What would you do if you were to see someone being neglected in public? Same sex couples being judged for parenting, foster kids being used for money, and nannies being bullied by their spoiled kids-- these things really happen in the real world. On a TV show called “What Would You Do?” you are shown a new perspective on life. You can see how people react to others getting bullied, put down, and yelled at. Here are some of the stories.
On one episode, John Quiñones (host of the TV show) was stationed outside of a restaurant watching as a man with down syndrome was being bullied by another customer, both actors. While these three knew what was happening, the outsiders were outraged. How could someone act so terribly to this man just because of his disorder? Would many others stand up for a man getting downgraded by this man complaining that the down syndrome boy was slow and should have someone there with him to help speed up the process? As this continued throughout the day, many customers stepped up to defend the victim. As each person came forward, helping the poor boy out, John Quiñones would come in and tell them about the scene they set up. He would tell them that they were being recorded for a TV show and show them how people would react to seeing this young man in distress.
As the show revealed itself and explained why they were doing this scene, the customers were asked if they had any advice or had anything to say about this.
“If you have a problem with someone like him eating here, then get out.”
“He is not harming anyone. But those words-- they were.”
This isn’t the only scenario though. Some episodes show overweight women being body shamed-- one at a club, one at a nail salon. Each were told that they were huge, disgusting, and that was not good for business.
Other episodes show foster kids getting told that they were never going to be their “real” kids. That they would be sent back if they wouldn’t stop complaining. The money the foster kids received was now the parents’ for personal use.
Even some of the episodes go as far as showing handicapped and disabled people working in restaurant environments, showing people saying inappropriate things about them and complaining to nearby customers.
The sad news is that all of these happen on set with actors playing the bullies and the victims. These events that the actors portray-- they really happened. The purpose of the show is to point out these situations that really happen and see what people in the real world would do if the scene played out in front of them.
As someone who really enjoys the show, it makes me disgusted that people would treat others with such hate. It does, however, make me feel better when I do see people stand up against this behavior.
Let me give you a scenario. You are sitting at Applebee’s when the table next to you has a child with autism sitting at it. He is acting out and his mother is frantically trying to calm him down when the waiter comes over. He turns to the mother and tells her to get “that animal under control.” As she apologizes over and over again, the man starts to mock the young child. This draws more attention. The mother looks like she is about to cry and the boy is clapping uncontrollably, and the waiter is still making fun of the scene before him. Ask yourself one question...
What would you do?