Based on the readings and class discussions I think that I really didn't know what place was or really the definition of place and how I fit into it.
Going back to the Bickford article I had made the comment that I felt that the article was throwing blame for the ills of society to the white middle class. It was a feeling that there was no solution presented to the problems of gating communities either by real or imagined gates. I still believe that each of us prefers to live and be active in a place that we will make us feel comfortable, and safe. What I now see is that all people have a tendency to look at someone or something that is different or unknown and try to isolate the perceived threat so as not to disturb the gated boundaries. I probably will never agree with alot of the positions in that article, but I now see the other side of some of the points that she was making.
What I could agree with was that communities are separated by class structure. I never had taken the time to think about the alphas, betas or tradesman of my community and how we selected where we live by what our place in society was. After reading the Duncan article, it struck me that my own community is very much like Bedford Village. I sat down that night and really looked at how and where I fit into my community and where the imagined gates were. They were always there but I had never stopped to look.
Each successive article led me to stop and really think about society and where I fit into it. Not only on a personal level but in the professional level. The questions that kept coming back to me was quite simple, "Am I doing what I need to do to make society a better place, not only for me and my family, but for the people I come in contact with?".
While I probably will never understand human behavior, I hopefully have a better grasp on how to make society better by being able to understand what place is and how it effects each group of people. Once I understand that, maybe I can start trying to understand human behavior.
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None of us will ever "understand" human behavior. All we can do is be better observers and more careful respondents. The key is to keep looking, keep asking questions, keep thinking about possibilities and your role in bringing them about.
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