What does this social experiment tell you about the world we're currently living in?

[Anonymous]

My mom did a very spur of the moment social experiment at the grocery store. Before she told people she's Polish and they told her, "Polish people are so friendly, they're helping Ukrainians." Today she told someone she's from Russia, and some old guy started yelling at her and saying everyone hates her. She replied, "And everyone likes YOU? How can you say I am rude when you don't know me." Then the cashier jumped in and told her she's rude and can scan and pack her own stuff. And she replied, "I come here every week and last week you told me I'm nice, but today you said I'm mean because I'm from Russia".
My mom threatened to call the manager, so she did her job but didn't apologize, and she said the old guy and his wife just stood there and stared.

For context, this took place at a Food Maxx in a small northern California town.

I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts on this.

[TheBigWhistle]

Muslims in this country who've been persecuted and called terrorists just because of the religion they were brought up following, Asians who were physically attacked on streets all over the country for a year after Covid started in China whether or not they were even Chinese, Mexicans who've been called illegals and accused of being gangmembers and rapists even if the were completely law abiding and here legally, black people chased, beaten and killed just for walking on a street in a neighborhood they were thought to not belong in, a chat with a member of any one of these groups could have saved your mom from needing to do her social experiment. People have negative stereotypes of certain groups. This is hardly new.

Right now, people have spent a month watching the Russian Army intentionally bomb apartment buildings, hospitals, schools, shopping centers and civilian refugee shelters, committing the. most heinous war crimes in an attempt to break the spirit of the Ukrainian people. If you volunteer to someone that you are Russian and don't immediately follow it with "And I'm appalled at what the Russian army is doing to the Ukrainian people", you might give people the impression you are proud of what Russia is doing right now or at least OK with it and well, you don't have to be a sociologist to know what reaction you're going to get. To just use an extreme example, telling someone you're a member of the Red Cross one week and a member of the American Nazi party the next week. Yeah, you're going to get a completely different reaction and that should surprise no one.

[Fromdusktilldawn]

Shocking to see people are still that shallow and prejudging. Here in Europe it ain't better, in the news we see lots of cases where russian immigrants now getting bullied. An Asian guy said on tv: "Yea 2 years ago at the pandemic start I got bullied for being Asian and being a corona man, now its the russian's turn"

[Asker]

Yeah pretty much. It's quite scary because where will it end?

[Hangry06]

Expected. This will last for 1 year until Hollywood celebs starts campaigning #StopRussianHate. Its just like Covid and Germany

[Asker]

I'm not so sure. The Hollywood elite hates Putin and doesn't care about White people

[exitseven]

There is always an asshole in every crowd., I usually try to mind my own business and let the assholes be.

[Asker]

In this case there were multiple assholes, and they were quite agressive