Dirty tricks, MI6
Comment on Chavs are a British mythical creature that only snobs are scared of
HexesofVexes@lemmy.world 6 days ago
No… that culture of violence was very very real. The stories may sound ridiculous, but that’s just because of how extreme that culture was.
Flax_vert@feddit.uk 6 days ago
ILoveDurians@lemmy.cafe 6 days ago
I’m not saying that violent people don’t exist. I was saying Chavs don’t exist. Chav is a hateful synonym for a working class person and the middle and upper class people made Chavs up to paint the entire working class as violent and animalistic.
HexesofVexes@lemmy.world 6 days ago
Chav is not a term to describe a working class person - it’s a term to describe a subset of youths who are pretty much feral.
By feral I mean aggressive and “antisocial” in the “are you looking at me pal” kind of response to eye contact. In essence, a youth whose primary strategy is to escalate to conflict by the shortest possible route in the hopes of winning status.
What that has to do with coming from an honest working family is beyond me!
Pat_Riot@lemmy.today 6 days ago
Hey, ignorant Yank here, and I’d like some clarification. Is chav the bri’ish version of redneck?
HexesofVexes@lemmy.world 6 days ago
I’m not from the USA so I don’t really have a clear idea on what a redneck is.
However, going from media representations (dodgy ground) I’d say no. There isn’t the strong streak of racism, and the demographic is uniquely young for chavs (since most grow out of it).
Goldholz@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 days ago
No Not even close
ILoveDurians@lemmy.cafe 6 days ago
This isn’t true. It was always a word that middle class and upper class people used to sneer at and demonise the working class.
HexesofVexes@lemmy.world 6 days ago
Reply to edited chart - violence against adult was not as common. Violence against other kids however…
Also, 1995–2002 was peak chav ;)
Flax_vert@feddit.uk 6 days ago
In my experience, Chav has never been used to describe a normal working class person. In Northern Ireland, we had our own variant “Spide” or “Smick” which were generally more tame. Less burberry more tracksuits