should we or should we not?

growing up in the city, we are taught to be wary of strangers and often are very 'inward based'; meaning we stick to our own. BUT growing up reading fairytales and books of all kinds, i also always wished that our neighbourhood is more like those i read in the books; where neighbours chat and say hello; cook and bake for each other, do not suspect each other of something at every little thing and just generally are very close.

living in a 'family' residential area, i have it better than those of my friends who live in high rise condos and apartments where they hardly ever see their neighbours, much less talk to them. at least, i'm still in a very 'family based' housing area and we sort of see and acknowledge each other. in fact, all the 'aunties' and 'uncles' know everything that goes on, talk and analyze all of our (the younger ones) activities- what time we go out, what time we come back, who we go out with, whose car we come back in ....etc etc.

BUT there is this one neighbour or i should say family, that always really gets on my nerves. my room faces west and in this house behind mine, lives a psychotic family. i know it's bad of me to call them psychotic but i really think they are.

once a week, the mum would yell at the son over i-don't-know-what in a manner that is just nerve wrecking. sure, parents scolding their kids is nothing new but the way she goes on, is more like a verbal slaughter. and it's SO loud that i can hear her every single time. once, i even joked and asked my brother if we should already call the cops but he thought we should call the ambulance. haha. and really, just now, i was tempted to yell back and ask if everything is ok and if i should call the cops. well, not like the cops in our country respond to such issues.

i know, in certain cultures, this is normal; a dysfunctional family (i'm not saying they are dysfunctional. who am i to gage?) but i mean, a dysfunctional family is not something new. yet asians are notoriously egotistical people. they never want to 'lose face'. and when you hear people pratically airing their dirty laundry weekly, you can't help but wonder, what's going on.

so i was thinking... would the community thrive in an environment where no one knows what goes on, who lives next door and so on OR, should we know so much that there doesn't seem to be any personal space and privacy left?