Monday, April 2, 2012

Walking and the Gated Community...

It has rained much of March. And for much of March, I've had a sore throat. Two series of anti-biotics have kept the thing at bay---but as a number of my co-workers are also experiencing, as soon as the round of Amoxicillin ends, the throat gets sore again. And so I've been just doing my best to stay warm and dry. To not get sick again.

I have bigger hopes for April; that April will dry up eventually. I hope to get outside again.

Taking a walk can be a dangerous endeavor, not only because walking in the cold and the rain can lead to catching a cold. No. Taking a walk can get you killed as the sad case of the poor black kid in Florida points out. What has been neglected thus far in the coverage of Treyvon is that the killing occurred in a Gated Community.

Frankly, I hate Gated Communities. I think they are evil, dangerous places. Castles against having to be exposed to "others". I'm an advocate of the basic human need for the "Right To Roam". Gated Communities are places to hide. Hide the wealth of the occupants. They are anti-social bastions of hiding from the discomfort that most people experience. And they certainly are not egalitarian.

As the US becomes more and more inegalitarian, these pimples of non-citizenship have arisen to calm the consciences of those who live in luxury. And as places of luxury, they should be taxed (I'd say double what others pay) for simply attempting to cut themselves off from the real world.