Comment on Chavs are a British mythical creature that only snobs are scared of

• 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!

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  • 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?

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    • 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).

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      • Pat_Riot@lemmy.today ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

        Fair enough. The racism isn’t a necessary component to being a redneck but it is fairly prevalent. Rednecks don’t outgrow it typically either. Thanks for the straight reply.

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    • Goldholz@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

      No Not even close

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  • ILoveDurians@lemmy.cafe ⁨6⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago

    it’s a term to describe a subset of youths who are pretty much feral.

    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.

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• 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 ;)

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• 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

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