F*cking chavs
I have been planning to write an analytical post about the classist nature of anti-'chav' name-calling. However, I haven't got the brainpower for that, so I'm going to make it a personal one.
First, Wikipedia has a definition. See also: redneck, white trash, scheemie.
You talk about 'chavs' in a negative light. (From now on, I'm going to avoid inverted commas around the word chav.) Maybe some chavs have shouted abuse of you for looking different. Maybe some chavs even beat you or your friends up. That doesn't mean you should class them all as equally malevolent. You don't like their clothes/jewelery/music/fake tans, you think they look ridiculous. You forget that they also dislike your look to, and forget that these things are personal judgements and not absolute.
You are likely middle-class and/or well educated. You think it's ok to look down on white working-class/underclass people. You are being a dick. Stop it. Do not look at clothing etc. and assume things about people. Do not use 'chav' to describe someone who is behaving appalingly; describe their behaviour as appalling please. Grr. Otherwise you're tarring people with the same brush. I need to start calling people on their sh*t.
You may wish to justify name-calling by saying that chavs do name-calling and more. Do you really think that is a good thing to do though? Be nice or neutral to people if you can, whatever their behaviour (whislt trying to remain safe).
[Edited for clarification] In my experience, many goths do this all the time, but of course they're not the only ones. The goths that I've hung out with in the last year are the only people who have called people 'chavs' in my earshot. [/edit]
I'm not going to get into a big debate about this.
First, Wikipedia has a definition. See also: redneck, white trash, scheemie.
You talk about 'chavs' in a negative light. (From now on, I'm going to avoid inverted commas around the word chav.) Maybe some chavs have shouted abuse of you for looking different. Maybe some chavs even beat you or your friends up. That doesn't mean you should class them all as equally malevolent. You don't like their clothes/jewelery/music/fake tans, you think they look ridiculous. You forget that they also dislike your look to, and forget that these things are personal judgements and not absolute.
You are likely middle-class and/or well educated. You think it's ok to look down on white working-class/underclass people. You are being a dick. Stop it. Do not look at clothing etc. and assume things about people. Do not use 'chav' to describe someone who is behaving appalingly; describe their behaviour as appalling please. Grr. Otherwise you're tarring people with the same brush. I need to start calling people on their sh*t.
You may wish to justify name-calling by saying that chavs do name-calling and more. Do you really think that is a good thing to do though? Be nice or neutral to people if you can, whatever their behaviour (whislt trying to remain safe).
[Edited for clarification] In my experience, many goths do this all the time, but of course they're not the only ones. The goths that I've hung out with in the last year are the only people who have called people 'chavs' in my earshot. [/edit]
I'm not going to get into a big debate about this.