Dimi Lu Video 1: What Would You Do? Muslim Woman at Roadside Bakery I can see two main opposing attitudes on display in this video. These attitudes center around what it means to be an American. The first attitude (Attitude #1) is that America is a
Christian nation with Christian “values”. It is the nation of John Wayne, muscle cars, apple pie, the second amendment, and baseball, just to name a few things. There is a premium placed on individual liberty, a disdain for “big government”, and a wariness of immigrants ­ especially those coming from Central America or the middle east. A business owner has the right to serve anyone he or she sees fit, or refuse service to anyone he or she sees as unfit. It’s basically the belief held by supporters of the Tea Party which holds right wing, conservative, evangelical
Christian views about what kind of country America is and who can be considered a
God­fearing, patriotic, American. There are many on this side of the camp who are flat out racists and hide behind this Tea Party label to push their own hateful agenda. On the other hand, for many on this side the line between hateful racist thinking and their protectionist patriotic stance is not so clear cut. Some see the the profiling of immigrants, minorities, and certain religious groups, and the denial of their rights as a necessary evil that must be perpetuated in order to keep our country safe. I think that those who openly sided with the actor playing the discriminating restaurant clerk hold Attitude #1, although the actor has played the part so that his character has clearly crossed the line between discrimination into plain racism.
The second attitude (Attitude #2) is that America is a land of opportunity. It is a melting pot where people from all walks of life can come to try to make a better life for themselves. It is a land of religious freedom and tolerance of other people’s religious beliefs. It is a more democratic view of America as an inclusive place, where diversity is embraced and is believed to be the very thing that makes us a strong nation. Many say that this is the vision of our nation that is closer to what our founding fathers had in mind when they drafted our constitution. Those who openly supported and defended the actress playing the Muslim customer hold Attitude #2.
I think it’s safe to say that all the customers featured in this video would call themselves patriotic Americans. It’s their attitude about what constitutes patriotism that differs. Those holding Attitude #1 see themselves as protecting their all­American way of life from outside influence, especially the influence of Islam. This attitude is influencing them to accept and defend the hateful rhetoric of the actor playing the discriminating restaurant worker. Those holding Attitude #2 see their defense of the actress playing the Muslim customer as their patriotic duty in standing up for the rights of others and rejecting hateful speech targeted at certain minorities or religious groups.
Those who spoke up hold their attitudes with a high strength level. There were many in the store who witnessed the event who took no action. Many of them could have held Attitude
#1 or Attitude #2 but not at a high enough strength level to cause them to act on their beliefs.
Another explanation for their inaction is that the line between Attitude #1 and Attitude #2 is not so clear cut. For some, the majority of their beliefs may align with Attitude #2 but will agree with certain aspects of Attitude #1 and vice versa. Therefore maybe they didn’t speak up because their views are not so black and white, but rather have many varying shades of grey that is not

so easily defined. Historically however, those prominently holding Attitude #1 have been on the wrong side and are usually brought over, reluctantly and very slowly, through either government regulation or through changing social norms. Video 2: What Would You Do? Real Estate Racism In this video I see this less as a clash between Attitude #1 and Attitude #2 and more an instance of hateful racism vs common human decency. There is less pretense on the part of the actress playing the real estate agent to play into any kind of social or political agenda and just a more open and vulgar display of racism. At least the actor in Video 1 prefaced his racist tirade with stating that we are at war with terrorists. He didn’t say it so eloquently but the implication is that the majority of terrorists claim to be operating under the Islamic faith. America’s main cause of concern, ISIS, is an islamic fundamentalist group. So there was some pretense on his part that his ensuing racist tirade was born out of some patriotic sense of not helping the enemy, or those who look like the enemy. By refusing service to her, he is somehow protecting “American values”. The actress playing the real estate agent makes no such gestures and immediately exhibits discriminatory behavior solely on the basis of the African American couple’s skin color.
What is refreshing to see in this video is that most of the unsuspecting participants in this set up were clearly uncomfortable with the racist character being played by the actress. More people stood up and confronted her, whether subtly or more overtly. Almost all of them wore their disapproval very clearly in their facial expressions.
The attitude on display here is basically treat others as you would have yourself treated.
Most of the people there would never stand for someone treating them that way and thus did not stand for it when witnessing other people being subjected to that kind of discrimination.