Comments for James's Journal

Comment on It’s because the weather is hot, innit? by Phil Ruse

Phil Ruse — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 08:02:16 +0000

With regards to agriculture, I’ve heard that in some cases the problem is (or at least used to be) the food surplus that the EU builds up and then ‘dumps’ on Africa, leaving African farmers unable to compete. I think we make the mistake of assuming it’s always starving people when sometimes they need help and investment of a different kind. And I think it’s an argument that can appeal regardless of political sentiment; invest for altruistic [you would hope] *or* economic reasons – a healthy prosperous Africa benefits us all.

Comment on Better pictures by Gwaré

Gwaré — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 21:29:28 +0000

You and Ben, obviously *facepalm*

Comment on Better pictures by Gwaré

Gwaré — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 21:28:43 +0000

Have you ben watching The Human Centipede?

Comment on To further clarify… by Steve Kuncewicz

Steve Kuncewicz — Tue, 31 May 2011 11:07:21 +0000

Looks like you may have a claim in defamation against the papers if they’re wrong! May be worth letting them know.

Comment on Why Monopoly is Too Realistic for Kids by Mike

Mike — Mon, 30 May 2011 15:11:50 +0000

It’d be a little more realistic if your amount of starting cash was determined completely by chance. The ones who start with little struggle just to pay rent while the ones who got lucky buy up everything and use it to get more.

Comment on On Lush, UK Uncut, and Tax Compliance by Paul o

Paul o — Mon, 02 May 2011 12:16:39 +0000

Your story is not quiet right

According to Lush, the journalists have got the story wrong. Lush said
The journo was determined that the story was that we were supporting UKUncut, although that is not strictly the case. The £10k donation was agreed for Green and Black Cross,and was agreed before Fortum and Mason’s occupation. The journo seemed to think that since Green and Black Cross are supporting UKUncut activists giving them a donation amounted to the same thing as giving to UKUncut directly.

Why does it matter? If courts believe that a millionaire is paying the fines, they may instead take the route of giving people community service rather than a fine which is worse in some ways as it takes people out of action

Comment on LJ 2008-09-14 16:00:00 by James's Journal » Old Kiln Lakes

James's Journal » Old Kiln Lakes — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 09:54:34 +0000

[...] The day actually started with us exploring along the footpath that runs through the quarry. Of course, we would never dream of actually entering the quarry itself, because trespass is wrong, even when simply in the pursuit of knowledge in such a way that harms [...]

Comment on Chavs and the Classless Rural Upbringing by Owen Jones

Owen Jones — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 20:36:13 +0000

Fascinating post.

I don’t know if people saw the recent ‘BritainThinks’ study on class, but it had a particularly revealing finding, I thought:

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/deborah-mattinson-from-cloth-caps-to-cafetires-you-are-what-you-buy-2247053.html
“There was a strong feeling in the focus groups that the noble tradition of a respectable and diligent working class was over. For the first time, I saw the “working class” tag used as a slur, equated with other class-based insults such as “chav”. I asked focus group members to make collages using newspaper and magazine clippings to show what the working class was. Many chose deeply unattractive images: flashy excess, cosmetic surgery gone wrong, tacky designer clothes, booze, drugs and overeating. By contrast, being middle class is about being, well, a bit classy.”

I think this interesting (and disturbing) idea has grown popular: that we’re all middle-class now, except for the old “chav” leftovers of the working-class. The idea of a “respectable working-class” – which was once mainstream, if rather patronising – has been all but airbrushed.

I think rather than using “chav” in the contexts above you describe, people should think of bringing words like “thug” – they focus much more on the individual being described, rather than lumping a whole group of people together based on a caricature.

Anyway, really interesting stuff!

Comment on Chavs and the Classless Rural Upbringing by James

James — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 14:25:36 +0000

I like to imagine that most words like “chav” start off without a deliberately spiteful meaning, and just take them on later.. The Chatham thing was something I’d heard too, though sadly the evolution of slang is poorly documented when said slang isn’t even recognised by those who document such things until quite some time later… :o)

Comment on Chavs and the Classless Rural Upbringing by Liam James

Liam James — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 13:19:48 +0000

I’ve always been told (and apparently the Wikipedia massive agrees with me) that the word sprung up in towns around Chatham as a derogatory term for those in the area. There are a few backronyms floating around, but they’re all a bit awkward.