Chavs

[FriedFrog]

I think this is the right place to post this.

All you Brits will know what I mean.

Are Chavs the 'anti-social parasites' they are made out to be, OR victimized and stereotyped working class folk just out to make the most of the lives they lead?

http://www.limbicnutrition.com/blog/archives/images/chavs.jpg

Discuss....

[prettyred]

neither, theyre just out of order fuckheads that pick fights for credibility. 'anti-social' i spose is what a politician would say

[CommieBastard]

They are the underclass
The disenfranchised and disheartened
With none of the normal avenues that human's use for satisfaction, enjoyment and social interaction open to them, and a bleak future laid out by the impoverished conditions which they've been born into, combined with the cultural effects of capitalist 'it's your own fault if you're poor' beliefs and the lies of the filthy red-tops that seek to keep them in their conditions...

Don't get me wrong, I am no apologist for what they do. I have been at the end of the ill actions of 'scallies' as they are known in my area plenty. Whilst I have suffered to some extent for what they have done, I do not lay the fault or blame at their door. They are as much a victim of society as it stands as I, or anyone else.

However, I think one should draw a distinction between the 'cultural chav' and the 'genuine chav'.
There are those who emulate chav 'culture' just because of the 'manly' ideals it holds as it's central tenets; such as drinking your liver into oblivion, squaring up to random strangers in the street and hitting your woman.

I find it remarkable how the media has managed to manipulate an entire generation of disaffected youth into the perfect disaffected consumer. They are willing to spend what little they have available to them on their expressions of meaningless hatred, their self-destructive urges, and the very things which perpetuate their pained ignorance.

[h&s]

Hey people, just because people dress this way (or like a 'chav' as the media would put it) does not mean that they are bad people. Not all of them do bad things, but as CommieBastard put it, even those that do are not really at fault - there is quite simply nothing to do in the inner city, let alone the peripheral estates. The right wing create the problem, and then blame the working class parents when the rest of the country finds out about it.

[bolshevik butcher]

Originally posted by h&[email protected] 24 2005, 02:58 PM
Hey people, just because people dress this way (or like a 'chav' as the media would put it) does not mean that they are bad people. Not all of them do bad things, but as CommieBastard put it, even those that do are not really at fault - there is quite simply nothing to do in the inner city, let alone the peripheral estates. The right wing create the problem, and then blame the working class parents when the rest of the country finds out about it.
I have plenty of friends who'se family live off benifits, there not chavs. I've no porblem with people dresing like them, but when you get the shit beating out of you and salgged off constantl for no reason then they are just fuck heads.

[T_SP]

I'm afraid the vast majority of them are scumbags, the dregs of society. It's a shame these assholes actually give a bad name to those others who like to dress like this.

Stick a burberry cap on there head and they can only speak foul profanities to all they meet, believe me I've met alot of people like this. The thing we need to do, instead of pigeon holeing them is to actually found out the real reasons why they have to act in such a way and aid them to be better people ionstead of mindless thugs.

[FriedFrog]

The contact I have had with Chavs (or scalls/scallies) are that they are anti-social and create a real feeling of insecurity where they are present, IE, I avoid street corners/off-license where I know they will be.

The ones I know are complete twats (pardon the language), but the worst thing is, they KNOW they are, and for some reason aim to be like that.

But, if you catch them at the right moment they can be just the same as anyone else and you can hold a decent and 'normal' conversation with them.

I think the fact that they hang around in groups leaves them open to being anti-social through peer pressure.

[monkeydust]

I don't despise chavs as such.

What I really do despise is the current trend amongst certain middle classes to try and imitate "chav culture" - it makes me want to be sick.

I've actually noticed that, whilst chavs can appear to be complete arses to the majority of people, towards eachother they're incredibly close and loyal. It's a kind of "us" and "them" situation, they're nice people towards eachother, yet not towards everyone else.

My town is literally swamped with them.

[CommieBastard]

But, if you catch them at the right moment they can be just the same as anyone else and you can hold a decent and 'normal' conversation with them.

This is so true. You have to remember that at their core they are normal people like everyone else, with the same kinds of psychological factors.
Like everyone else, they do desire to interact 'nicely' with people, and are very capable of it. However, whilst you can interact with them normally, you know that were it a different time and place and matters would be entirely different. Their hateful nature is, in my view, fueled by their own deep-seated insecurities.
In my experience they have much less of a tendency to be bigoted than other people, they see past the normal boundaries that society has set up, because they have been set apart from society. They just seek outlets for the pent up rage at their own seemingly futile situation, and anyone can qualify for this. In their strange world view they are looking for a fight, and so is practically everyone else. To them this is manhood.
It could be that it is in some way a reaction to a feeling of injured manhood. The Capitalist mismanagement of the integration of women into the workforce and the change of prominence from the Secondary to the Tertiary sector has lead to very few prospects for many people born into traditionally working class families.

