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Though this ABC Primteime experiment is from 2008, the political outrage over the Islamic Community Center planned to be opened near Ground Zero has raised the ugly head of discrimination and bigotry that is boldly displayed against those of Muslim faith. It’s always bubbling beneath the surface (as in the case of race and homophobia), and explodes when enough people start bleating what they said only behind closed doors. Take a look at this video and see how rank people can be to one another because of ignorance and fear. Bonus points for the bigot in the video who questions reporter John Quinones’ heritage as an American.
ABC’s production crew outfitted The Czech Stop, a bustling roadside bakery north of Waco, Texas, with hidden cameras and two actors. One played a female customer wearing a traditional Muslim head scarf, or hijab. The other acted as a sales clerk who refused to serve her and spouted common anti-Muslim and anti-Arab slurs.The polarity of reactions was shocking, from support to seething disapproval. Never did we expect customers to be so passionate or candid.
Our actor, Sabina, walked into the bakery in search of apple strudel. When she reached the counter, an actor posing as a sales clerk was quick to greet her with hateful anti-Muslim language.
“Get back on the camel and go back to wherever you came from,” he said. “You got that towel on your head. I don’t know what’s underneath your dress. Just please take your business and go elsewhere with it.”
“Sir, I am an American, I was born and raised here,” she said.
The other customers seemed to hear the exchange but they barely looked toward our actors. When no one came to her defense, Sabina made a direct appeal to one customer.
“Sir, would you mind ordering me an apple strudel? That’s why I am here,” Sabina said.
Though visibly shaken by the hateful words, the man gave Sabina the cold shoulder, completed his purchase, and walked out of the bakery. “I really think that a person who owns his own business should be able to say who they sell to,” he said after we told him about the experiment.
…A little while later, Sabina again entered the bakery, and again our sales clerk refused to serve her. This time, one man spoke up, but not on behalf of the Muslim woman. He was adamant that our sales clerk did the right thing. “She wasn’t dressed right,” he said. “If I was running the place I’d do the same thing.”
…Even though people seemed to have strong opinions on either side, more than half of the bystanders did or said absolutely nothing. This is a familiar reaction for many Muslims such as Javed. “I was shocked because when these things happen to me in real life … I never see what happens after I walk out of that store,” she said. “I would try to justify … that they probably didn’t hear it … when I watched it, I realized, no, they hear it and they see it and they’re okay with it.”
Yep, God Bless America. We haven’t learned much.
13 Comments
Thank you for thisI don’t watch t.v. so I depend on blogs to see things like this. It reminds me to be ready to express my support of the victim and outrage toward the bigotry on the spot, when it happens. Although my feelings against this type of hate are strong, I can be momentarily wordless. I hope I would move toward the woman with a smile, tell the man to sell her the food, and so forth.
I sometimes wonder . . . …what I would do in these circumstances. And then I think about all the discrimination I face, and I no without a shadow of a doubt I would tell that sales clerk off.
Just like so many people equate gays and lesbians with pedophiles, so many people equate Muslims with terrorists. It’s wrong, extremely ignorant and just plain bigotry. Those living life in ignorance need to read a book or pick up a newspaper more often (of course, it depends on the paper), but then again, if they hear the truth, they explain it away with more propaganda and stupidity.
It wasn’t that long ago that WE were treated like thatThe year: 1971
The place: A bar near Seattle’s Pioneer Square
The boyfriend and I had met at the bar as it was halfway between his job with the EEOC and mine at the Gay Community Center. There were 8 or 10 other customers sitting at tables. John and I were sitting at the bar talking, and without thinking about it, holding hands as we usually did. The bartender approached and said “Get out. We don’t serve your kind here!”
It is hard to describe the impact of such a public humiliation had on me. Suffice it to say that I remember it, and few other similar occasions clearly 40 years later. It cemented my resolve to do whatever I could to make sure that no one else had to go through the same type of experience.
There was a silver lining to that cloud of bigotry. We found out later that after we left the bar that the other customers, mostly lawyers from a nearby firm, told the bar owner that if he didn’t serve our kind, the he didn’t serve their kind either. They then left en mass.
