As a society, we like to think that we look out for those in need, whether it be someone we know or a total stranger. Most people wouldn’t take advantage of the most vulnerable members of our community…right? Or is it possible that honest people are truly much fewer and far between than we’d like to admit? A YouTuber called Jahal set out to answer this question with a social experiment. The concept was simple: Pretending to be a blind man, he would visit two very different neighborhoods in Los Angeles and find out if the people there were more likely to be honest, or to take advantage of someone who couldn’t really defend themselves. What he found is equal parts disturbing and uplifting, and proof that sometimes the most earnest and wonderful things can come from the most unlikely places. Check out his experiment in the photos and video below.On his YouTube channel, he goes by the name Johal. He’s gotten thousands of subscribers by doing social experiments to test the limits of human compassion.
He was pretending he was blind, with the goal of seeing just how trustworthy a total stranger could be.
He went to a wealthy part of town, and then to a poorer area of the Central Valley in California to see if the situations would differ.
He held out a winning scratch-off lottery ticket (it was worth a prize of $500) and asked people to tell him what it said.
What do you think happened in this situation? Do you think certain people would be more likely to tell the truth?
He approached one man and said that his mom gave him the lottery ticket in his hand and told him it was a big winner, but he wanted to confirm whether it really was.
He didn’t even say a word when he stole it.
“No, it’s not a winner, not at all,” the man said. Jahal then gives him a second chance to do the right thing, asking if he’s sure. “I’ve looked at it twice, three times now. Not a winner,” the man replied.
He showed his ticket to a homeless man, and you won’t believe the response he got.
When they did, Johal revealed himself, told them about the experiment, and gave them $10 for being honest.
He invited viewers to Helpfreely.org, a site that has teamed up with thousands of stores, like Expedia, Groupon, and eBay, which will donate a portion of each purchase to a charity of the shopper’s choice.
**To see the eye-opening experiment in full, check out the video below.**