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The Benefit of the Doubt

Album: 39: Friends, Family, and Countrymen

Episode: 507

Lesson/Theme: Discrimination

Bible Verse: Jeremiah 1:17

Characters: Alex, Connie, Whit, Rodney

Writer: Marshal Younger

Sound Designer: Bob Luttrell

Original Air Date: February 8, 2003

Last Air Date: April 8, 2005

Description:
Mitch is having trouble finding a job in Odyssey. Connie is worried that Mitch will take the job with the FBI if he can’t find anything here. Mitch, however, vows to continue the job search. Whit notices an article in the paper that says Novacom is announcing massive layoffs. Connie thinks the whole company should shut down, while Whit cautions her about lumping all the employees into one group. Colby Cabrera is having similar problems. His dad used to work for Novacom, too, and Rodney Rathbone keeps telling Colby that his dad is a crook. Mr. Cabrera feels bad that his son has to go through this pain, too. He tells him not to listen to what others say. Soon after, Colby happens to be at Whit’s End when Connie criticizes Novacom again, saying she thinks that Novacom employees must have known what was going on. Colby runs out, prompting Whit to tell Connie about Colby’s dad. Connie feels awful. Meanwhile, Mitch gets an interview with FactsBuffet.com. Everything seems to be going well until the owner asks him about his past work experience. When Mitch mentions Novacom, the owner quickly ends the interview. Mitch tells Whit and Connie that no one wants to hire him when they find out that he used to work for Novacom. Connie can’t believe it, but Whit points out that she acted the same way. Connie says she’ll go apologize to Colby. Colby, however, is still having trust issues. He wonders if his dad really might have been involved in the sinister goings-on at Novacom. When Rodney Rathbone shows him a purchase order for electronic parts signed by Mr. Cabrera himself, Colby decides he must know the truth. He plants a walkie-talkie in a meeting Mr. Cabrera is having with a number of other Novacom employees. Unfortunately for Colby, the walkie-talkie makes a noise and is discovered. Mr. Cabrera confronts Colby for spying, but admits that he did know that Novacom had cheated on some government testing. But now, he and some fellow co-workers are going to go public with all they know. Colby tells his dad that he’s proud of him. Back at Whit’s End, Whit announces that he’s hiring Mr. Cabrera at Whit’s End Connellsville, and Mitch says that he found a job, too. He’ll be helping people with their computer problems. Connie is happy that Mitch is staying in Odyssey...for now.

Questions:
Why didn’t anybody want to hire Mitch? Were they wrong for not wanting to hire him? Why or why not? Connie realized that she was lumping all Novacom employees together. Have you ever done that in your life? How can you avoid it? Colby had a friend in Alex, who trusted him even when things looked dark for his family. How can you be a friend like that to people around you?