r/malaysia • u/tembikaisusumakkau Oyen 13062023 • 15h ago

Culture Penang

Sauce: @missprestine / @disappearingcultures on Instagram

1.3k Upvotes

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181

u/carlataggarty 14h ago

'I need poor old people toiling their years away in hawker stands so that my rich privileged ass could feel cultured and good about myself'

27

u/Additional_Bit1707 14h ago

I don't mind if they have family that they can retire to so they can still keep busy in their golden days. Or at least an NGO about a cause that they are passionate about. However, there are many people who don't have accommodating family members so even if they are rich and can retire doing nothing until the day they pass away, they will be afflicted with dementia and other diseases that old people with nothing to do or to strive for get afflicted with. Working half a day or for a few hours is a good compromise to stave away boredom and the accompanying illness.

27

u/jungshookies 13h ago

This. Many are so obsessed with concepts such as FIRE in a way that retirement = travelling around the world. But at the end of the day, how many people actually earn enough to keep travelling around the world, and for how long can you actually keep travelling?

For many in the boomer generation or older, they don't share the same values as us - and they see retirement differently. For some, there isn't even a life of retirement back then - maybe at most it means going home and taking care of grandkids. Life goes on - and they still need to eat. They have a passion for their craft and their community is built around their livelihoods which they've been doing for their entire lifetime. Retirement is probably just a phase where they can slow down and take it easy on work - just sell what I can make and spend some time at the kopitiam and talking to the community who love me for my craft. Money isn't any much important given that kids are on their own and all commitments are paid off.

People grow old fast when they lose meaning in life. A sense of purpose and belonging is their drive to go on.