'Chav'.

[Blaze]

Tracksuits were designed for sport and that is where they should stay. Hence the name.

[Poison Tom 96]

people (including myself) use chav instead of writing out undesirable in our lovely community/TTF/Theme park. it means we call them a word instead of that or something properly abusive

[RustyRider]

I for one don't like the way the word chav is thrown around in this forum, I've noticed it's been used quite a lot for describing people who aren't clued up about coasters, now it's not neccessarly the word itself but quotes like this..."OMGZ DAT COASTER WAZ WELL SIK BLUD, BUT OBLVION NEEDS A LOOP DE LOOP INIT"

I just think its lame to assume that people who don't know what an Immelmann or a heartline roll is are branded chavs.

Also just to clear things up, the word chav comes from CHatham AVerage, basically a town in Kent full of your average council house layabouts.

[Anthony]

Jeeesus, really?

We all know what a chav is but it isn't exactly a scientific term so you can't pin it down. Chavs are...chavs. They're the ones who David Starkey would blame black gangster culture for, the ones who shout and swear in front of kids, the ones who queue-jump and piss brazenly in public. It's nothing to do with how you look, where you're from or how much money you have.

It's the one who is unnecessarily anti-social and proud of it...



...and Nightfall, because he wears a tracksuit.

:P

[McFlurry]

This forum is SO English. What's wrong with NEDs? 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ned_%28Scottish%29

Seriously though I've never noticed the use of Chav being such a big problem. Infact of the very little times I've seen it used it's been in jest while referring to Thorpe Park and not as a direct insult with intent to cause upset.

/down_with_the_interwebz.

[DiogoJ42]

It's simple, we call them chavs, because they  are chavs.

[Don't_Look_Down]

Also just to clear things up, the word chav comes from CHatham AVerage, basically a town in Kent full of your average council house layabouts.

Actually, the word chav has been a well known Kentish phrase for years. Chav used to mean gypsy 

[Joe Koopa]

Many chavs in my school consider themselves so. They take the 'chav' tag as a compliment, so I've taken to calling them thugs in order to insult.

I guess it's not much different to how hipsters like to be considered 'indie kids' or whatever...

[Sazzle]

Excuse the fact I'm writing this from my phone, firstly! Apologies for any errors.

I researched the subject and wrote my dissertation on the subject of Chavs, and its still a subject I find intensely interesting, in fact I'm currently reading a book by Owen Jones - "Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class".

The simple fact of the matter is that the term chav is, by its very nature, a definition constantly in flux. It means different things to different people, and a dictionary definition is nigh on useless. The media, politicians and the type of environment you live and work in ALL contribute to what someone thinks of as 'chav'. Four or five years ago, chav was linked to Burberry check clothing - I can't say I see that on a daily basis being worn by those same people whose other characteristics haven't changed at all.

It is a derogatory term, there's no denying that, but that doesn't mean that in a public forum such as this, people should refrain from using it - its general connotations are negative, and so are fitting to describe perhaps arrogant, rude, foul mouthed youths who queue jump at theme parks and happen to wear the stereotypical clothing of the group they've been labelled as.

Anyway... I'm getting on my sociological horse. I would genuinely love to debate this properly, perhaps in Corner Coffee?

My main point is that yes, some may find it offensive, but chav is a commonly used term, its in the dictionary, its a broad definition, and often its used in a flippant fashion, and its something that in proper context, can lead to a more accurate description of a group or individual, as others can gain wider inference from its use.

Long post.. sorry!

[ponder]

Great post, Sazzle!

Just to clear something up. I didn't start this thread because I personally find the term 'chav' offensive, more that it usually seems to be used primarily as a generalisation, and often in a manner which suggests they're inferior to the person using the term. My argument would be that somebody with a superiority complex has just as ugly a personality than that of a 'chav'.

I'd just seen it used on a few occasions prior to this in what I would consider a fairly pointless context. One post in particular was about queuelines or similar, and asked the question "What kind of person were they? (ie. a chav)" which to me seemed like an unnecessary use of the word in an implied derogatory sense.

I'm in no way suggesting that anyone should refrain from using the word, just that it often seems to be banded around a little too freely.

Anyway, it all seems rather trivial now. In summary: baseless generalisations are rubbish.

Thanks!!