Yes, those are the assumptions (I use the word loosely; “premises” is probably better) that I was thinking of. I think you make good points about the subjectivity of law and the failures of our legal system, and I agree, just not to the same degree (not to trivialize an important difference in degree).
For the most part you seem to hold that legality isn’t important at all, as I thought you would based on other things you’ve written. But you surprised me when you said, “The real question, if you want to discuss legality, is how close does the legal system come to representing the ideals of justice and morality?”
Exactly! That is the question; I couldn’t agree more. And I think hi_endian’s question is a natural sub-question of that. Is it not natural to approach the question you pose in part by looking at specific injustices and asking how the legal system views them?
Also, I think you’ve overgeneralizing poor, black Americans when you say they’re uninterested in questions of legality, regardless of whether your “who’ve” is meant to be restrictive or not. It’s easy to find examples of poor, black people who respond to injustice by working for change in the legal system. (Of course, the easiest examples to find are people who become prominent and no-longer-poor. Also, I realize you said “fascination”, not “interest”, but of course the distinction is subjective.)
