One of my favorite shows to watch is ABC’s What Would You Do? Each Friday night it features a variety of ethical dilemmas which unsuspecting people walk into. Hidden video cameras capture their reactions to find out what people would do in certain shocking situations. One of the most touching episodes highlighted the issue of special needs.
An actor who has Down syndrome posed as a store clerk bagging groceries. Other actors came through the grocery store checkout line and made rude, discriminatory, hurtful comments to him and about him, as he stood right next to them. Bystanders reacted in many different ways. Some silently hung their heads. Some gestured to the actor with Down syndrome to ignore the harsh words. Some stood up for the young man both calmly and aggressively.
The two people most concerned had personal connections to special needs. One man came from the back of the store when he overheard the commotion. He fought hard for the respect of the man with Down syndrome as it turned out, had a sister of his own with Down syndrome. He brought me to tears. A woman with a good deal of enthusiasm also stood up for the young man. She asked the actor who was belittling the young man how he would feel if that was him or his child. It turns out she is a special education teacher who has worked for years with children with special needs.
What impressed me the most about this episode, was that whether the actor doing the discriminating was a teenager or an adult woman or a tough looking adult man, someone stood up to him or her in defense of the man with Down syndrome. Of course, not every person to walk into this test passed in my opinion. Some did nothing. But of those that did, not one of them considered how this angry person might turn on them. Not one of them worried about his or her own safety or well-being. They simply saw another human being in need of love, kindness and support and did what was right.
People with special needs are people first and this episode of What Would You Do? proved that.