This chapter examines ethnobiologist Myrdene Anderson’s lengthy battle to protect wildlife on her Indiana lawn, including her legal battles and public acts. The author sees this as a cross-cultural dispute and approaches the issue from this perspective to examine it and develop conclusions. The neighbors’ attempts to make Anderson conform to their vision of the garden and development are seen by the author as an instance of intercultural conflict. The main point of the chapter is how intercultural differences can lead to a conflict involving legal disputes and their ramifications. This question was thoroughly clarified in the text through numerous explanations.
After purchasing the home and yard in the 1980s, controversy erupted when Anderson’s neighbors started complaining about the surrounding natural environment. The yard was Anderson’s property, but the official complaint acknowledged that many cultural treasures were purportedly shared between Anderson and the complaining neighbors. A property inspection was performed without Myrdene’s knowledge, and it was discovered that the yard may have been in violation of codes, with daily fines of up to $500 (Rodriguez and Chawla 276). It is significant to highlight that Myrdene is an ethnographer with some degree of ethnographic expertise, which was insufficient to identify the specifics of her lawn issue.
The formal request for Anderson’s law from the neighbors covered a number of topics. The probability of a fire and the challenges the fire service would have faced getting to the scene of the fire, given the state of the property surrounding the house, were addressed (Rodriguez and Chawla 278). These challenges, as per neighbors, constitute a clear danger to nearby property. Additionally, it has been noted that there are more rats in the area, along with animal waste that serves as a breeding ground for insects (Rodriguez and Chawla 277). However, from the author’s perspective, the primary issue was that the front yard clashed with the other yards in the area and appeared to be “a jungle” (Rodriguez and Chawla 278). The value of all the nearby residences is negatively impacted by this property, as has been reported. This emphasizes the connection between the situation and intercultural communication. The lack of understanding and points of contention led to the dispute in this case.
Each party and participant in the dispute arrived at the table with a unique set of concepts and presumptions regarding what a yard and turf are. In the end, the permit was conditional, and Myrdene continued to pay for the inspector to visit the house in line with the agreement (Rodriguez and Chawla 284). This is because each side’s viewpoints were diametrically opposed to one other. Despite her resistance, Myrdene was a victim of some actions taken by the city and her neighbors. It was about environmental awareness and civil rights for Myrdene Anderson. Those who support such procedures cite a variety of factors that make lawns harmful. They contend that, contrary to common belief, which holds that lawns increase the amount of oxygen in the area around a home, lawn care practices actually cause the lawn to deplete oxygen (Rodriguez and Chawla 286).
In this context, the ramifications of Myrdene’s point of view, as well as her justification in the intercultural context, will be a particularly interesting question to discuss in the group settings. Moreover, small group discussion will be beneficial when assessing the list of complaints of neighbors and how exactly do they represent the intercultural dialogue or lack of it. These repercussions can also become a subject for a large class discussion.
The author also highlights that the turf grass’s nature is essentially alien to the American landscape. This essentially highlighted the intercultural perspective of the sides, which turned out into a legal conflict with serious implications and fines. This paragraph stood out for me, as it is a common cultural American stereotype of how the lawn should look like. Approaching it from other social and cultural perspectives will be interesting to discuss. Overall, the chapter presented an uncommon frame of intercultural conflict, which can have implications nowadays due to the growing awareness of ecology.
Work Cited
Rodriguez, Amardo, and Devika Chawla. “Landscape Troubles as intercultural conflict.” Intercultural communication: An ecological approach. Kendall Hunt Publishing Company, 2010, pp. 273–294.