ABSTRACT
The acceptance of techno-security equipment, along with the forming of suburbs and housing subdivisions, and of super-secure schools, and the buying of devices that thrill us—all this and more point to the ways that individuals keep the fortification process going through their own investments in it. People purchase security and expect their store managers and social administrators to do the same as part of efforts to improve schools, neighborhoods, and shopping experiences; to boost the image of places; and to define places in particular ways. Techno-security fortification is part of a history of segregation and colonization in countries such as the United States, England, and South Africa, where structural inequalities and historical animosities continue even after the official dismantling of oppressive systems of government. In many cases, the devices and controlling mechanisms of techno-security fortification have replaced the devices and controlling mechanisms of colonialism, segregation, and apartheid.
