paper 5

America is made up of one of the most diverse populations in the world. With people from different cultures, religions, race, and ethnic background, sometimes it’s hard to pinpoint the exact characteristic that makes one a true American. In my paper, I want to discuss the American Muslims in the United States and their treatment by other Americans. Although there are a small percentage of small minded people, overall the treatment of Muslims by Americans is respectful and sincere.
I reviewed a piece done by CBS news where they put together a test in a local restaurant to see how average Americans would react to the mistreatment of a young Muslim girl wearing the tradition head scarf. The test including an actor who acted as a waiter and he would refuse to serve the Muslim woman, who is also an actor. The waiter would say many negative and derogatory remarks to the Muslim woman out load and tell her to leave, meanwhile waiting to see how the other customers would react, if they reacted at all.
At the beginning of the test, a few customers did not say a word as they watched the Muslim woman being refused to be waited on and told to leave. In fact, some of the customers actually commended the waiter on his refusal to serve the Muslim woman and one even gave the waiter the thumbs up not once but twice! Afterwards, the CBS reporter questioned these men that had encouraged the waiter’s discriminatory behavior. When question, the older man stated that he would not serve the woman either if it were his restaurant because the woman “was not dressed right.” The other man who was middle ages and gave the thumbs up was angry when the reporter questioned his actions. In turn, he accused the reporter of not being American and drove away.
The reporter discussed this video footage with a social psychologist. The psychologist pointed out that the man had accused him of not being American because he felt “threatened.” The psychologist explained that when one feels that you don’t agree with him and that your views are different, then one assumes you are against him. Therefore, if you’re not with him and you’re against them, then you’re not patriotic and not a true American. However, what dictates what a “true American” actually is? Apparently, the rest of the customers had a broader definition of an American than the first two men in the restaurant.
The rest of the customers who came into the restaurant and witnessed the discrimination of the Muslim woman take place, all voiced their opinions and shows sympathy, but most of all respect for the young Muslims woman. At one a point, a young man gets extremely angry at the mistreatment of the Muslim woman and begins to yell at the waiter telling him to “Go F@#% yourself.” When the wiater accuses of the young man of not being a good American, the young man responds by informing the waiter that hes actually the son of an army veteran. This is a very important detail, because there is nothing more patriotic then fighting for your country. If the family of a veteran is accused of not being a good American, then what does make one a “good American?” It is clear that sometimes people create their own image of the perfect or real American, but through this experiment, it is clear that most people so share the same idea of what being an American actually is.
The following customers also voice their opinions without hesitation. One lady tells the waiter he need to stop segregating, while another old woman and her husband walk out letting the waiter know that he has just lost a couple customers for good. The courage of standing up for a total stranger who had nothing to do with them and who was extremely different them shows the kindness of these people. The fact that some customers even decided to stop eating at the restaurant just because he refused to serve the Muslim woman shows an admirable quality in these genuine people. As all this is going on, the customers are being accused of being bad American and not being true Americans.
Yet, the most touching part of the experiment is when an old man steps in on the mistreatment of the Muslim woman. At first he threatens to leave, as he begins to walk out the door, he hears the waiter accusing him of not being a good America. This hurts the old man who returns and informs the waiter that he is indeed a good American and that his own son his serving in the army in Iraq. The old man goes on to tell the waiter that the war in Iraq has absolutely nothing to do with the Muslim woman and her rights. The man was deeply offended by the discrimination he witnessed and vowed to never enter that restaurant again. When interviewed later, he was deeply moved and began to cry, stating that “every person deserves to be treated with respect and dignity in every situation no matter how they are dressed.”
The report also discusses this part of the experiment with the social psychologist and asked him why were these customers so offended and angered by the mistreatment they witnessed. The psychologist explains that “ They saw an injustice. . . it’s justice that binds us together. Its justice that makes up a society. Any threat to that kind of sense of justice and fairness undermines the entire system.” Here the psychologist discusses the theme of inclusion and how Americans are brought together with a sense of equality, and anything other than that unravels the unity that they share.
As the day goes on, more and more customers walk out of the restaurant as a protest to the young Muslim woman’s mistreatment. The beauty of this experiment is to see the variety of people who stand up for the Muslim woman. People of different races, white Hispanic, and so on defended the woman. People of all ages, from late seventies to their late teens, that all spoke up for the mistreated Muslim woman. This shows that no matter the race or the age of the person, most of the Americans that entered that restaurant knew what was going on was wrong and there was no excuse for the waiter’s behavior. This suggests that the customers acknowledge the fact that Americans come in all different kind of race, ethnicity and religion, and that in the end of the day they are all Americans.
The two customers that went the extra mile to make sure the waiter’s discirmintory behaiver didn’t go without punishment are the two young girls who were appalled at the mistreatment of the Muslim woman and demanded to speak to the manager. Ironically, one of the girls pointed out that she herself was in fact Muslim too, but she was dressed like a normal westerner. However, the waiter said it was the fact that the way the woman was dressed and covering her hair that made her unfit to be served. The white young lady who was with her Muslim friend expressed great sorrow for how sometimes she sees Muslims being treated differently, and it hurts her personally because her best friend is Muslim. The young white woman even said that it “hurts” her to see such treatment take place.
As the social psychologist examined the two young girls fighting for the Muslim woman’s right, he was impressed and stated that their actions were like “fighting for America.”
At the end of the experiment, thirteen people stood up for the young Muslim woman while six stood against here. Meanwhile, twenty-two customers said nothing at all as they witnessed the mistreatment, which the CBS reporter pointed out as the worst of all reactions. This is because knowing that people would stand at watch someone being discriminated against and not saying a word is dangerous because it is allowing the mistreatment to take place, suggesting that it’s okay. After the experiment raps up, the real Muslim woman comes out and thanks the people that stood up to the waiter, like the old man, with whom she exchanged thanks, tears, and a hug.
This news piece by CBS shows that American have different opinions of what defines a true American and who do and do not accept people who are different than them. However, even though there are small minded people who are discriminatory, there still are a majority of Americans who are open minded and have no room for racism or discrimination in their hearts.


P.S. here is the link if yall wanna see the video, its really sweet:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAr84D5UI7g