Double Standards

Madhavi Rampersaud

I was looking for an article or video or something that is  fall under the category of current events that depicts racism and injustice in society. However, I couldn’t really find anything that appealed to me or stood out enough. I decided to go on youtube.com and I typed “raicsm in america” in the search box. I clicked the search button and randomly decided to click the second link that appeared as my results. Little did I know I found a great video that portrays the racism in American society today; racism that STILL exists.This video is about 2 years old but I still thought it was powerful and it wasn’t too long ago that it occurred

The video was broad casted by ABC News on 20/20 that is based on a special project. News anchors decided to use three Caucasian males in a terrorizing stunt they came up with in a park. These three males were told to vandalize a car in broad daylight in a public park where bystanders were constantly walking by them during the act. They were literally spray painting and using tools to attempt  to break into the car. The great thing about this stunt is that the public didn’t know these kids were actors. ABC News wanted to see how good of a Samaritan the folks that hang out in the park actually are. They wanted to see how many people would call the cops on these kids or attempt to stop them.  That’s why the title is called “What Would You Do?”

During the encounter with the Caucasian males, bystanders walked by and looked over to the kids. Some people actually talked to them and tried to figure out what was going on and why they were vandalizing a car. Even though the kids didn’t give a very logical reason, the bystanders accepted it and went their way. Only one person called the cops throughout the entire day. This was def. shocking!! One of the most surprising moments of this video was when two 911 calls came in from the same park but not about the vandalism. A male called in to report his observation of a few black kids laying down low in a car; he thought they might be planning to rob somebody. It turns out these kids were family members of another set of actors, this time African Americans.

In the second scenario, black male actors took over the same activity. The climax of this video is when the bystanders suddenly started calling the police as soon as they encountered the kids. They didn’t think twice about it but just got out their cell phones and called. In comparison to the first scene, many bystanders kept their distance when walking near the black kids. They were afraid of getting hurt and assumed that the fact that the kids had weapons and were black would make them more violent. Compared to the white kids, no one was really scared just too ignorant to say anything.

This video def. made me stop and think about what our world has come to. We have tried to end racism over and over again, but its not likely that it will go away at all. Racism will always be around so long as there are people out there who live with an ethnocentric mentality. It was good to hear the kids speak up and address the issue of racism in the society. Even if one person could refrain from making a comment or committing some type of act that relates to racism, it can go a long way. This was an injustice for the African American actors to be subjected in such a negative way. I believe we need to implement more laws and regulations in our society to promote a racist-free world. It feels good when other citizens are willing to get involved and ask questions. It’s up to us to fix our issues.  Obviously, this isn’t a problem that can be solved over night but its a problem waiting to BE solved.

** I also added another link that shows racism in upscale boutiques. It’s a great video, I hope you guys check it out 🙂

ABC – 20/20 What Would You Do / Racism In America – Part 1 .

ABC – 20/20 What Would You Do / Racism In America – Part 2

What Would You Do? Racism In An Upscale Store