Thursday, February 23, 2012

You Selfish Lot!

I have an issue that I need to get off my mind. Sometimes humans can really be a selfish lot.

The area I live in is basically a residential area with a few commercial sections thrown in. It used to be a nice quiet area to live in. Then came more development, which is unavoidable really, and the quality of living became hectic, with the perpetual traffic snarls and all that. The price of progress, I suppose.

That is not what I want to bitch about. As the population and the surrounding residential area grew, more and more people started to populate the place. More housing sections came into the fray. Though it became a busy area, people still lived in harmony or at least an outward feel of harmony anyway.

Then breaks ins and robberies start happening and people start getting worried. Let's not even talk about the Police force who are supposed to be handling this issue. They've got rather more important things to do as the puppets of the ruling regime than actually patrol our streets and homes.

So, the residents decide to start hiring security guards to patrol their residential sections. Money needs to be paid for these security arrangements. Why we need to fork out money to pay for security, I really don't know when we already pay taxes and security should be the job of the cops anyway. But what other choice do the people have to protect their homes and family. Heck, even I pay a monthly security fee to to have guards patrol my home are at nights.

Soon, the guards were not enough. Some residents decided to fence up and gate their residential sections. Fine and dandy. I understand the need for security and all that. Now comes the part where I want to bitch.

Most of these self imposed gated communities erect fences around their neighbourhood with a main guarded entrance and one or two small gates to allow other residents to walk through their areas as some of these neighbourhoods are actually short cuts for people and school children to go through. These gates are normally locked at a certain time late at night and opened early morning, which is fair.

Then there are neighbourhoods, practically all of them over here that actually lock these darn small gates all day long and deny access to regular people to go through, including school going children who have to walk quite a distance to go around these gated neighbourhoods just to get home. Some of the long way rounds take them past heavily traffic roads and pose a danger to these children walking home from school.

It's bad enough that it's a really hassle for cars wanting to drive through which are stopped and asked all kinds of questions before they are let in. Don't get me wrong, once again I understand the need for security and the guards are only following the orders of the over-zealous residents which thinks the freaking entire neighbourhood belongs to only them but to lock these small access gates so no one can pass through is just plain ridiculous. Why erect them only to keep them locked all day?

Most of these places have only one available access to enter the neighbourhood with all other accesses gated or blocked by steel drums or boom gates that are perpetually closed with no one manning them. God forbids if an emergency should happen and the fire brigade or ambulance cannot access these roads. Lives could be lost! But heck, do you think these residents care?

I'm getting a bit long winded here. My whole initial idea is to bitch about how some of these residential areas are locking these small access gates as early a 7pm and totally deny the public any access whatsoever to bypass their neighbourhood which was the case for me yesterday.

I went for my evening run and sometimes my runs take me through these gated communities. Mostly, I have no problems cos these small gates are all unlocked and I can access them and run in relative safety, away from the busy main roads with all those cars zooming by. But last night, on my way back from my run, which was only 7.30pm, all these gates were locked forcing me to run along the dangerously busy main roads risking life and limb. Why can't they just close these gates later at night?

Imagine if a kid or an elderly person needed to take this path as a shortcut to access the shops across the road nearby, they'd now have to walk along the busy main roads and risk being run over by the sometimes maniac drivers zooming by. We're seriously becoming a nation of selfish people who only think of ourselves and not about the other people living around us.

I know it's not a big issue but heck, I'm still pissed with having to detour out of my running route and hit the dangerous main roads just to continue my run. Like i said, I've no issues with gated communities and all that. I even understand the need for security but do it properly with a little more thought for the rest of the people around you.

I won't be surprised that there will soon be a time when people would not even be allowed to pass through a particular neighbourhood simply because they don't live there! We're going to become a very compartmentalized nation soon.

I blame this on no one but the government for creating this need of having our own security with their mismanagement of the Police force whom I don't really see patrolling the streets at all which would deter the crooks and thus removing the need to hire security guards to keep us safe!

15 comments:

  1. I too do not see why pedestrians need to be stopped from using what should be public access.

    Cars and big vehicles maybe but not those on two feet! Especially if they are neighbours!

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    1. Exactly. I think everyone has the rights to the roads, especially us runners ... hahaha!

      Sometimes I think people are just selfish for their own needs!

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  2. hi nick, i came to your blog via foongpc's blog.
    your post illustrates how allowing some small thing in the name of security can build up into something that takes away other people's freedom. in this case, freedom to move about the neighbourhood without restrictions.
    that is why in the uk we have rights of way. to prevent home owners and land owners from blocking access to common pathways.
    like you, everyone thinks it is ok to fence off areas into gated communities... security lah!, so who can argue with that.
    now u see why it is dangerous to allow a free for all. people put up fences, and gates. at first they leave it open, but sooner or later, someone will realise that it is silly to pay money to put up fences and leave gates open for any tom dick and harry to come through. so u end up your right of way is gone.
    there is no right of way laws in your area, is there? find out and see if u can use that to force them to leave their gates unlocked.

    if there are no rights of way laws for that area, then u are f++ked. haha.
    now u know why people here in uk are fight so strongly for the right of way.
    personally, i am against gated communities esp where previously they are public roads. if it is a private houseing estate that is different, they can fence it off and lock the gates. but not when it is public roads maintained by the govt.
    dont blame the govt. it is the residents who all thought security is important and start paying for private security. i think u partly contributed to it by not objecting to these private security measures. u end up paying for it even though maybe you dont have any valuable possessions in your house and burglers will ignore your house. you are paying for some rich man's security .

    there may be no way back for your area, but it might be a warning for others who are thinking of starting a private security neighbourhood watch.
    maybe i am wrong and all this has nothing to do with neighbourhood private security... if so, i would appreciate if u would show me where i am wrong and i will stand corrected. until then, we might bear in mind the law of unintended consequences.

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    1. The whole point here is how selfish people can be just to safeguard their own needs.

      And I still blame the government for all this by being corrupt and using the police for their own needs instead of the needs of the people!

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  3. As someone who lives in a gated community, I like the security and safety. Of course I do not live on or near public roads, so my community does not deny others rights to main streets.

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    1. As long as the rights of the majority are not hindered, I have no issues with gated communities. I mean I myself pay for security but I have no objections to people passing by my neighbourhood.

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  4. Yes, I understand the need for security, fences and all that - only if its serving a purpose and actually stopping break-ins, etc. Not when it's posing an inconvenience to people and causing school kids to walk near main roads.

    One which I've experienced, is when you're leaving one of these gated communities and you can't find your way out coz there's no guard around!

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    1. I totally agree, half the time it's just a bloody nuisance!

      I'm pissed that sometimes I have to drive the long way round to get to one point when driving through one of these self made gated places would have been so much faster.

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  5. At least my neigbourhood is still gate free, but I've been to gated communities before, and it's not very convenient, especially if the GPS tells you can enter a particular lane, but it's blocked by empty drums and wood.

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  6. Understand your concern. I have few self gated housing area here, but noticed that they open up the gate every morning and sometimes when I passed at night it is still open. Probably they close pretty late at night. And they work pretty well together, and they form a community and have rotation to round the area.

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