Quote:
Originally Posted by carsncars
An eye opening experience for me was when there was a power surge in a condo I used to live in, so I helped some of the older residents out by resetting their breakers (overnight security guy was clueless). Late 90's building so lots of older HK couples/widowers.
Sooooo many hoarders. Like way more than I'd expected. Luckily most of these were "clean" hoarders but still. Literally apartments where there's a little path between the stove, fridge, couch, and table, and everything else is piled boxes/junk/suitcases. I remember thinking how much of a fire hazard it was...
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At least for the older HK / Cantonese folks, they behave this way because being extremely frugal is how they grew up, and the behaviour is ingrained in their blood and their minds. My parents' generation live through the poverty and turmoil that the Cultural Revolution created, where people literally had nothing beyond the rags they worn on themselves. Some had their possessions taken away by the good ol' Chinese Communist Party and their (idiot) Red Guards. Many escaped and trekked / swam their way from Canton to Hong Kong. My grandmother used to organize trips back to the "home village", bringing food, clothing, life essentials, etc. My older cousin was made to wear like 3 pairs of socks and 5 layers of clothes -- in Asian weather, no less -- in these trips, only to take everything off and leave the clothes and stuff behind for the relatives and acquaintances at the village.
My dad is a hoarder, and the hoarding behaviour has only gotten worse with his age. My mom does her best to chuck stuff out, but there is still no end to his hoarding tendencies.
A good friend of mine also has a dad that is a pathological hoarder, and he gets absolutely furious when anyone wants to chuck his old junk out -- stuff like his highschool textbooks, and old broken cassette players. (Thankfully, my dad isn't anything close to that level.) It is anything but sensible, but unless you are actively looking for a family feud with the old man, you don't bother getting into fights with them over this.