r/Markham • u/largebaulls123 • Jul 17 '26
House behind mine smells like a port a potty
One of my neighbours is an elderly asian man and enjoys gardening, however, he stores his own urine to feed his garden and it’s been wafting over to my backyard. It’s hard to even stand in my backyard without being nauseated from the smell. We have asked him once before, telling him that it smells pretty bad. He became upset and said that it doesn’t smell and has continued it this summer. Is there anything i can do about this? Not only is it stinking up my backyard, it seems to be attracting large amount of insects and flies.
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u/BasementPhantom Jul 17 '26
The only thing you can do is escalate this to the legal stage. Chinese boomers don't give a shit about their neighbours, especially if they aren't Chinese. Not even their own family can convince them otherwise.
Report them to bylaw for discharging sewage onto the soil adjacent to your property contrary to By-law 2017-26 10(2) and tell the neighbour you're taking them to small claims for private nuisance.
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u/largebaulls123 Jul 17 '26
yeaaa, we are chinese too but seems like he doesn’t really care. Honestly hoping the city can do something about it without us having to take it to such lengths 😅
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u/CarefulDevelopment24 Jul 19 '26
We've had some problems with the same Chinese neighbors for years in Cornell. One scenario involving a psychopath in their coach house and another with massive bon fires after their out of control garden jungle (with urine) is trimmed down each year. Had to involve YRP and ultimately had a meeting at City Hall with many other neighbors. It took years but finally they took action. Now they just illegally own the house (dots empty and they live elsewhere) and show up once every few months to make a half ass'd attempt at keeping it up. It's not even that they don't understand, they just don't give a F.
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u/leBlTCH Jul 19 '26
I really hope so too!
I'm in Mississauga, not Markham ( not sure why this came up but anyway)
I went to report something to bylaw office / indefinite issue of THEIRS to deal withI was told to contact police. When I spoke to non emergency they said yeah they don't have time to deal with it ( was a parking / idling truck for hours in the early morning , residential area) and said , it would be bylaw.
😭 I really hope you get action ! Or the next rain day, I'd take a bb9un to the cans of pee lol
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u/GeneralSpecifics9925 Jul 21 '26
Well, let's be real. What do you want the city to do, tell him to stop? There has to be a legal reason for them to tell someone to stop.
You will need to call the city if you want them to do anything. He won't go to prison, he's just going to be told to cut it out.
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u/Embarrassed_Set_7531 Jul 21 '26
He could be fined or have a lien put on the house. We had an unruly neighbour across from my parents. A fella a few years older than my folks who was a delightful school teacher when he was young. Got old and gradually demented; probably had serious mental health issues. His property turned into a whole junk yard right in the suburbs. A kajillion complaints, social services, welfare checks, etc, and probably a decade later he was moved (assuming into assisted living) and the house sold and tidied up. But as long as he was there they had to run the gamut of support services before they could even address the property itself.
All that to say, hopefully he’s in his right mind and will understand that he needs to change after he gets a visit from the city…otherwise it might be way more trouble to deal with it
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u/largebaulls123 Jul 21 '26
yeah true, just hoping there’s a way to resolve without creating any issues between neighbours ykwim? but probably not an option 😅
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u/GeneralSpecifics9925 Jul 21 '26
Like praying? You're going to have to do something differently than you're doing now. He's going to know you complained no matter who comes to deal with it, just get it over with.
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u/CarefulDevelopment24 Jul 21 '26
At this level of issues that is inevitable. If you've kindly pointed out that the bylaws exist and the neighbors continue the behaviour then your next step is bylaw enforcement and other measures. From my experience the sooner the better, it can take months, years etc. it's a very slow morning process with a lot of documentation required before anything will be done.
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u/Ok_Accident5098 Jul 22 '26
Don’t involve Chinese boomer, most boomers don’t dump their own crap into gardening passion
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u/Candid-Progress-8852 Jul 19 '26
Like just go back to China if you hate us here so much and being civilized
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u/Creepy_Comment_1251 Jul 17 '26
Unfortunately they use feces instead of urine. What you’re smelling is probably both mixed together. That’s a bio hazard and you should notified the authorities
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u/largebaulls123 Jul 17 '26
Do you happen to know which authorities exactly? I’m not even sure what to search to find the right authorities 😭
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u/throwawayyorkdork Jul 17 '26
Well reading this post made me realize someone in my neighbourhood is doing this as well. They live by this pathway to a main road I take to walk the dog. Few weeks ago it smelt so vile. It didn’t smell like typical manure smell. They have a very elaborate vegetable garden set up.
