UBC condo owners petition against hospice, citing cultural insensitivity. - Polidicks

[img]http://beta.images.theglobeandmail.com/archive/01128/hospice15nw1_JP_1128141cl-3.jpg[/img] [quote]Plans for a hospice on the University of British Columbia campus have been put on hold after some neighbourhood residents said the proposed facility offended their cultural sensitivities around death and dying. “It’s not going forward to the board at the February meeting [of the UBC board of governors],” UBC campus and community planning director Joe Stott said on Thursday. “There are a variety of claims against the project and we want to systematically go through them.” Plans for the hospice – a joint venture between the Order of St. John, UBC’s Faculty of Medicine and the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority – call for a two-level, 15-bed hospice that would add end-of-life care to the emerging community mix on the UBC campus and fill a gap in hospice services on the city’s west side. But to Janet Fan and many of her neighbours, the hospice would put death at their doorstep – a possibility she said would flout longstanding Asian cultural taboos around death and dying. “It is all about cultural sensitivity,” said Ms. Fan, a Chinese-born immigrant who lives in a high-rise near the proposed hospice site. “We came here as new immigrants with our own belief system. And in our beliefs, it is impossible for us to have dying people in our backyard.” Ms. Fan and dozens of other residents in the Marine Drive tower circulated a petition against the hospice, which was discussed at an open house on Monday, and went public with their complaints this week. The comments were controversial, with critics charging that Ms. Fan and others speaking out against the hospice were more concerned about their property values than cultural traditions. Ms. Fan vigorously denied that was the case, saying she and neighbours had sought out the area for its schools and amenities and were not interested in property speculation. Ms. Fan said about 80 per cent of the residents of her building are of Asian descent and have strong concerns about the hospice. It is not uncommon to encounter opposition when scouting sites for a new hospice, said Gay Klietzke, executive director of the Vancouver Hospice Society. Typically, public concerns focus on noise and traffic and lessen once people learn more about what is involved in hospices, especially the small, community-oriented facilities envisioned by the Vancouver Hospice Society, she said. “People don’t necessarily understand what a hospice is,” Ms. Klietzke said. “They think it’s sirens blaring and ambulances coming at all hours of the day and night, and it’s not like that at all.” Tung Chan, the former head of Success, a Vancouver group that works with Chinese immigrants, said the cultural concerns were “overstated.” “No doubt that is her belief, and no doubt she represents a portion of the Chinese-Canadian community,” Mr. Chan said. “But bear in mind that there are 600,000 Chinese-Canadians in the Lower Mainland ... so for people to say that there is a strong aversion to death, I would say that is overstated.” [/quote] [url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/vancouver-hospice-put-on-hold-over-cultural-sensitivity/article1869613/]**SOURCE**[/url] Bull-fucking-shit. You just don't want to see your property value fall. If you don't like where you live, move. I'm sure the $1.2+ million you paid will still get you a place elsewhere in the city. Edited: Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city.... [quote]A group of Chinese community leaders plans to speak in Richmond Tuesday about what they say is a misrepresentation of Chinese culture by a group opposed to a planned hospice at the University of British Columbia. Speakers will include Jan Walls, the founding director of SFU David Lam Centre for International Communication, and Ken Tun, former chair of Vancouver-based immigrant services agency SUCCESS. “A group of Chinese community leaders feel compelled to respond to and comment on the issue,” convener Gabriel Yiu said Monday in a statement. “They point out that Chinese culture has been mistakenly portrayed and misrepresented by those opposed to the hospice and they are correcting it for public information.” A group consisting mostly of Chinese immigrants caused a stir last week when they publicly objected to the 15-bed hospice, saying that building such a facility close to their homes would be culturally insensitive and flout long-standing cultural beliefs relating to death and dying. The group is made up of residents of a high-rise tower close to the site of the proposed hospice. Critics have accused the group of using cultural beliefs as an excuse for “nimbyism”. After bringing the project to a public open house last week, the university has put the project on hold to allow time for discussion with residents. The site had been chosen through a process that weighed several potential sites for the facility, which would provide end-of-life care and be linked to palliative care research and programs at UBC’s medical school.[/quote] [url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/chinese-community-leaders-respond-to-ubc-hospice-furor/article1873694/]**SOURCE**[/url] Because I'm a nice person who does not stereotype or racially profile anyone from field experience, I have no additional comments.

are you fucking kidding me

[quote]Critics have accused the group of [b]using cultural beliefs as an excuse for “nimbyism”.[/b][/quote] All that needs to be said, really.

A hospice is a place where those who know they are going to die go so they can be taken care of until their untimely hour, so what they are doing is denying somebodies ability to die in comfort and security.

Of all the things to bitch about, they bitch about a place where people die comfortably? Ugh, I hate this planet so much.

[quote] “We came here as new immigrants with our own belief system. And in our beliefs, it is impossible for us to have dying people in our backyard.”[/quote] That's the part I have a problem with, the idea that if you go somewhere then the people there have to adapt to YOUR ways. I have no problems with them keeping their culture or customs, that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about expecting the society you have joined to change their way of doing things because your ways don't match. If she has issues with death that's fine, but that's also her problem. Issues like property values, traffic, and so on are legitimate since everyone is equally affected by stuff like that no matter what their culture is.

I am so glad I came into this thread solely for "nimbyism", I will be using this whenever possible from now on. As for the actual topic, I'm indifferent. Is an on-campus hospice really necessary? I can understand how that would make people uncomfortable. On the other hand I can also see certain cultures getting offended by an on-campus pub and I'd never dream of disallowing those. Pubs are my churches. I'm torn.

