABC American
I am Above Broadcasting Corporations
I will not fall for the CFR Agenda!

[color=414141]^star
reply to post by KarlG


why didn't they stage this experiment on the public using people with KKK hoods instead? what, not a fair analogy?

some people associate attire with intent. maybe it's not right, i agree. but if you dress like a nazi in israel, you may not be welcome by some.

if you dress like a kkk member in harlem, you may not be welcome by some.

if you dress like a member of a group who killed more than 3000 people in one day in new york city, you may not be welcome by some.

that show edits for ratings and shock value. period.

i don't care for that show too much at all. capitalizing on the underbelly of society, making money off of setting up scenarios to show how bad people are, making us hate ourselves even more, be more mistrustful of eachother, etc...

i've got two thumbs and i'm using them:




[edit on 27-8-2010 by Esoteric Teacher]

I wonder who the media wanted in office?
Oh look it is in the news.

Obama, Democrats got 88 percent of 2008 contributions by TV network execs, writers, reporters

Senior executives, on-air personalities, producers, reporters, editors, writers and other self-identifying employees of ABC, CBS and NBC contributed more than $1 million to Democratic candidates and campaign committees in 2008, according to an analysis by The Examiner of data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.

www.washingtonexaminer.com... 68063.html

I am proud to not be dumb ...

Looks staged to me and with pretty bad acting

I am in canada and i don't see this happening also, so its staged, if it was real, someone would report it to there local news net, not ABC News.

Still all news might be fake watch for signs

I think some people here are actually terrified of people showing real emotion so they poo-poo it, say it's "acting", etc. Anything to avoid it.
No, those weren't real tears. Or real people.
I am sorry some of you feel that way, or in this case don't feel anything.
Have you no sympathy for people being discriminated against or do you agree with the clerk that all Muslims are terrorists somehow?
The woman does not hide her face so making KKK analogies won't stick. Wearing a scarf now makes you a Muslim? My wife wears scarves that way all the time!
I hope that if any of us ever encounter such a situation in real life that we would stick up for the rights of the person being discriminated against. To simply tell the cashier to Eff off doesn't help. To rationally talk to the cashier might get him to change his mind and open his heart a little. Some people did, and those people I am proud of.
Don't be so cynical as to think that this doesn't reflect real life. Sometimes TV does actually portray reality.
I can remember a great deal of mindless hostility towards Arabic people and Muslims not only right after 9/11 but also during the Iran hostage crisis. Japanese-Americans during WW2 were treated even worse, if you don't know the story please look it up.
If we will not stand up for our fellow citizens who will we stand up for? Who will stand up for you or me?
Safeguarding our rights and freedoms is OUR responsibility, not the Governments'.

Am I proud to be an American? No, Am I proud of American Ideals? Yes.

Star and flag. If our rights aren't important then nothing else is. thanks KarlG

[edit on 28-8-2010 by Asktheanimals]

It's called 'nationalism' and it ebbs and flows from generation to generation. Much of the oscillation is dependent on the state of affairs at the time.

For instance, the so-called Greatest Generation that both survived the great depression and fought WW2 are mostly incredibly proud of being American. But look for the same in the generation that fought Vietnam and endured Watergate, and you'll find the pride tempered with distrust of government and seasoned with a dash of anger.

You have to take each in context of the times in which they live and in the case of the here and now, 9.11 is a very big part of the American experience. The issue with the GZ mosque is a prime example of this. It has absolutely nothing to do with racism or religious bigotry. These are nothing but political ID tags.

If you really need an analogy to get the feel for this, just try to imagine asking to park a memorial to the Enola Gay in downtown Hiroshima, Japan...

The human condition does not respect the coronation of kings or the legislation of ridiculous law. It is what it is and always has been. For the life of me, I cannot understand why anyone would want even their mosque in that corner of NY to begin with. Only a fool would expect their NOT to be a problem.

In fact, if you walk up even to the most gentle, passive person you know and scrape open a scab, pour salt into it and then stick it with a fork, you will get a negative reaction.

But... that would be his fault to begin with, right?

*sigh*

I'm proud to be me, and since I live in America, America in turn gets to have some of my radiating light

Originally posted by Asktheanimals
I think some people here are actually terrified of people showing real emotion so they poo-poo it, say it's "acting", etc. Anything to avoid it.
No, those weren't real tears. Or real people.

I am sorry some of you feel that way, or in this case don't feel anything.
Have you no sympathy for people being discriminated against or do you agree with the clerk that all Muslims are terrorists somehow?
The woman does not hide her face so making KKK analogies won't stick. Wearing a scarf now makes you a Muslim? My wife wears scarves that way all the time!
I hope that if any of us ever encounter such a situation in real life that we would stick up for the rights of the person being discriminated against. To simply tell the cashier to Eff off doesn't help. To rationally talk to the cashier might get him to change his mind and open his heart a little. Some people did, and those people I am proud of.
Don't be so cynical as to think that this doesn't reflect real life. Sometimes TV does actually portray reality.
I can remember a great deal of mindless hostility towards Arabic people and Muslims not only right after 9/11 but also during the Iran hostage crisis. Japanese-Americans during WW2 were treated even worse, if you don't know the story please look it up.
If we will not stand up for our fellow citizens who will we stand up for? Who will stand up for you or me?
Safeguarding our rights and freedoms is OUR responsibility, not the Governments'.

Am I proud to be an American? No, Am I proud of American Ideals? Yes.

Star and flag. If our rights aren't important then nothing else is. thanks KarlG

[edit on 28-8-2010 by Asktheanimals]

No problem Asktheanimals.