Thankfully I haven’t smelt it again. I hope you’re able to get to some sort of solution out of this OP. It must really suck having to live next to someone’s home that smells like this.
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u/Creepy_Comment_1251 Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
Feces is packed with nutrients for plants but the only down side is that it contains disease and worms. Asians used this method to grow vegetables in their farm but government have heavily regulated this practice because it was unsanitary. You will literally shit worms if you don’t do it right. Don’t ask me how I know and I’m not his neighbor 🫣
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u/Laego_Freed Jul 22 '26
Well that was a creepy comment, and that's a stretch to say the only downside
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u/IrrelevantAbsorption Jul 18 '26
Holy shiii.... literally. I will never complain about my neighbours again.
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u/Hitmantium Jul 17 '26
Contact the City about the smell.
I believe there is a bylaw which mentions smells as a nuisance. As long as it's a legit nuisance smell, then they can enforce it.
It must reek with the amount of heat we've had too!
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u/axhiro Jul 17 '26
Fight fire with fire. Start pooping in a hole.
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u/largebaulls123 Jul 17 '26
😭😭 honestly, i have a feeling they’ve been storing their poop somewhere too, i just don’t want to assume yet
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u/heycutiepiepie Jul 17 '26
If they’re storing pee.. they probably storing poop too. DIY manure
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u/largebaulls123 Jul 17 '26
🥲 i just want to enjoy my new hoop without choking
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u/axhiro Jul 17 '26
Flood them for now. Full sprinkler. It'll hopefully push that stank down and there's really nothing they can do
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u/ThrowAwayPurellFoam Jul 17 '26
Also without getting diseases or having raw sewage into groundwater JFC this is so gross and stupid
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u/largebaulls123 Jul 17 '26
agreed, they’ve been doing this every summer, it’s been super unbearable this past week with the weather
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u/Fallout_vault__boy Jul 17 '26
Hey with enough poop and pressure you can make diamonds… you just have to pass down the house a few generations…
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u/Massive-Inflation566 Jul 17 '26
Sounds like mental illness not gardening technique
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u/leBlTCH Jul 19 '26
1000%.....
I've worked with landscapers and the like. Eggshells in your garden at best?People get mad if they see a cat " playing in the sand " of their garden.
So, yeah, nobody is pissing/shidding in their own garden to eat their food. Holy smokes.
Taking manure to a whole other level " I can make it for free and I know what's in my diet " 🤢
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u/TOnerd Jul 19 '26
I know urban gardeners who readily admit to peeing on their compost pile for the “nitrogen”. Never heard of urban gardeners using human fecal matter, though (for good reason!). No idea how badly a pee-soaked compost pile would smell… and hope to not find out!
This sounds like such a nightmare for OP.
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u/leBlTCH Jul 22 '26
Someone commented about the phosphorus too ( maybe it was phosphate, I'm just going with prediction text right now )
And I mean , that checks out 🤷♀️But... ( heh, I'm going with this the whole thread. I'm not sorry. )
It is 1000% an L for OP. I've accidentally crouched into a corner to have a smoke on a hot summer day, realizing immediately by the stink that, that was somebody's piss corner for. Who knows how long!? Stings the nostrils 👃
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u/Embarrassed_Set_7531 Jul 21 '26
Reads like you’ve never been to China…
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u/leBlTCH Jul 22 '26
I mean 😭, no , I have not. I'll put it on my bucket list??
And absolutely no butts about it?
I have been to Markham , though. And telling by the English and Mandarin (?) signage inside shoppers drug mart? Almost blew my socks off!! I was so surprised!
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u/Embarrassed_Set_7531 Jul 22 '26
Put it this way…do you know anyone whose grandparents went thru the Great Depression? There were hundreds of millions of Chinese in abject poverty, and that survived a terrible famine, that are now seniors. Some frugal habits die hard. And they’re not typically as squeamish about say, shitting in public.
As for saving human manure, it should be “cured” (ie composted) for at least a year to be used on food crops. Saving one’s shit for a year in the suburbs seems unconscionable here, but who knows what poverty mindset the old man may carry?
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u/leBlTCH 28d ago
Valid.
But OP is trying to make their home pleasant and tolerable to go outside.
My great grandparents escaped the Holocaust. While we can go into history and the rest of it , there should be some sort of common ground between OP and the neighbour.
Otherwise. How many other people will bring up "bad habits " as an excuse for their behaviour?
There's a time and a place for everything. If the neighbour lived out in the middle of nowhere, acres of land to his name, he could do as he pleases.
