Masking the Self (SumBlog8)

This past week we’ve been discussing W.E.B Du Bois concept of double consciousness and the veil. Double consciousness is a concept of “twoness” as part of an individuals identity. In essence, there is an incongruence between identities which leads to changes in the sense of self and restrictions to behavior based on situational factors like who is around and what social expectations exist in the moment. We mentioned that the veil is similar to Marx & Engel’s idea of false consciousness in that it acts to obscure a person’s view but also that with the veil there is an element of adhering to and bolstering the status quo.

We saw in the video during class how these concepts apply to NYPD’s Stop and Frisk policy where police officers are forced to do inappropriate stops otherwise face reprimand. They’re basically required to harass the public and are encouraged to “violate some rights today”. I think the veil applies to the officer in the video because he probably wanted to become an authority figure for good reasons but he may likely go against his own feelings and values of moral rightness and basically “follow orders” but maintains the status quo in doing so. I think the concept of double consciousness applies because the NYPD officer seemed to be an upstanding guy with genuine intentions of serving and protecting. He also seemed genuinely disturbed that he felt he was forced to violate innocent people’s rights otherwise be penalized by his superiors. These conflicting identities - on one hand being morally upstanding, on the other ‘just following orders’ - probably force him to act differently when around his superior officers versus his own family. In one setting, he can express himself freely and be true to his own values; in the other, he has to put on a sort of mask to maintain a façade of being part of the group. Psychologically this is not healthy and could result in crossing boundaries one genuinely disagrees with. There could also be a breakdown in individual behavioral boundaries which may not be healthy.

The following images are by photographer, Toby Dixon. I chose them because it includes an image for both a man and a woman, and it shows how there are many ways, even subtle ways, in which we can have a sense of double consciousness. The clothed half of the individuals particularly struck me as depicting the way these other identities often have to be hidden under something like a mask.

http://www.tobydixon.com/split-personalities/