Gated Communities

They vary. I've seen all kinds. Everything from retirement communities that are glorified trailer parks, to enclaves for the rich and arrogant. They do have things in common. Of course there's a gate, and at least a basic fence around the property. There's usually some attempt at security. On the low end is the retired guy who sits in a shack. There's a cheap camera for when it's his bed time. One the other end are armed security guys with bad steroid habits along with crash barriers designed to stop a tank.

It's the latter community that concerns me. More and more of the so called elite are building their little islands of security. It's the sort of thing that happens when societies fall apart. Just look at any country that lacks a middle class. One one side of the fence is a slum. On the other is peace, prosperity, and most importantly of all, security. The slum dweller can only pass the gate under close supervision -to clean the toilets.

This country has always had rich and poor sections of town. The police presence on the rich side was a different animal than on the poor side. People who looked out of place were likely to get questioned. The rich section wasn't physically gated. It was possible for a poor person to take his old car and drive though. The divide between rich and poor wasn't as clear cut.

Now we have gated communities that look more and more like 3rd world enclaves for the elite. As we are beginning to look like a third world country, it shouldn't be a surprise. When the rich are afraid of the poor, things are looking bad. They know the poor have serious grievances. After a hard of exporting jobs overseas, buying a congressman, and foreclosing on widows and orphans, the rich man wants to feel secure in his person.

He thinks of a gated community as his fort.

Let's turn perception around. There are other gated communities I haven't touched on until now. Prisons. The gates are there to keep the bad guys in.

We know the super rich have robbed us blind. We know where their gated communities are. It's just a matter of getting the guards at the gate to turn around. Point their guns inward instead of outward.

Problem solved.

-Sixbears