Ethical Exclusions: Culpability in the Suffering of Vulnerable Populations

Abstract

This paper incorporates various sources, especially the ethnography Righteous Dopefiend, in order to analyze mainstream culpability in the suffering of vulnerable populations. It does so by seeking to draw to attention certain exclusions of information regarding the suffering of others and by calling attention to the systemic forces which affect this suffering. Specifically, this paper explores the topic of systemic exclusion in the Kansas City greater metropolitan area. It analyzes the development of racial segregation in the city and the forces which created it. It discusses the topics of gentrification, segregation, ghettoization, homelessness and the exclusion of vulnerable populations in public places in relation to Kansas City and Righteous Dopefiend. This paper seeks to develop the connection between our ideologies and actions and our contribution to the suffering of disenfranchised people.