What better characterizes modern middle class America than the All American privacy fence? Seven foot brown boards, side by side, which eventually warp and turn grey. My problem with these is not that they keep people from seeing in, but that they keep me from seeing out. That's why I don't care how many people have privacy fences, as long as I don't.
They seem rather ugly, especially when everyone on the block has one, and the neighborhood is an endless patchwork of brown boxes.
The interesting part is the sociology behind it. Why are privacy fences so popular? What do they say about the mindset of the people who erect them? The societal values which encourage them? Are privacy fences a rejection of community? That might be the tempting explanation. But maybe the family is out, visiting neighbors. People who have fences often get out, get around, and make friends...
Who knows what privacy fences mean, or whether they mean anything?Since all other human behavior is explanable in psychological terms, why not this? We await word from the experts.
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