Gated Communities

Re “Courageous ‘No’ to the Social Fort,” April 5.

The Times editorial stated that gated communities are bad for our community, because they separate members of our society.

We happen to live in a free society, and one should be able to chose where one lives, as long the safety or morality of the rest of the community is unaffected.

If crime in our streets is the problem, then our police departments and judicial systems are not doing their jobs.

The problem is not solved by forcing people, who wish to live in secure gated communities, into areas where they’re exposed to a higher crime rate.

The Times also argued that these walled communities heighten the barriers of color and heritage and, therefore, should not be allowed.

Taking this line of reasoning to its logical conclusion would require everyone in our society to live to a government-standardized set of conditions. We would all be forced to live in the same generic home, drive the same type car, dress the same way and eat the same food.

This type of society has been tried before in the former Soviet Union and failed, because people naturally associate with like kind and desire the freedom to live the life of their choosing.

DUANE E. HALPAPE

Woodland Hills