Chavs in Saabs??

[Marrk]

What would happen if the Chavs discovered Saabs...lol

http://www.cecimoz.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Chavs.htm

[rage]

Most excellent

[Garuda]

Chav? What's a Chav?

I used to live in the UK in the 1980's. There were no Chavs back then.

[rage]

Originally Posted by Garuda

Chav? What's a Chav?

Stolen from some site:

The press in Britain has recently been having fun mocking a group for which pejorative descriptions have been created such as “non-educated delinquents” and “the burgeoning peasant underclass”. The subjects of these derogatory descriptions are said to be set apart by ignorance, fecklessness, mindless violence and bad taste.
To illustrate the last of these, critics point to their style of dress: a love of flashy gold jewellery (hooped earrings, thick neck chains, sovereign rings and heavy bangles, which all may be lumped together under the term bling-bling); the wearing of white trainers (in what is called “prison white”, so clean that they look new); clothes in fashionable brands with very prominent logos; and baseball caps, frequently in Burberry check, a favourite style. The women, the Daily Mail wrote recently in a characteristic burst of maidenly distaste, “pull their shoddily dyed hair back in that ultra-tight bun known as a ‘council-house facelift’, wear skirts too short for their mottled blue thighs, and expose too much of their distressingly flabby midriffs”.
This upsurge of popular distaste towards one group may be evidence for a cultural shift back towards a class-ridden British society—at least the fear that it might be so is causing some alarm in liberal circles. Critics point to the copying of the style by many younger television celebrities as a further dumbing-down of that medium. Much of the attention is due to the experience of a Web site, which was intended to be humorous but which was infiltrated by extremists who threatened to turn it into a hate site.
From a linguistic perspective the most interesting aspect is the wide variety of local names given to the type. Scots call them neds (often said to be an acronym of “non-educated delinquents”, but that’s a folk etymology, given credence by being mentioned as fact during a debate in the Scottish parliament in 2003; it’s actually from an abridged form of the given name Edward, which was attached to this group in the period of the teddy-boys, who dressed in a version of Edwardian costume), while Liverpudlians prefer scallies (a term of long-standing for a boisterous, disruptive or irresponsible young man); Kev is common around London (presumably from the given name Kevin, common among this group and popularised through the portrayal on his television show by the comedian Harry Enfield of an idiotic teenager with that name). Other terms recorded from various parts of the country are janners (from Plymouth), smicks, spides, moakes and steeks (all from Belfast), plus bazzas, scuffheads, stigs, stangers, yarcos, and kappa slappers (girls who wear Kappa brand tracksuits, slapper being British slang for a promiscuous or vulgar woman).
The term that has become especially widely known in recent weeks, at least in southern England, is the one borrowed for the name of the Web site, chav. A writer in the Independent thought it derived from the name of the town of Chatham in Kent, where the term is best known and probably originated. But it seems that the word is from a much older underclass, the gypsies, many of whom have lived in that area for generations. Chav is almost certainly from the Romany word for a child, chavi, recorded from the middle of the nineteenth century. We know it was being used as a term of address to an adult man a little later in the century, but it hasn’t often been recorded in print since and its derivative chav is quite new to most people.
Other terms for the class also have Romany connections; another is charver, Romany for prostitute. Yet another is the deeply insulting pikey, presumably from the Kentish dialect term for gypsy that was borrowed from turnpike, so a person who travels the roads.
Did chavi die out, only to be reinvented recently? That seems hardly likely from the written and anecdotal evidence; what we’re seeing is a term that has been in active but inconspicuous use for the last 150 years suddenly bursting out into wider popular use in a new sense through circumstances we don’t fully understand.

[Matthew]

Originally Posted by Garuda

Chav? What's a Chav?

http://www.chavscum.co.uk/

It's all true They're everywhere

[Garuda]

Ah I see.

This may be a stretch, but I'm guessing these Chavs are the modern day version of 1980's British "punks", who also had bad taste in clothes and music, and spent their days in idle at shopping centers annoying grownups.

Of course, the new generation seems to have taken to rap music, and emulating the American "whigger" culture.

[Oliver]

In Belgium they're called "Johnnys", and the female equivalent "Marinas"

[Rob in Atlanta]

This just reminds me how much alike cultures from one country to another are. These characters would not seem that unusual in the US. Change the accent and some other minor things and they'd recognized as American stock types.

[ragtopcav]

Chavs, well I had a minor re-education a few weeks ago.

It is known on this forum I went to a rolling road meet with the 900 to cross check the results from another RR that has often been use by Saabcentral. It was a Vauxhall club meet, they were happy to accept me with my wierd Swedish car 8) .