And I completely COMPLETELY agree with you.

America = American ideals. DON'T GET ME WRONG, ATS, I am SO FREAKING PROUD to be an American.

You have no idea how I see the beauty and radiance of America and I put my hand to my chest and realize that this freedom, this happiness, this joy of life and strength of perserverance is what our Founding Fathers worked for.

And yet, now, it is being destroyed both from the outside and inside. From the outside, by the terrorists - the PHYSICAL destruction.

But the true success of the terorrists is their causing the arrival of the bigots - the destruction of the INSIDE, the destruction of the American ideals.

Yes, rmb the Japanese-Americans internment during WWII. and the Italians too. Remember what happened right after 9/11.

What's worse is, these sort of violences and discriminatory behaviors are happening EVERY SINGLE DAY. And we don't get to see them. We don't get to see the abuse, mostly verbal, psychological, sometimes physical.

I am PROUD of my American ideals. I am NOT proud of the people who call themselves "American" and do these kinds of bigotry. I am PROUD of the people who stood up to defend the woman, to defend the woman's RIGHTS, to defy the terrorists and their intentions to create chaos within America.

I am NOT proud of the people who deny and not realize the rotting of America's Constitution.

reply to post by KarlG


It's natural Human Nature to "stick to your own" .. whether you admit it or not, everyone is the same.. we stick to people that share our ideologies, religion, ethnicity, race, sex, social status etc.. Yeah, there are obviously going to be exceptions, and some more so than others, but it's integral.. its part of who we are. We are a pack/clan species, it's genetic.

What WE do, that is us in the "West" try to go against this natural order.. we try to beat ourselves, overcome our animal instinct. In fact, this is the very definition of what it is to be civilized.

But to be surprised by racism, bigotry, idiocracy of various levels is to forget what we are first and foremost, yes before we are Westerners, Americans, Christian, Muslim white or black.... we are Animals

reply to post by Esoteric Teacher


Excellent point in regards to attire Esoteric. I was going to call you ET, but eh....

I have had a similar argument with a friend of mine not to terribly long ago. The premise was the difference between bigotry and racism. I argued and still argue that Americans, along with the ratings hungry news (blame the ratings system for the 'news' we have today by the by...) to take such a powerful word and knock it down to the misnomer it is today.

The scenario I presented to my friend was the following:

You are at an ATM machine and its around dusk. Lighting is tricky at that time of hour. As you are using the ATM, you catch out of the corner of your eye someone just walking down the street. Their attire is very baggy pants that are hanging around their rear, a 'hoodie' sweatshirt and they have the hood pulled over their head. You can clearly see that the person is black. Now: Are you being a racist for allowing your mind to begin to formulate the possible outcomes of the situation? Or are you being discerning by using judgement and judging the person as a threat?

Would your thinking be different if it was a white person? Would it matter? The thought exercise was to show that we, as people and humans will judge someone based a lot on attire and stereotypes, but that does not make us racist, just merely bigots. It is what allows us to fight or flight in a situation, but the media wants you to believe you are a full fledge racist: In that matter, meaning you believe you are superior to that person walking down the street that you have deemed in your mind a threat to the situation at hand....silly

Sorry for the rambling

Originally posted by ownbestenemy
reply to post by Esoteric Teacher

 

Excellent point in regards to attire Esoteric. I was going to call you ET, but eh....

I have had a similar argument with a friend of mine not to terribly long ago. The premise was the difference between bigotry and racism. I argued and still argue that Americans, along with the ratings hungry news (blame the ratings system for the 'news' we have today by the by...) to take such a powerful word and knock it down to the misnomer it is today.

The scenario I presented to my friend was the following:

You are at an ATM machine and its around dusk. Lighting is tricky at that time of hour. As you are using the ATM, you catch out of the corner of your eye someone just walking down the street. Their attire is very baggy pants that are hanging around their rear, a 'hoodie' sweatshirt and they have the hood pulled over their head. You can clearly see that the person is black. Now: Are you being a racist for allowing your mind to begin to formulate the possible outcomes of the situation? Or are you being discerning by using judgement and judging the person as a threat?

Would your thinking be different if it was a white person? Would it matter? The thought exercise was to show that we, as people and humans will judge someone based a lot on attire and stereotypes, but that does not make us racist, just merely bigots. It is what allows us to fight or flight in a situation, but the media wants you to believe you are a full fledge racist: In that matter, meaning you believe you are superior to that person walking down the street that you have deemed in your mind a threat to the situation at hand....silly

Sorry for the rambling

I don't care if the person was white, black (and I TRULY mean this), if he walks down the street at me with the hood down and in baggy pants while I'm alone on a dark street I WILL view the person as a threat.

Why?

Because that kind of attire can't be good.

Even if I WAS a person who wore that kind of an attire, I would be suspicious. Heck, even if the person was wearing a coat with a scarf over the head. Even if the person was wearing a Spanish getup of the Paso Doble with his collar pulled high.

It is natural, and I say, life-protecting to assume danger based on a person's CLOTHES and BODY LANGUAGE, if the person was wearing something that obscures most of his face and was walking in a brisk manner, hands in his jacket pocket.

But race?

Nope.

And I believe when you judge a person in DAILY LIFE, i.e. not serving him/her, not responding, etc. in a situation that is not lifethreatening, based on just the person's race that is bigotry.

No rambling, it's a good scenario to consider, and to define the differences between BIGOTRY and BASIC JUDGMENT. Thanks.

[edit on 30-8-2010 by KarlG]