SumBlog 8: W.E.B. Du Bois' Veil

   In this week's discussions, we talked about W.E.B. Du Bois' contributions to sociology, such as how people of color are criminalized more often and are considered to be a lower class. We also talked about Du Bois' ideas of the veil and of double consciousness. The concept of the veil was interesting to me because it can really be attributed to anyone, even people not belonging to the minority race. The veil is basically a virtual shield of sorts that makes you see the world around you differently. In Du Bois' case, he meant that African Americans wear this veil, especially when they are younger, because they don't know any better and don't realize that their "minority" race is being discriminated against. They basically think that inequality is normal and just the way things are. It isn't until the veil is removed that people see what society is really like, and sometimes they want to continue to hide behind the veil because it is a place of solace where the concept of inequality is unknown. I would say that the veil is definitely still prominent today because there are constantly children born into the "minority" groups who have no idea that their race is sometimes discriminated against and who won't realize it until their veil is removed. An example today in the U.S. that I can think of is the Hmong population in the Wausau area. It's not uncommon to hear derogatory names aimed towards this group, and they are often times separated, sometimes unintentionally, from other groups, whether it's in schools or neighborhoods. The people who have a veil may not be able to see or understand this separation.
   Another example of the veil is prevalent in the novel The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Amir, a Pashtun boy living in the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul, Afghanistan is the focus of the story, along with his childhood friend Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant. Hassan, however, is a Hazara, which is the inferior race in that area of Afghanistan. Amir is the character who is wearing the veil, because for awhile while him and Hassan are growing up, Amir doesn't realize that Hassan is discriminated against because of his lineage and heritage. Amir does eventually have his veil lifted, but then he sort of hides behind it and pretends that he doesn't understand. This is evident when Amir witnesses Hassan being raped by Assef, a bully who thinks he is better than everyone of the lower race. Amir could have intervened, but he didn't, and he is so overwhelmed by his guilt that he makes it look like Hassan stole from him so that his dad would make Hassan and his father leave. Amir then pretty much pushes Hassan and the raping incident out of his head, putting his veil back on once more.

This page from the graphic novel version of The Kite Runner has text in a different language, but the pictures convey the scene where Amir watches Hassan being raped very well because this is pretty much exactly how I pictured this scene in my head. The two panels on the top right show Amir hiding behind a wall, looking into the alley where Assef and his two friends are attacking Hassan.