Hold on a minute, who you calling a tosser?
It appears that the Conservative Party have stooped to an all time political low, head first, straight into the gutter with their latest condescending campaign. For some strange reason, the Tories seem to think it's perfectly acceptable to call, and let's not beat around the bush here, working class men, tossers. The campaign looks as if it could have come straight out of the Jamie Oliver school of nannying politics.Nowadays, it's becoming commonplace to loath and hate the dreaded plebs in the lower orders, and to talk about them as if they were something horrible that you would normally scrape off the bottom of your shoes. Indeed, even the respectable middle class think it's perfectly fine to let rip on the working class these days - witness Greenpeace's campaign against people who drive 4x4 cars. It seems as far as the Tories, or Greenpeace (and New Labour for that matter) are concerned, the working class are just a bunch of undeserving, ignorant polluters who are addicted to shopping, flash living and easy credit.
Of course, the political elite can get away with such vituperative remarks about the lumpen 'chav' class these days, because the working class are no longer a distinctive political force to be reckoned with. Even upper class twits like Prince William, who would normally be too frightened to walk in the streets by himself, feels perfectly free to lampoon working class men without any comebacks whatsoever.
So, now we have the Tories struggling to legitimise their position by looking down their noses at those people who jump in a London taxi rather than get the tube home after a night out. There was a time when confident politicians used to offer the electorate political visions and ideas about how we go about building the Good Society - today, they only appear to offer 'advice', backed by the law for those who make the wrong 'choice'. If you ask me, the Tories appear more like an organisation of 'we-know-what's-best-for-you' councillors rather than politicians of progressive ideas and substance.
Guido Fawkes reminds us that the Conservative Party have some front lecturing people about getting into too much debt.
Labels: Misanthropy, Working class
posted by Courtney Hamilton @ 8:31 AM
12 Comments:
I wouldn't critise the campaign too much. Anything which reminds people of just what idiots the Tories can be is a good thing in my book.
Courtney, I certainly wouldn't use a word like "tosser", and I take both taxis and the underground in London, depending on the circumstances.
I'd like to see you join some of the Conservative Forums, to learn more about the policies and discover what their plans really are, to add your point of view in a constructive way. If you are interested, let me know and I will forward you the info. Try and keep an open mind.
I've noticed many "educated" lefties with office jobs (or no jobs) sneering at blue-collar working people, cops, soldiers, etc. As you say, the attitude is that such "lower" folk are too dumb to know what's good for them (voting for lefties and higher taxes, obviously) and decisions are best left to those reading Socialism for Dummies in ivory towers.
Are the Tories' comments aimed at a particular class or a particular type of behaviour? This is a genuine question as I haven't properly looked at the campaign but there's a big difference between condemning class and condemning behaviour, as I am sure you realise.
To what extent the official opposition should be getting involved in such things I'm not sure - and the tone is vulgar to say the least.
And I'm not sure how the middle class are letting rip on the working class with regards to 4x4 cars; I thought it was the middle classes who could afford such vehicles.
The same regarding jumping in cabs when one already possesses a travel card - is this working class only behaviour?
We're marginalised for all sorts of reasons - especially us white working class. Let's not invent sins against us too...
"Even upper class twits like Prince William, who would normally be too frightened to walk in the streets, feel perfectly free to lampoon working class men without no comebacks."
Can you justify calling Prince William a twit?
I could dress up as he did - does my low class make it okay? Where is the libertarianism in one rule for him, another for me?
Is the bad grammar in the last half dozen words your own lampooning of ghetto blacks - or just bad grammar?
I'm not sure what the Conservatives are trying to achieve. I am not sure they should even be trying to achieve it. And, if they are, I am not sure this approach is especially inspiring. The only thing I am reasonably sure of is that it's not an attack on the working class - and I would respectfully suggest that attempts to portray it as a class issue are more suited to the Left than to somebody a little more enlightened.
I must admit that me and my mates sometimes enjoy having a laugh at the expense of chavs/pikeys, but you do raise a very good point: We should expect slightly more 'elevated' discourse from those who would govern us.
Still, at least Cameron's ludicrous efforts to 'get down wiv da kids' is good for providing a few chuckles...
Your right Gary, that's just bad grammar and slack proof-reading. Will do better next.
As for Prince William, past royals would have never had the affront to go to a fancy-dress party dressed as a striking miners or a striking shipyard worker, would they? Yet today, the entire graduate officer class at Sandhurst feel free to take the piss out of 'chavs', and 'chav' is nothing but a by-word for working class.
Your also right about class and behaviour, but I think the Tories campaign was aimed at both - the campaigns aim is to engineer a type of behaviour, hence the need for their 'advice'. Likewise, the use of vulgar language is deployed in order to identify a particular constituency - any guesses as to which type of constituent most commonly use such language?
I'm sorry, but I can't apologies for that 'twit' thing, Prince William is an upper class twit - end of story as far as I'm concerned. Admitedly, he's not as big a twit as his younger brother Prince Harry, or his father Prince Charles.
It isn't a problem if you dress like a 'chav' to go to a fancy dress party - for me, it's a question of 'what does that mean'? These days, thousands of adults go partying every weekend dressed up as school children, again, what is important here is 'what does this tell us about our society'?
I have no problem with Prince William dressing as a 'chav' or adults wearing school uniforms, but both says something about the way people think. One says 'chavs' are fair game for insults, the other says adults who party wearing old school uniforms just need to grow up a bit, that's all.
Also Gary, the reason for arguing that the campaign was aimed at the solely at the working class, is because, the level of personal debt isn't really a major political problem. On the contrary, it is the historically high rate of corporate and government debt that is a major cause for concern.
A concern, for which the Conservative's have very little to say about. Telling other people to spend a lot less seems to be an easy option rather than coming up with an alternative economic programme that could arrest our current record busting budget deficit.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/5097706.stm?ls
Ellee,
Thank you very much for the offer, I'd like to take a look at the info which you can send to my email address.
courtney@dazedgroup.com
I always like to think I have an open mind.
Hi Paula,
Your far too reasonable a person to argue against - and I'm not foolish enough yet to do such a thing.
Matt,
We've got to keep them on their toes.
Courtney,
I don't think chav is a by-word for the working-class since the working-class are users of that same word. It's a word used to describe a fairly well-defined type of brainless misfit who acts and dresses in a fairly distinctive way. They are viewed with disdain by more than so-called upper class twits.
Personal debt will be an overwhleming, all-encompassing problem if rates rise sufficiently for people to start going under. I think the British public are now a trillion quid in hock. If the rates rise it will be seismic in its effect. I wouldn't under-estimate this and I don't think the government or the Conservatives are unaware of the potential catastrophe.
What they'll do about it is another thing. This 'tosser' business is dubious, I must admit...
Courtney, Sorry for the delay in coming back to your post, I'm glad you are keeping an open mind, I will email some info in the next couple of days.
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