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In Yngvesson's article, she discusses the interaction of legal culture and popular culture - that is, how local law can reflect the ideologies of a community. Yngvesson's point of view is that "'the spirit of law’... is transformed, challenged, and reinvented local practices that produce a plural legal culture in contemporary America" (p. 1693). Though the larger body of government enacts national laws, they can be interpreted and utilized as citizens within smaller cities and states see fit. As people of higher authority – magistrates, judges, and other figures – head up local courts, these individuals use the law to reflect the values of the people and are responsible for keeping communities’ interests at heart. Courts are seen as enforcers of moral issues, as well as a forum for people to put forth their agendas.
What interested me was the discussion of the definitions of “neighborhood” and “community” (p. 1707). The black complainants insisted that the defendant could not understand their feelings, having not endured their struggles and history. Is it expected that people will be able to understand the contexts of their neighbors, and thus, their feelings? Was the defendant irresponsible in not having lived the same experiences as his neighbors and thus not sharing the same focus on what they wanted from their community? Because of the difference in circumstance and lives, it is hard to imagine all people being understanding and solicitous of the feelings of their neighbors. Was the defendant’s behavior objectionable, simply because he ran a business, or was it his difference in circumstance and life experience – race – that offended the black complainants? Do all communities with mixed race and/or class have tensions regarding values of the neighborhood? In my experience, neighborhoods adhere to the same standards and are close-knit, or they have little to no interaction as a whole. Does the difference in circumstance among neighborhoods lead to the latter?
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I think the idea of "neighborhood" and such is very interesting, too. After all, colleges have societies and clubs for asian americans and blacks that celebrate culture and community. However, it enforces the idea that white people should NOT know these things, and only allows people of a certain race to be friends with people of the same background. Perhaps if those clubs didn't exist, then people would intermix more and limit this sense of exclusivity.
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