It's not a secret that prejudice, profiling (racial and religious), and discrimination are affluent in America. Ever since 9/11, people of color have become worldwide outcasts. It's hard enough to make it through one day without a public figure or national story coming out that villainizes certain religious groups and cultures, but does anyone remember how it was before 9/11? Does anyone want to talk about political or domestic terrorism? 

Before the worst day in America, religious profiling wasn’t really talked about. Why? Although people often fear that which they don't understand, it is human nature to trust that the world (and people in it) are good. Our natural instinct is to trust our counterparts and try to understand them. However, propaganda influences people to bypass their instincts and believe in generalized "truths" about specific groups.  

Mustafa Mawla decided to put these social perceptions to the test. Mawla took to the streets of Toronto, Canada with a blind trust experiment. The idea was to test how people would react to a blindfolded Muslim. Would they use the opportunity to act on misguided hate or recognize the metaphor behind the experiment? Can people acknowledge the difference between a person and a stereotype? Is there still enough hope for the world — to trust again?

The problem is not "terrorism," but rather associating an entire group of people with unrelated, heinous acts. For some reason, it is now acceptable in our world to blame a cultural group or whole religion for an individual's crime. The challenge in today's age is to reach a conclusion about someone based on your in-person interactions and experiences with them. It's become far easier and more incentivized, however, to value social labels and presume that stereotypes are true. 

Watch Mawla's experiment and ask yourself, would you trust your instincts? Would you hug him or base your actions on a perception?

Be motivated to see people and not their labels. Push yourself to trust and value people of all walks of life. I dare you, no — I challenge you. 

Original story.