Angry UBC condo owners protest new Hospice

[Thor]

Dozens of angry Asian residents of a posh, University of B.C., highrise building aim to stage a placard-waving protest rally to protest a 15-bed hospice being planned next door.
“We cannot have dying people in our backyard,” said rally organizer Janet Fan, Wednesday “It’s a cultural taboo to us and we cannot be close to so many dying people. It’s like you open your door and step into a graveyard.”

“‘Death is the Yin and ‘Live’ is the Yang,” it read. “If the Yin and Yang are near to each other, ‘Death’ will bring bad luck, meaning sickness and even death . . . The ghosts of the dead will invade and harass the living.”
The letter said Asians believe that living next to “death” would “lead to failure of business, the loss of money, the break of marriage and family, and the healthy growing up of children will be affected.”

lol, and sigh


http://www.globaltvbc.com/money/Angr...582/story.html

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

I think the real key here is the people who are worried that a hospice is going to impact their property values and they are using their culture as a convenient scapegoat in the entire process.

[Jing]

Originally Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard

I think the real key here is the people who are worried that a hospice is going to impact their property values and they are using their culture as a convenient scapegoat in the entire process.

Or maybe they legitimately think this way? Chinese people can be very superstitious.

[billybob123]

When I was in Ottawa there was a story that was really similar - something about a funeral home going in next to a residential neighbourhood with a large Chinese population. I don't remember how it worked out, though.

As my wife says when she hears about these complaints - "if you don't like what's being built next door, buy next door so they can't build there."

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by Jing

Or maybe they legitimately think this way? Chinese people can be very superstitious.

Well in that case, too bad Chinese.

[Tinordi]

I have very little patience for "not in my backyard" in the first place.

This is just ridiculous.

[WilsonFourTwo]

A hospice is one of the few things I'd openly welcome to the neighborhood. They do great work and should be welcomed.

We're not talking about criminals with a high risk to re-offend.
We're not talking about drug addicts and the problems (needles, crime) they tend to bring.
We're not talking about the homeless and the visible presence of panhandlers, bottle pickers, etc.

What we are talking about is a quiet, clean, safe place that allows people to spend their final moments in serenity. A hospice *might* just be the most peaceful place in the entire city.

The opposition is nothing short of asinine. This group's metaphysical beliefs tally up to a grand total of zilch on the "How much does it matter" scale.

[Resolute 14]

If this is an established neighbourhood, the odds are good that someone has died in a nearby building at some point in the past already. Point that fact out to them and tell them to SELL SELL SELL at low prices just to get out of that cursed area!

[Ozy_Flame]

The compassion shown by this group of rich wankers for their elderly community is astonishingly tragic.

And don't Chinese parents move in to their sons and daughters houses until they die anyways? I thought that was a cultural norm . . . :S

[CaptainCrunch]

Boy would I sound racist if a bunch of us went to the press to object to those damned chinese people living next door to me because my culture deems them as evil and bad luck.

[Winsor_Pilates]

While I think they're being insensitive the the good a hospice does, the cultural values of the residents should be considered here.

That area is owned largely be Chinese buyers and is very, very expensive. It's also mostly fairly recent development, so I understand why someone who spent millions of dollars on a home in the past few years would be upset by and unexpected neighbor that worries them superstitiously.

As someone who sells condos to Chinese buyers all the time, I know how important superstitions are to them (8's good, 4's bad etc.), and the development planners of the neighborhood should be aware of these things as well.

[burn_this_city]

Sounds like they have more money than brains.

[VladtheImpaler]

Considering the fellow I articled for was offered ~$25K (I believe - maybe more) for his phone number, which ended in 8888, I take Chinese superstitions at face value.

[burn_this_city]

If we pander to every whiney nimby group, or worry about every ridiculous cutural sensitivity, we'd never get anything built. These people are crass, I hope their Canadianized children put them in a ####ty hospice when they're dying.

[Burninator]

A co-worker was telling me that friends of hers who had recently purchases a brand new home would not let her other friends in for 4-6 months because they had a relative recently die.

[Canada 02]

“We believe that people dying outside will bring us bad luck,” she added. “I’m very angry and upset. If I had known it was going to be a hospice, I wouldn’t buy it for half the price.”

Hope the hospice goes through. I would love to take the $1M property off their hands for half price

[VladtheImpaler]

What I'd like to see happen is for these Chinese purchasers to sue the developer. Would make for a very interesting case. A strong argument can be made that, given their strongly held beliefs, material facts were withheld that would have affected their decision to purchase...

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

What I'd like to see happen is for these Chinese purchasers to sue the developer. Would make for a very interesting case. A strong argument can be made that, given their strongly held beliefs, material facts were withheld that would have affected their decision to purchase...

Boo.

[troutman]

People die around us in the community all of the time. You can't really avoid it.

[Crazy Bacon Legs]

Hmmm... I live just around the corner from there. Methinks I will be contacting the Board of Governors to ask them to build the hospice twice as large. We need more Yang around here. The Yin is starting to stink up the place.

In all seriousness though, I will be contacting the BoG and letting them know not to listen to these morons, however. I can't think of a nasty enough word to describe these selfish... people. Try to stop a place from being built where people can live out their last few days in relative comfort because you're scared of ghosts? I'm ashamed to be a member of the same species.