ABC News portrays fake “white racism” for the benefit of all.
It was 6:30 a.m. on a Friday in downtown Linden, N.J., when twoHispanic day laborers were struggling with their English as they triedto order a coffee and a sandwich at a deli.
But rather than getting served, they got a string of insults hurled atthem from the clerk behind the counter. Their broken-English requestfor food was met with a barrage of racist remarks, including, “Get backin your pickup truck with the rest of your family.”
This scene wasn’t real. It was all part of a “What Would You Do?” experiment designed to find out what action, if any, bystanders would take after watching the men’s exchange with the clerk.
Seth Perlman, the manager of All Aboard Bagel and Deli, agreed to ABC News’ using his business to test people’s reactions to bigotry. The racist cashier standing next to him was an actor hired by ABC News, as were his victims.