I keep wondering why class prejudice is treated as so normal in the UK, especially when most people are working class themselves. The slur “chav” shows this clearly. It gets used so casually, almost like it’s harmless, even though it’s aimed at an entire social group. What I can’t figure out is why so few people call it out for the classism it is. Media and politics seem to reinforce the idea that mocking the working class is acceptable, but it still feels strange that so many people go along with it without questioning it. It makes me wonder how something so openly dismissive became such an ordinary part of everyday language.
A few poignant examples I’ve read are things such as “anyone else cross the street when they see chavs (working class people)”? Or “I hate chavs (working class people) I wish they were all gassed”. Often, such phrasings will earn a lot of upvotes or likes, as well. It’s 42 million people, that is a lot of people some people want to be “gassed”, that other people are upvoting/liking.
Most people think they’re middle class and it’s easy to punch down, that’s really all there is to it.
When I was young I remember asking my parents “are we rich or poor?” and I was told we were middle class, it stands out because at the time I didn’t know what that meant. Looking back we were absolutely working class. We were in one of the worst parts of the city and literally just the corner was a street well known for gang violence and crime. The one time I called the cops after being attacked there when they arrived they made sure they were parked in view of security cameras and even called to have sure the cameras were on then and working. Also the only “help” they have was telling me to do it because it wasn’t worth the effort.
We were only slightly better off than everyone else living there, we actually owned our home when many of them were in council housing.