Questioning why the world is simply watching “our” pain, Dunbar places the subjects of the mask in a group versus world scenario. When considering the situation of the slaves, the world was indeed peaceful at the expense of the lives of the slaves. Dunbar knows this to be true and asks the question rhetorically to suggest that those who remain silent contribute to the pain. Dunbar goes even further by saying that “No, just let them see us, while / wearing the mask.” (8-9), suggesting that the world sees only false reality. His interesting choice of the word "let them" describes the subjects as those who willfully display a false reality. Ironically, the world does nothing to stop the problem and the masked subjects do not show the harsh reality. The problem was that slaves lied as a survival mechanism, but in doing so they were unable to accurately represent their cruel reality. This makes both parties guilty second