It seems however, all too convenient for capitalism that the underclass should be vilified and marked out as 'scum', and that the culture that has developed around them should perpetuate this image.

[Thomas]

They're puppers and sheep for the corporations, they follow and do what they are to do, and buy what they are told to buy. And as a result of the oppresion they suffer, they tend to become anti-social, provoking hatred from the rest of the population, thus dividing the working class.

This results in a weakened working class, with "chavs" being trained a life of crime while the rest of the working class are trained to serve their masters.

If you get me

[Hate Is Art]

Fucking hate them, today at work a group of about 20 chavs jumped on some woman's car and smashed in the windows and keyed it. You can be dis-enfranchised and working class and you don't have to result to these kind of things.

[Iepilei]

Attacking the people is no way to liberate them.

:ph34r:

[Big_Don]

Derived and similar terms

The act of adding superfluous and cosmetic modifications to something is known as chavving up, and is particularly relevant if the modifications actually decrease performance. Sometimes this has been used - sometimes derogatively but usually as a joke - of the case modding scene.


Related terms (for any of you Brits) for urban or suburban miscreants include Barry Boy (East Anglia), Ned (Scottish), Scally (North-West), Scrote, Scuffer (West Oxfordshire), spide (Northern Irish), and Yob (or yobbo backslang for "boy"). The popularity of these terms has grown since the 1980s, and their usage reflects both serious and light-hearted issues arising from changes in British urban life.

[Yazman]

WTF is a "chav" ?

[Big_Don]

Originally posted by [email protected] 23 2005, 09:53 AM
WTF is a "chav" ?
Chav is a derogatory slang term currently in popular usage throughout England ( i.e North West). It refers to a subculture negatively stereotyped as being uneducated, uncultured and prone to antisocial or immoral behavior. The label is typically (although not exclusively) applied to teenagers and young adults of white working class or lower-middle class origin.


A male chav is sometimes referred to as a chavster and a female as a chavette, although chav is typically used to refer to both sexes.

[Deepest Red]

My understanding of 'chav' is: people who are always after the latest trend in fashion, i.e just do whatever they think is 'coolest' and copy each other.

The pic just looks like a load of scallys :P
The kind that roam their local estate at night looking for a fight.

[Big_Don]

Originally posted by Comrade [email protected] 23 2005, 10:18 AM
My understanding of 'chav' is: people who are always after the latest trend in fashion, i.e just do whatever they think is 'coolest' and copy each other.

The pic just looks like a load of scallys :P
The kind that roam their local estate at night looking for a fight.
Here a more stereotypical view of Chavs:

(Again people from Britain will most certainly know what I'm talking about)

The wearing of particular clothing, such as
Brand name athletic clothing and shoes (stereotypically, white trainers).
Fake designer clothing and accessories, in particular the distinctive plaid patterns of Burberry.

Gaudy Gold jewellery (in particular hoop earrings for females and sovereign rings for males).
Sports caps or hooded tops (often both are worn).
Sports or jogging trousers (may be tucked into socks).

For women, the heavy use of fake tan along with the hairstyle known as the 'Council House Facelift' in which the (usually dyed) hair is pulled back into a tight bun.

Association with crass, drunken behaviour and minor criminal activities, generally carried out under the influence of alcohol, and often after the pubs have closed.

The association with housing estates and other low-income neighbourhoods.

The ownership of a large, dangerous attack dog.

The ownership of a heavily modified car, often of low original specification

In the style seen in the film The Fast and the Furious.

As seen in the magazine Max Power, a blend of vehicle customisation and semi-clad glamour models.

Usually incorporating a high specification music system with amplified bass.

If, for some reason, a chav should find himself without a vehicle or dog of this sort, the acquiring of such will likely be a major focus for him.

Musically, a chav might enjoy mainstream rap music and his girlfriend R&B, with pop and dance music a common ground between them. The rap group Goldie Lookin' Chain have satirised the chav aesthetic.

The frequent use of mobile phones, (regardless of location such as cinemas, restaurants, etc.).
A penchant for the television chat show Trisha

The Burberry clothing brand in particular acquired such links with the chav subculture that it ceased production of its branded baseball cap. Given the popularity of this item, a counterfeit version is usually what is being referred to.

[dawson]

god chavs are so annoying! i mean they'd be ok, if they didnt go around starting on everyone!....or nicking cars...or anything for that matter....and why cant they wear propper burberry...theres nothing wrong with burberry but chavs have given it a bad name....hmm..yea :D

[RedAnarchist]

Chavs are freaks who have the need to follow some petty, vain sub-culture.