Wednesday 1 June 2011

No, Polly ‘Chav’ Does Not Equal ‘Working Class’….

Polly Toynbee gets her facts wrong – again – on class:
Baroness Hussein-Ece tweeted: "Help. Trapped in a queue in chav land. Woman behind me explaining latest EastEnders plot to mate while eating largest bun I've ever seen." When challenged, she said she hadn't meant chav in any derogatory way. Of course not. But take a look at the venomous class-hate site ChavTowns to see what lies beneath.
So, ‘chav’ is a no-no but ‘toff’ is OK? Really, Polly?

Surely even the ‘Guardian’ isn’t giving you money for this load of old comment-bait?
She would presumably never say nigger or Paki, but chav is acceptable class abuse by people asserting superiority over those they despise.
*sigh*

Of course, to Polly, this all devolves back to the class struggle, even though you can be a chav without being working class, and though many, many hundred of thousands of working class people are not chavs…
Wrapped inside this little word is the quintessence of Britain's great social fracture. Over the last 30 years the public monstering of a huge slice of the population by luckier, better-paid people has become commonplace.
It’s not ‘a huge slice’ by any means, although with the help of the likes of Polly, it’s growing exponentially.
The best weapon in the class armoury fosters loathing of a "feral underclass" – its size vague and never delineated, relying on anecdotes of extreme dysfunction, of which any society has plenty. One sneer cleverly elides millions of low-earning workers in equal chav contempt for all living on an estate, drawing any benefit – even if in work – as cheats, addicts and layabouts.
Then whoever is doing the sneering doesn’t understand what a chav is any more than you do…

11 comments:

Captain Haddock said...

Polly Toynbee .. Only ever opens her big mouth, to change feet ..

PJH said...

At the risk of being called racist/bigoted myself...

"...even though you can be a chav without being working class..."

In the north east, I think you'd be hard pushed to find any `chav' you could describe as `working,' let alone `working class.'

I am Stan said...

Lol, Chavtown`s hilarious, it`s going on my blogroll, as you are dear...;)

Ranter said...

the 'Chav' culture embraces many of those in the underclass as well as many who consider themselves working class; that said Polly Toynbee just really annoys me. Why does she continue to be paid to write shite and be seemingly highly regarded in the lefty political class. I will raise a glass when i hear she's popped her cloggs!

Rob said...

Gosh, could these heroes for Polly also be the ones the Guardianistas sneer at for their cheap package holidays?

Guardian of our Times said...

Hear Polly squawk. See Polly preen her feathers. Watch Polly fly away if the going gets tough.

English Viking said...

Watch Polly make a tit of herself

Greencoat said...

Joseph Goebbels has died but Polly Toynbee carries on his work.

Ancient + Tattered Airman said...

I think there must be something seriously wrong with her. It's as if a nasty maggot is continually nibbling away at her brain.

Macheath said...

'One sneer cleverly elides millions of low-earning workers...

...and to lump it all in as a class issue does pretty much the same thing.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a left-wing journalist in possession of moral outrage must be in want of a sense of irony.

JuliaM said...

"Only ever opens her big mouth, to change feet .."

She's so reliably wrong on everything, isn't she?

"Lol, Chavtown`s hilarious..."

It is indeed! :)

"Gosh, could these heroes for Polly also be the ones the Guardianistas sneer at for their cheap package holidays?"

You know, I think they just might!