What would you do?

The questions we were asked in the beginning of class on Tuesday really got me thinking. I feel like we hear from a lot of people that racism and discrimination don’t exist anymore but I think they couldn’t be more wrong. The video on Professor Banjo’s blog is a perfect example. Just because someone looks like a ‘terrorist’ doesn’t mean they are a terrorist. American’s are so quick to judge people by the way they look. I know that I may think something the first time I look at someone but I can’t exactly help it. Society has conditioned me to think that way but what really matters is if I act on my judgments, which I never do. Who am I to treat someone differently because of the color of their skin or the clothes that they are wearing?  I have seen a couple episodes of the show “What Would You Do” and it really gets me thinking. I am not one to act on my judgments but would I go out of my way to help someone who is being discriminated against or would I just pretend I don’t see it? This is a hard question for me to answer. There was one episode in particular that I remember vividly. A Mexican immigrant walked into a fast food store to get a coffee but he did not speak any English. The man working behind the desk knew what he wanted but wouldn’t give it to him because he didn’t speak English. The man was verbally abusive to the Mexican immigrant. There were plenty of people that got up and said something but there were also plenty of people that didn’t. I hate to admit this but I don’t know if I would have the guts to get up and say something. I would hope that I would but I guess I will never know until I am put into the situation. Would you stand up for someone that you saw was being treating unfairly because of the language they spoke or the color of their skin?