Far from wishing to preach to the world my views on exactly what caused last weeks riots and looting spree, instead I think it is more necessary to underline a damaging phenomenon that has ferociously swept across the nation over the last decade. Chav bashing can be best described as a destructive habit - born from the middle classes - that involves belittling the working class and alienating them from society. Unfortunately, its increasing popularity highlights a disturbing elitist attitude manifesting within Great Britain. Julie Burchill, of the Times, rightly argues that the term is a form of "social racism" that reveals more about the unapologetic "chav-haters" than it does about the supposed chavs themselves.
Following from last weeks riots, celebrated TV historian David Starkey controversially stated that "[chavy] whites have become black"; seemingly blaming black culture for the unsettling scenes we witnessed across England. Not only are these observations inappropriate, they are also downright inaccurate. It was not solely black youths taking to the streets intimidating and robbing innocent citizens, there were also white and Asian residents looting their local stores and throwing objects at the police. This had nothing to do with race, it was purely and simply about class and hierarchy. Interestingly, what has been far less scrutinised is the social racism conveyed within his statement. This received far less media criticism than the racial undertones that (rightly) garnered widespread condemnation.
My previous article - 'Why the masses are turning against authority' - warned of a growing hatred of the police and armed forces in this country. It suggested how three incidents had triggered this loathing; loathing that was so vividly apparent during London's street mutinies. But running parallel to these arguments there have been individuals opining how government cuts assisted in the escalation and how high unemployment and poverty facilitated the youth uprising. All valid points worthy of consideration. However, these views all carry subtle flaws. David Cameron's cuts - as vile and unnecessary as they are - have not fully kicked in yet and unemployment and poverty have been consistently high before without this level of violence and carnage ensuing. This leads me to assume that the problem must be deep rooted and been developing over a considerable period of time.
David Starkey's comments helped to unveil a disturbing shift amongst British elites and academics towards the right. Classist labels have been tagged on to so-called chavs by middle and upper class Britons in an attempt to distance themselves from what they consider to be the underclass. Take the label "skinhead". This previously referred to a group of individuals in the 60's who saw themselves as part of a progressive and liberal subculture. They were generally peaceful (especially in northern England) and represented a new anti-racist mentality among white working-class males. Yet lately, the term "skinhead" has been used to describe the 'dress code' of a chav, as outlined in Owen Jones' must read, Chavs: The Demonisation of the Working Class. Before you know it, the term possesses negative connotations just because it is associated with chavs. This is wrong and must change.
If an individual dares to eat a fast food meal for lunch they are automatically dubbed a chav. If you are seen wearing a tracksuit you are sneered at and deemed a chav. If you work as a cleaner, or a bus drive, or happen to be unemployed you are labelled a chav. There used to be a day, not so long ago, when a cleaner carried a lot of weight in their neighbourhood. They were respected and considered an essential part of the community. Nowadays, snobbery has taken over and cleaners are frowned upon. No wonder these people are sick and tired and fighting back. The general consensus amongst most privileged members of society is that chavs are born that way. If a chavy mother has a child, that child is likely to be a chav. This thought process allows snobs to hate them without them having down anything wrong. Inevitably, this leads to a regression in society. Inequality.
This is where government needs to hold their hands up and take some of the blame for the troubles seen last week. Firstly, their last budget was extremely regressive. Simply put, it means that it took proportionately more from the poor than from the rich. It means that it took more from the person who washes your car at your local BP garage than from Carl-Henric Svanberg, chairman of BP. The budget highlighted the collapse of social mobility. This phrase refers to the likelihood of a person moving between classes; in other words, if you are born poor, you will almost certainly die poor. All these issues have agitated the public, so much so that we now speak of a new class war swelling in this country. Many of the rioters across Britain saw this as their opportunity to stress their dissatisfaction at our current predicament.
One thing that was fascinating about last weeks looting episode was the kinds of stores being targeted and the kinds of items being stolen. Laptops and flat-screen televisions were most commonly seen clasped in the hands of youngsters. This gave further weight to the already existing argument that Britain has become far too materialistic. The young people living in their Hackney tower block wanted what the middle-class people sipping coffee at the up market cafes have. We live in a pressured culture whereby if you do not own the latest i-pad or pair of trainers you are on the periphery of society. Chav bashing only makes this worse. In a sense, the message from last week was, 'We can have what you have and there isn't a damn thing you can do about it'.
Let us not be fooled into thinking that this is a race related problem. It is not. Rather, it is a class issue that has persistently plagued the United Kingdom; the Conservatives have merely worsened the matter and created a society that isolates individuals and alienates certain groups from civilisation. Well these groups have had enough. Chav bashing. Snobbery. Pomp. Call it what you will for it is the true disease infecting this divided country. A disease that will take time to cure and ought to have been prevented many years ago. The riots of last week were not surprising, nor will they be the last if our class superciliousness persists. Whilst there is inequality and prejudice there shall always be disdain and hatred. And whilst there is disdain and hatred there shall always be violence and collision. Until this is looked at and addressed nothing will adjust and improve. The British elites must take note.