Chav-tastic

[dreamer_easy]

Oh, now I get what the hell a "chav" is. They're the young people in Britain you're supposed to be afraid of and allowed to sneer at. It was a reference to "the national sport of chav-baiting" in a news item that tipped me off. The Australian equivalent at the mo would be young Lebanese-Australian men.

Comments

[amy-chesis.livejournal.com]

You know the Goth-spotter entries on purplepooka's journal where she documents the aggressive gobshites who hurl abuse at complete strangers? Nearly always it'll be a "chav". (or "scally" in Liverpool/"charver" in Newcastle) But I'd say it less about class and more about attitude.

[clarity-dog.livejournal.com]

I'm from Boston, MA., and we have "chavs" here too, only we call them "yah doods." You know, backwards baseball cap, really thick Boston accent, generally decent kids but occasionally so willfully ignorant that your brain hurts. Don't really think about much else than beer, boobs, and the Red Sox. All perfectly good things, mind you, but it can get sort of ridiculous after a while. And their response to everything? "Yahh doood!" Hence the name.

Here, at least, it's not really a class thing - it's more upbringing, where you live, and what you've been exposed to, I guess. "Chav" seems to mean someone similar - willfully ignorant, lowest common denominator kids. Although only someone as snobby as Cassandra would think Rose was a "chav."

...or do I have no idea what I'm talking about?