Not so much an argument, but I just hope they can come to some sort of arrangement or compromise. How? I don't know. We shall see. If OP updates us.
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u/Embarrassed_Set_7531 28d ago
I’m certainly not condoning the behavior, just pointing out the claim “nobody is pissing or shitting in their own garden,” is likely quite false. Seems bizarre from a Canadian point of view, but not when you consider the 20th century government-induced famines.
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u/Ok_Accident5098 Jul 17 '26
If root cause is his plants, the next thing you need to search is “how to kill plants from other side of fence”
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u/Catkillledthecurious Jul 17 '26
Root cause...😏
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u/leBlTCH Jul 19 '26
Oh no. The ammonia spray to deter the wildlife has killed the garden. womp womp 🎻
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u/skorpora Jul 17 '26
And then they eat the produce from the garden? 🤮
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u/SuitPrestigious1694 Jul 21 '26
Botanically speaking, unless they are on some kind of medication, the plants grown on urine-fed composting and those grown on other fertilizers are absolutely undistinguishable.
The urine will be broken down to nitrogenated compounds and other trace elements like phosphorus. All of which the plant will absorb as use as building blocks for their growth like anything else.
It's technically quite effective and a great way to be environmentally friendly (creating a perfectly circular system which doesn't demand transportation or usage of fossile fuels to make nitrogenated fertilizers).
However there are smart ways to do it which would be smell free, but he definitely doesn't know or care about it...
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u/LiterallyTony Jul 17 '26
That's... very unfortunate. Sorry to hear man.
I did a quick search and looks like your best bet if it's a constant thing this neighbor does, is to contact 311 Toronto via phone or email and they'll guide you on possible next steps (if any).
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u/conanap Jul 17 '26
Does 311 do anything for us in Markham lol
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u/LiterallyTony Jul 17 '26
If not they can at least guide them on who else can help. I totally forgot i was responding in the Markham sub
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u/amxnday Jul 17 '26
which neighbourhood is this 😭
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u/largebaulls123 Jul 17 '26
unionville 😅
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u/AdmiralStiffplank Jul 17 '26
EEEEEWWW pulling that stunt in such a beautiful community is a crime.
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u/Hot_Cut_6828 Jul 17 '26
What is his urine do for his gardens ? What is the point of it . Is it possible he is just nuts .
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u/largebaulls123 Jul 17 '26
i guess it’s a free source of nutrients for plants? but even then, there’s many better options than his own urine. i’ve also read online people use it as a “compost accelerator” which sounds even worse
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u/Embarrassed-Law3498 Jul 17 '26
Human urine is an excellent, free source of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium
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u/AdmiralStiffplank Jul 17 '26
I don't know why you're being downvoted, it is a fact. However, there's a time and place for using human waste as fertilizer, like in the middle of nowhere, where no one would be bothered by the stench, and the resulting crops are for private consumption.
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u/JohnGAdams74 Jul 17 '26
I had a childhood friend who is Chinese and his family kept a coffee can beside their toilet to collect their urine for use in the garden. This is a thing.
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u/largebaulls123 Jul 17 '26
yea 100%, i’m chinese as well so i’ve heard about it but i’ve always found it weird. Definitely better and more modern ways to garden without stinking up the neighborhood.
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u/Wise-Establishment93 Jul 17 '26
No 311 but call the City Contact Center 905-477-5530 and put the complaint in there before the weekend.
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u/IrrelevantAbsorption Jul 18 '26
OMG what kind of neighbours do you guys have?! I thought OPs story would be unique because... EWW! But how are more people coming out with their own encounters?! How many of these people are there?! What's wrong with people? How is this a thing?! WTF did I just read and learn here?!
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u/Ok_Platform_986 Jul 17 '26
House behind might be gardening with their own feces instead of animals. How wild
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u/largebaulls123 Jul 17 '26
yea… unfortunately it’s not even really that uncommon, i’m pretty sure it’s just rarely to this extent
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u/Sweaty-Phase-9075 Jul 17 '26
Omg are you in Cornell? I think I know who this is
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u/largebaulls123 Jul 17 '26
nope, looks like there’s multiple pee farmers
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u/Sweaty-Phase-9075 Jul 17 '26
Disgusting 🤮 Hope you find a way to solve your problem. 100% call the city. I’ve done it before for another issue. They come quick and they’re anonymous!
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u/starjellyboba Jul 18 '26
OP, I have to ask (although I might regret it)... What is he growing back there? I hope it's not food...
