Hey Everyone,
We've all experienced some type of discrimination in our lives. These scenarios, although painful, are instrumental in building a person's character and integrity. During these trials, begin to see ourselves for who we are and what we believe. That's exactly what Wednesday 's Primetime Special Of What Would You Do? points out on a regular basis. Specifically, I would like to talk about yesterday's episode featuring a Down Syndrome grocery bagger.
In this scenario, our Downs Syndrome bagger (played by actor Josh Uber [?]) faces harsh criticism about his bagging techniques. The situation, although staged, gave an accurate portrayal of what people with disabilities encounter on a daily basis such as being subjected to slurs like being called a "retard" or suggesting that it would take Josh forever. Over the course of two days, ABC observed people's responses. Not surprisingly (at least for me), most kept quiet, keeping their opinions to themselves. Why? They either said they were afraid to get involved or that they weren't sure of the consequences if they stood up for him.
What can we learn from this?
A lot.
Please go to ABC.com to see the actual footage from the show. There were some pretty remarkable people that stood up for Josh during the experiment. A few, but enough. You know what they say, "Evil thrives when good men do nothing." Anyway, please take the time to watch the show. You will be touched.. I was! I thought about putting some of the favorite quotes down on paper, but I figure it impacts you more if you see for yourself.
Other episodes Of What Would You Do air on Fridays at 9 PM
Correction, the clips can't be shown on ABC but you can find them on hulu.com @
http://www.hulu.com/watch/150912/what-would-you-do-who-stops-grocery-clerk-abuse#s-p1-so-i1
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Citation for TV program: "Primetime: What Would You Do" ABC Channel 7 WJLA, 19 May 2010.