Ironically those same lawyers ended up later representing John and I in our suit for the right to marry.
I like to think…that I’d have spoken up against such blatant discrimination.
At the same time, I honestly have to wonder whether a Muslim (particularly one conservative enough to be wearing a hijab) would be willing to do the same for a gay man, if our roles were reversed.
I have seen this happen in real lifeA neighborhood adjacent to mine has a large Ethiopian immigrant population, and it is not unusual to see women in only-the-face-showing dresses and headcoverings. (I don’t know if they are Muslims, I’ve never felt the need to ask.) A clerk in a recently opened coffee shop was quite rude and racist to one of these women who had come in for a drink; I’m happy to say that I was one of several customers who loudly denounced the clerk. One customer even took his cell phone out and started to call one of the local television stations.
Oddly enough, the shop didn’t last a month.
OK, the majority said nothingbut the times when one person stood up and protested, the rest joined in. And over twice as many people protested the behavior as agreed. I think we have learned something, even if the message hasn’t gotten through to everyone.
How many of us grew up hearing “don’t make a scene”. It’s ingrained in my culture, at least. Don’t stand out, don’t stand up, don’t disagree or you’ll be seen as disagreeable. I’ve had to fight my own inclinations for years to put that behind me, and some days I’m not as successful as others. But sometimes that’s what it takes – one person to make a scene and start the ball rolling and say this is wrong.
The question of reversal would probably not enter my mindWhether or not a person would be willing to stand up for me, I would still stand up for him: my philosophy of life compels me.
You made a very important pointIn a comment above “Unitethefight.org” said that she/he would have told the clerk off if she/he were subjected to that kind of behavior.
From my experience being the recipient of hateful behavior in public, I have to say that when the crowd of on-lookers is silent, then it is impossible to tell whether they are sympathizers or more bigots. In the incident I related above, John and I beat a quiet retreat as we were out numbered 5 to 1. Had that crowd let us know while we were still there that they were on our side, then our actions probably would have been quite different.
So yes, you nailed it when you said: “But sometimes that’s what it takes – one person to make a scene and start the ball rolling and say this is wrong.”
It’s television, not solid data.First, the majority of the video (and their own final numbers) suggested that more people would stand up against discrimination than agree with it. Second, one group of ~50 people in one location does not make for a good statistical sample. It makes for good television.
Self-motivationIt’s funny how a self-imposed philosophy can often have far more sway in one’s life than a lifetime of reinforced religious dogma.
EthicsAt the same time, I honestly have to wonder whether a Muslim (particularly one conservative enough to be wearing a hijab) would be willing to do the same for a gay man, if our roles were reversed.
That’s the interesting thing about ethics. Whether an action is just or unjust, right or wrong, is unrelated to whether they would reciprocate, or even if it turns out as expected. The ends don’t justify the means.
It is possible to know where one stands, if you understand (and apply) your principles that drive your life.
For me, I don’t wonder what I would have done. My phone can record – I would have loudly – in a clear voice – informed them that I was recording, that what they were doing was wrong and unacceptable, and that they had an choice. They have two options: either serve her, on the spot, right now, or I would be providing copies to their manager, landlord, merchant account provider, and the local press.
I believe business owners should have a right (legally speaking), but we as actors in a society should not support it. Just like “Dr. Laura”, I think they should be free to be really stupid, then shunned by civilized society for doing so.
Re: I like to think…Speaking out about social justice may be comparatively easy for one person while an unexpected emotional experience or a reason for a slight shift in philosophy and/or a prompt to question previously held assumptions might be absolutely monumental change for another. Not everyone is operating on the same scale and when cross-cultural matters come into play almost no one will have the same points of reference. I think I’m flailing trying to explain my point… You might see little or no reaction in this hypothetical situation but that would not mean that you have not made a gigantic difference.
great!Fantastic video and glad you included it. Did you also see the one where a black woman shopping at an upscale store was treated like a thief and sometimes detained to judge the crowd’s reaction? Also very interesting.