OK whilst there I got chatting to a guy with shocking white trainers, track suit, Burberry cap and an inability to tell the difference between consonants and vowels [mentally this to me screamed CHAV!] the guy was perfectly pleasant, I put him right on a few things, he corrected me on bits too, it occured to me that what I was dealing with was prejudice, the guy was perfectly agreeable company, so why the preconceptions?

I'm still analysing this to some extent, but based on some measured assumptions he probably has a not very good job - it pays badly, so probably lives on some housing association estate, he needs to fit in and be part of what is around him, therefore he takes on board this Chav look, Chav sound etc. Ultimatley he's just a regular guy wanting to fit in.

Moral?, don't judge books by there covers or walk a mile in his trainers

[Matthew]

Originally Posted by Garuda

I'm guessing these Chavs are the modern day version of 1980's British "punks"

I'm not so sure.

Think of chavs as trailer trash. Pondlife. The "burgeoning peasant underclass in Britain".

[Alex]

Female chavs also appear to have the aim to get pregnant as early as possible which then will entitle them to a council house. The second pregnancy should ideally produce a child of a different sex and colour to the 1st to enable the council house to be upgraded to a three bedroom one.

[Paco]

I can't help but feel a little sorry for your pal Raggy, he is probably only guilty of a lack of imagination, hardly his fault.

I think Chavdom is a far more common (sic) condition than is suggested by confinement to those on low incomes and living in funded housing with limited education.

It seems prevalent in the socio-economic group that was once considered "lower middle class" whatever that means

The kids who are buying £5k cars and spending serious cash on plastic/rims/ice AND lets not forget the bling which may be cheap but doesn't come cheap if you see what I mean...are living at home with their parents in houses they own and have jobs and must earn some money to pay for or at least get the credit for all that tat.

I suspect this is what elevates mere plebs to real Chav status, I mean sonme poor sod without two beans to rub together is unlikely to drape himself in 9ct Gold chain without resorting to crime, and let's face it a real Chav might project all the bravado of a Tarantino-esque hood, but is really just worried about whether he gets home in time for his tea.

The "burgeoning" is right! This is soon to become a defined sociological strata methinks....

"Calling all cars, IC-one chav reported running from scene of gratuitous taste infringement...."



(Raises drawbridge and retires to the top of his Ivory tower... )

See what I mean? This Chav has some wedge from somewhere....

[Paco]

Originally Posted by Matthew

I'm not so sure.

Think of chavs as trailer trash. Pondlife. The "burgeoning peasant underclass in Britain".

Hmm and the shopping-arcade-lurking be-pinned punks of 1982 evolved in to contributory members of society did they?

[Matthew]

Ironically, I bet plenty of them did once they emerged from pimply adolescence

I see your point though Without defending either group, I think it's unfair on punks to lump them in the same category as chavs

[Rob in Atlanta]

Taken from a recent blog:





Eighteen-year-old Carl Murphy was trying to break into a warehouse near Liverpool, England, when he fell through a skylight and injured himself. Now, London's Sunday Telegraph reports, he has cashed in to the tune of £567,000 (about $1.1 million) in a liability suit. He says he plans to buy "a few houses and a flash car."

He has 17 metal plates in his skull, and although he has convictions for robbery, burglary and assault, he blames his injury for his "behavioral problems":

"It annoys me that people think I don't deserve this money after all I've been through," he said. "I'm going to spend my money on whatever I want and everyone who called me 'Tin Head' can go get stuffed."

He complains further: "The papers just call me a yob and a thug because I've been done for robbery and assault but those were just silly stupid little things, like." One almost hopes he gets assaulted and robbed to the tune of £567,000, like.

[Lloyd]

Hmm down here in Australia they are called bogan's. Being 18 myself means I know quite a few of them, and some arnt poor, they are quite smart and come from a good background, the only real "chaviness" about them is what brands of clothes they wear, but then again there are some complete morons But my point is dont judge people just by what they look like, they can still be great people

[Jezzadee]

There's one not far from here who won the lottery. He had a long and undistinguised record of petty crime, then he won 5 million quid a few months back. Recently he just got done for handling stolen power tools . Now that is a real lack of imagination.

[mg_td]

up this way the "chavs" are a good laugh.

[eggsngrits]

Oy! Check the 'Chav of the Month' here:

http://chavscum.co.uk/4images/details.php?image_id=1979

I think I'm gonna hurl.

[mg_td]

just did, thats awful, im just glad that degree and form of it isnt here yet, at least in maine.