They own the building at the end of the day.
Someone owned the lunch counters at Woolworths as well.
What about those who were oppressed before we were able to see what the "eyes of history" saw?
What about the victims of crucifixion before crucifixion fell out of use?
It's not a very "nice" thing to do... but gated communities and projects are far more offensive to me.
While I personally hate gated communities for the monogamy of suburban life and the cookie-cutter houses that look the exact same, I don't see how they are offensive and segregated, especially as most working class families in my area live in them. A few “luxury” communities exist where the wealthy live, but most of my middle class friends live in gated communities. They built hundreds of them during the boom, and since most went into foreclosure during the crash, they have become even more affordable for working class families.
I also am finding that more and more normal streets (meaning communities that are not planned and have been around for years) are also gating off their streets. My own street, which is a middle class street not part of a larger neighborhood, has had a crime problem in the last few years. Every single house besides my own has been robbed, and several houses at the end of the street are abandoned and in foreclosure, and have frequently attracted vagrants who have been living in them-one of them died of a heroin overdose last year in a house and rotted for three days until the woman next store began to smell the odor. To keep the street clear of this problem, several neighbors have gotten together to build a gate on our street.
The gate will prevent three things-first of all, my street is the very eastern end of a busy road that cuts across town. We get a heavy amount of traffic coming east thinking that a bridge over the intercoastal is available like on the other main roads in town. There is no bridge, and they often speed down our street. The second goal is to keep out criminals. Burglars are simply less inclined to rob a house on our street if a gate is blocking their vehicle from entering or quickly escaping. Finally, even though it will not stop pedestrian traffic, they hope it will keep the vagrants out.
I personally don’t want the gate to be built, but why should my street not be allowed to have one? It’s not just “for everyone.” People who live on the other side of town shouldn’t be allowed to simply walk down the street and stare at the houses. They don’t have any business on our street any more than I have any on theirs. People can call this “segregation” all they want, and I personally don’t want the gate built as it sounds needlessly expensive even if all twenty families chip in together, but I can’t condemn anyone for wanting to protect their property. Is that so offensive?
