A Strangling

This image came to me alongside an old house, located on a corner. It was one of two strangled trees on that property. I know that it's an investment property, even without the iron. I have painted many houses, and this paint job's a real dog. They even left off replacing the missing ballisters on the porch rail --unthinkable!

There are many stangled trees in my neighborhood. I'm near a few universities, and so our houses often serve as dormitories. Also, this place was an urban wasteland between around 1960 and 1993. Weeds taller than the houses, called Ailanthus trees (some African-Americans call them "ghetto trees") are very familiar to me.

This strangled tree has informed my day, but I ask you: Who strangled who?