The book that we are currently
reading, Righteous Dopefiend, raises
many great points that we never think about in our everyday lives. In class, a good point was raised about
having domestic Anthropology instead of going to remote cultures and doing their
work over there. The book, at least for
me, raised a lot of questions to ask myself.
Say if it were myself in the shoes of either Philippe Bourgois or Jeff Schonberg
doing this ethnography, what would have I done differently? The two Anthropologist have done a good job
of remaining a part of this homeless community while staying away from actually
partaking of the drug aspect within the community.
One
good example is of something they do well in this ethnography is dealing with
medical issues. If it were me watching
the people of the Edgewater homeless community do this, I would be constantly urging
for them to seek medical care. Philippe
and Jeff also had troubles adjusting to this dilemma in the beginning because
of how odd the manner of medical attention these individuals received in
Edgewater. Both ethnographers also do a
good job of not only being unbiased for the most part, as well as explaining
what happens to the reader very well. The
pictures added in some portions of the book gives us a good holistic view of
what these two men are witnessing. That
is one limitation they address very well.
Some ethnographies can very descriptive in terms of what occurs within
their respective areas, but readers sometimes seem to not be able to visualize
it that well. Adding these black and
white photos helps all readers contextualize the scenario. Yet, they only add so few during the readings
to not overload the reader with too many visuals.
Phillipe
and Jeff contextualize the cycle of addiction these Edgewater homeless go
through in a well thought out manner. One
good example is Carter trying to save money in order to into a rehabilitation
program during the Christmas season. He gives Jeff half of what is needed to
enter rehabilitation, but he was unable to make enough before the Christmas
season ended due to his addiction to heroin as well as problems with
management. After knowing he would not
make enough to enter rehabilitation, he dashed his hopes of entering and
continued to partake in his addiction.
Jeff and Phillipe could have just said this outright and descriptively,
but were able to show this with very well written examples. Though this may be seen as leading the reader
in a sense, they use the examples to show the misfortune that goes occurs
within this community. Much of this
ethnography, because of the way they present it, seems to be somewhat geared
like a Neomarxian mentality due to the emphasis on an economic system. One of the foci in the ethnography is how the
system attempts to keep these low lumpen proletariat. Exploiting them and making sure they never
reach class consciousness by demoralizing them and making their lifestyle
criminal.
Thoughtful reflections.
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