Oftentimes, when we think about bars on a given window, we think of prisons, in which those bars serve the functional purpose of being there, in order to preclude escape as well as to buttress confinement.
That said, for the most part when we think of windows, we think of them as representing an outlet for us to see what is going on outside, as well as to let in natural light; of which, we do appreciate windows for providing us with the ability to gaze outdoors as well as to let in fresh air. We do so find, though, that there are those communities in which most windows have metal bars attached upon them, as well as even some of their doors having an additional steel bar security door attached to its main door. The purpose of these bars on windows as well as being on doors is to keep intruders out and for the residents, so of, to thereby feel better protected from the possibility of outside elements inflicting damage or burglarizing their home or apartment.
While it is important to feel safe in one’s home, there are those neighborhoods that exact a very heavy price upon those residents that feel constantly unsafe, or feel that they are under constant siege. The problem is that when residents of a particular neighborhood behave in a manner in which they essentially do not venture our into their own neighborhood, so as to go to the park, or to walk up to the store, or to simply take a walk, or to sit out on their porch, because they are fearful; they then thereby become, in essence, prisoners within their own home. That isn’t healthy for the people that live there, and especially isn’t healthy for those that are young, high-spirited, and that have a strong desire to go out and socialize with their peers and other people, but are not permitted to do so, because of the perceived dangers in doing so.
In any neighborhood, in which the residents of such, confine themselves to their own home, and thereby never venture forth, then the overall community cohesion, as a byproduct, is obviously going to be rather poor. Further to the point, when the reason behind such, that makes those streets unsafe, are because those streets are essentially under the control of gangs or of a criminal element, and there isn’t any real hope that anything will change for the better anytime soon -- because as bad as the criminal element may be, the policing arm of the state, isn’t in its effect, any better – by virtue of its own inconsistency, as well as by its own tendency to injustice and violence and arbitrariness, then there really isn’t any good solution, in play, for the good people that live there.
The thing about poverty, is that being impoverished, is often punishment enough; but when that poverty is also combined with the fact that there is no vibrant sanctuary in the sense of where a community can come together in order to better themselves, then what we so have, is social isolation, and hopelessness, writ large.