[quote]“We came here as new immigrants with our own belief system. And in our beliefs, it is impossible for us to have dying people in our backyard.”[/quote]Deal with it, when you immigrate to a country, the country doesn't assimilate your beliefs, you are assimilated into the country. If they really have a problem with people dying comfortably, I'm sure they certainly can pick up and move to another multi-million dollar condo somewhere else.

Hospices are nice places, I wouldn't mind one near me. It's a bit of a downer, but still better than a lot of alternatives.

If I lived near a hospice, I'd volunteer almost everyday. The terminally ill are normally some of the nicest people around.

Fuck immigrants, this is the west not Asia.

Just a pointer guys, this is Canada. It's a cultural mosaic rather than a mixing pot.

[QUOTE=OogalaBoogal;27508210]Just a pointer guys, this is Canada. It's a cultural mosaic rather than a mixing pot.[/QUOTE] I'm looking at you, Quebec.

[QUOTE=OogalaBoogal;27508210]Just a pointer guys, this is Canada. It's a cultural mosaic rather than a mixing pot.[/QUOTE] Well it should be a gold bar. Multiculturalism does not work.

[QUOTE=PEn1s lol;27508334]Well it should be a gold bar. Multiculturalism does not work.[/QUOTE] It has worked fine in Canada for decades, and is the only thing stopping us from becoming entirely American in culture.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;27508432]It has worked fine in Canada for decades, and is the only thing stopping us from becoming entirely American in culture.[/QUOTE] By decades I think you mean since late 70's early 80's and things where never that good since then. As soon as we let the French in Quebec get away with more and more It was all down hill from there. If the Canadian government would stop being the USA's bitch we would have our own culture.

tell them to go fuck themselves, along with the Muslims in France praying in the fucking streets

[QUOTE=PEn1s lol;27508567]By decades I think you mean since late 70's early 80's and things where never that good since then. As soon as we let the French in Quebec get away with more and more It was all down hill from there. If the Canadian government would stop being the USA's bitch we would have our own culture.[/QUOTE] Well, my dad immigrated back in the late 1960s from Hong Kong while my two uncles have been in Vancouver since the 1950s. It's been pretty good since them from what they say. [editline]18th January 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=PEn1s lol;27508103]Fuck immigrants, this is the west not Asia.[/QUOTE] You kidding me? This is basically Hongcouver.

[QUOTE=Tac Error;27508651]Well, my dad immigrated back in the late 1960s from Hong Kong while my two uncles have been in Vancouver since the 1950s. It's been pretty good since them from what they say. [editline]18th January 2011[/editline] You kidding me? This is basically Hongcouver.[/QUOTE] Aside from that fact, it is still Canada not stupid traditional Asia land. Also [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Indian_residential_school_system[/url] [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oka_Crisis[/url] [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Act[/url]

[QUOTE=PEn1s lol;27508567] As soon as we let the French in Quebec get away with more and more It was all down hill from there. [/QUOTE] How very bigoted, good job [editline]18th January 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=PEn1s lol;27509091]Aside from that fact, it is still Canada not stupid traditional Asia land. Also [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Indian_residential_school_system[/url] [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oka_Crisis[/url] [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Act[/img_thumb][/QUOTE] Yeah, our government has done terrible shit in the past to try and force everyone to be white. Probably why we're doing the exact opposite now.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;27509187]How very bigoted, good job [editline]18th January 2011[/editline] Yeah, our government has done terrible shit in the past to try and force everyone to be white. Probably why we're doing the exact opposite now.[/QUOTE] If we let the French separate and be there own "Culture" why don't we let Natives separate and take all our land back. Also just because of the terrible treatment of natives before does not mean we have to cater to every culture that walks through our door.

[QUOTE=PEn1s lol;27509368]If we let the French separate and be there own "Culture" why don't we let Natives separate and take all our land back. Also just because of the terrible treatment of natives before does not mean we have to cater to every culture that walks through our door.[/QUOTE] Multiculturalism has nothing to do with separating, stop attacking strawmen.

[QUOTE=PEn1s lol;27509091]Aside from that fact, it is still Canada not stupid traditional Asia land. Also [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Indian_residential_school_system[/url] [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oka_Crisis[/url] [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Act[/url][/QUOTE] I'm just speaking of my family's experience in Canada, not necessarily of the people affected in those Wikipedia links there. Besides, what is this "stupid traditional Asia land" you speak of? You are living in another era? Maybe in the late 1800s when the government really did put an agenda of "Canada for English people only"?

What I really mean by that is that nobody should have to do anything because of cultral beliefs from a different reason.

[QUOTE=PEn1s lol;27509650]What I really mean by that is that nobody should have to do anything because of cultral beliefs from a different reason.[/QUOTE] That exact statement (once you fix the grammatical errors) can also be used to support the people the OP's article talks about.

[QUOTE=ExplodingGuy;27505852]Deal with it, when you immigrate to a country, the country doesn't assimilate your beliefs, you are assimilated into the country. If they really have a problem with people dying comfortably, I'm sure they certainly can pick up and move to another multi-million dollar condo somewhere else.[/QUOTE] I remember when a muslim got up on national TV in Australia and asked for an islamic state where only muslims would be allowed. Saying that is a huge lost cause.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;27509915]That exact statement (once you fix the grammatical errors) can also be used to support the people the OP's article talks about.[/QUOTE] How so?

[QUOTE=PEn1s lol;27511627]How so?[/QUOTE] Your culture says that you're fine being near a hospice, their culture apparently doesn't. Why should they have to change just due to your cultural beliefs? Your argument is always a two-way street

I don't blame them, Ho Spice was the least tasteful of the spice girls.

I hate hospices. "Here's a place to die, where you know you're going to die" Fuck that.