Permissible Lies Response

Depending on the time period, the people involved, and the consequences, it can be permissible to lie. To society, lying is an unethical act that can be avoided at all costs; however, this polarized way of thinking is not always applicable and it should be known that there are always exceptions to societal rules. During times of inequality, it was common for people to employ a technique called “passing” to get away with being a person of another race or gender. Although it was considered unfair to others to lie in this way about an identity, during times of adversity, it would be understandable to implement this survival tactic. In regards to when it is admissible to lie, context is everything. If a person is faced with obstacles, irrational people, and a society that will take no excuses, it is, in hindsight at least, acceptable to either lie by omission or lie outright. In The Good Lord Bird, Henry Shackleford and his father kept quiet about Henry’s actual gender to avoid additional hardships that would naturally come for a black male during this time period. Today, it is still common to lie by omission to avoid harsher punishments; because African-Americans are often targeted by police, they try to come off to others with a “caucasian” demeanor. Although on a smaller scale, the argument on when it is okay to lie is still applicable here and could result in a lesser punishment by officials. To entirely prohibit the act of lying, without gaining any understanding of the situation, is unfair in itself and could cost someone their well-being in extreme situations.