The Veil Of Deceit

In his Theory of Justice, John Rawls proposes the Veil of Ignorance as a method of choosing a just political society. Rawls argues that if free and equal citizens are to select general principles for society, the only way to ensure fair and just principles is to make those persons ignorant of their own status in society. Aside from my own myriad of criticisms regarding Rawls’s work, I’d like to take a look at the notion of a different type of veil– the Veil of Deceit. Suppose you take an individual and instead place them behind the Veil of Deceit. From birth, you instill notions of inferiority, continuously ensuring the internalization of low self-worth. Take that same individual and provide experiences of discrimination based solely on race and gender alone. Set up a society in which this individual remains disproportionately disadvantaged as a result of the aforementioned discrimination. Disallow the individual any form of autonomy, especially reproductive. Teach the individual, from birth, that their status is society is fixed. That any and all success garnered by those who share their race/sex are anomalous. Now, reveal to them that the discrimination they face is a result of socially constructed notions centered upon fixed characteristics (physical characteristics) and unlike class status, these fixed characteristics cannot be changed. The result– the social construction Black womanhood in polity based on patriarchal white supremacy. 

What does it mean to lift the Veil of Deceit? What does it mean to reconstruct the lens with which we view society? To reconstruct our own identities? To defy notions of inferiority?  These are questions I hope to answer through Life Behind the Veil. What you have here is the journey of a Black female who has lived behind the Veil of Deceit for many years. In removing the Veil, I continuously construct my own identity and welcome you to share the process with me.

The beauty of free speech.

Earlier today, I found myself resisting patriarchal notions of epistemology. Of course, I personally subscribe to a Black feminist epistemology. An epistemology which validates my experience as a Black woman. I regretfully went back and forth with two men who, try as they might, will never fully comprehend what I encounter on a daily basis. And then…I discovered the delete button. Here’s the beauty of free speech– a person is free to speak their mind and I’m free to erase what I construe to be personal attacks on my intellectual person. Turns out, everyone is happy. Men, white people, atheists and liberals all get the ability to comment on my blog and tell me how MY perspective is wrong and I have the ability to dismiss their perspectives if deemed disrespectful.  Black feminist epistemology also demands that one speak their location, the space from which you speak when critiquing another individual or offering your own thoughts. I invite all of you to do the same– identify the location from which you speak before speaking to me.

I’m just saying…

I can hear it now. If you listen closely, you’ll hear it too…there it goes again. The sound of me crushing the eggshells people insist I walk on. News flash folks– I’ve never been too concerned about eggshells. So here are a few things I want to say uninterrupted:

1) Racism exists in the world Read more »