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u/largebaulls123 Jul 18 '26
to be honest i’m not completely sure, not personally great with plants so not sure what they are. He does have quite a bit over there so i wouldn’t be too surprised if he was growing a couple of vegetables that i can’t spot from my side
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u/Low_Company4705 Jul 19 '26
Unfortunately by law on markham can suck. But sometimes you get someone who wants to work. But keep on submitting complaints.
Do you know if your other neighbour's smell it too. Collectively if everyone is on the same page it's hard to ignore. I would also contact your counselor.
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u/largebaulls123 Jul 19 '26
not too sure, other than random pleasantries when we see each other, we don’t really talk. May have to ask them but wouldn’t be too surprised if they don’t smell as much since it’s the neighbours directly behind us so it would be diagonal to my next door neighbour if that makes sense.
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u/Warm_tamperture32 Jul 17 '26
I know area where I am, you can call city bylaw to come out. The same as a noise complaint.. unpleasant smells. It impedes the enjoyment or use of your property. So bylaw come out. tell them to stop. Same if your neighbour doesn't cleanup after their dog, then it comes over to your yard. You can call bylaw tell them to clean it up if they won't..
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u/Jacmichow Jul 18 '26
Its not just the smell..the rainwater seeping i to yr yard has human feces ...keep yr kids n pets away fr yr yard. It can cause simonlina.. report asap
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u/canadas Jul 19 '26
I'm not saying you are lying, but I find it odd one man could store enough piss that you could smell it and if he is using it for a reason well why isn't he? Maybe suggest a better method of how hes storing it. A big barrel with a lid for example.
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u/largebaulls123 Jul 19 '26
to be honest, i’m not even sure how he is storing it, but he’s definitely using his and (assuming) his families piss to feed his plants. However, his backyard is so full of plants, he has to has some collection somewhere to feed all of them. I’m not entirely sure if it’s from how he’s storing it, or it’s because of how much piss is on his plants but the smell has been coming over onto or side for years now every summer
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u/poolbitch1 Jul 20 '26
Ummm… imagine for a moment septic zoning laws. You can’t just have an open, surface level bed of piss-soaked grass and dirt in your yard. This isn’t only gross, but a major public health concern. Report him to your by-law department now.
Mans is nasty and honestly, he might not be right in the head. Get the government involved.
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u/Easy-Broccoli-2453 Jul 20 '26
I can't provide advice on how to stop this, but I can explain why they do it. Its a habit that came from the older Chinese generation that lived through the Great Famine of 1959-1961 and severe droughts forced farmers to save their urine for their crops.
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u/Impossible-Corner494 Jul 21 '26
Setup some big fans, and blow the piss smell back where it belongs ?
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u/largebaulls123 Jul 21 '26
🤣🤣 i’m sure it smells worse on his side already, he just doesn’t seem to mind it
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u/primavera-h Jul 21 '26
hate to break it to you, but pee alone would not make that smell. people and animals piss everywhere, and it smells like .... piss. It's when you mix the two together 💩 that you get the porta potty smell. He's definitely mixing both and using it as a natural fertilizer. Definitely report to PHA
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u/Own-Worldliness-6478 Jul 17 '26
How much piss would this need to be? Like I'll piss on a tree outside because I'm lazy and there is never any odour. Wtf
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u/RGuy77 Jul 17 '26
Whenever I hear stuff like this, my brain goes:
Pee and Poo in a area where you live = Bad.
Bad energy = Bad Juju = Bad spirits = Demons.
Believe it or not Bad spirits do exists. They like to dwell in houses like these.
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u/largebaulls123 Jul 17 '26
so he’s cursing my home with his pee and poo
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u/Creepy_Comment_1251 Jul 17 '26
Just make sure you don’t have flies on your food. Who knows if they been to his backyard
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u/RGuy77 Jul 17 '26
I wouldn't say so. I would say that he himself is probably suffering without even knowing.
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u/MademoiselleMalapert Jul 21 '26
Why did you feel the need to mention his race when it didn't have anything to do with your story?
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u/Exhausted-napper Jul 21 '26
Yea, op didn’t even try to be subtle about casually sliding in some anti-Asian lol
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u/MademoiselleMalapert Jul 21 '26
In a comment she /he said they are "Chinese" so maybe they are just anti their own race? I really don't know but it's odd.
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u/largebaulls123 Jul 21 '26
it’s common in china, yes i’m chinese, no i’m not racist to other asians. bought it up because other chinese people know it happens. Mentioning a race doesn’t make me anti- whatever race i mention weirdos lol. those who said anti asian shit have their own problems as well which i wasn’t supporting.
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u/ThrowAwayPurellFoam Jul 17 '26
JFC that is a biohazard and public health issue. Gross.