i really (REALLY) don't know anything about politics as, like many working class people, i simply think 'what is the point? they will all screw us over' and i have no idea who Owen Jones is or why some people seem to dislike him so much but i really don't understand why he is getting such hateful backlash for this book. he describes how we are treated very well and seems to actually want change (although i could be wrong on that).
i came from a 'chavvy' background; hung out in a gang, did drugs, abused alcohol and even stole cars (i was homeless at the time and we usually just drove around the corner and slept in the car, not that that excuses it). i knew two murderers, my partner was a mugger and doing beer/petrol runs was a biweekly thing for us. trackies was the desired attire; the bottoms of which were tucked into socks, a baseball cap was a must and no respectable mate was without a can in one hand and a joint in the other. none of which i am proud. what people don't seem to realise is that you live and breathe this behaviour from the second you are born; nobody tells you any different-you never see anything different except on snobby TV shows (and that's only if you own a TV), role models are non-existent and the thought of getting a paid (legal) job is laughable. until i was 19 i honestly thought a job was a dream, not dissimilar to the way little girls grow up to realise that they will never actually be a princess; people like me didn't get jobs, we were too rough and subhuman. i still get shaky when i enter a 'posh' shopping centre: you know those places, they have a million different stores (usually good ones) all under one roof-well i can't go in them because i get some sort of mini panic attack fearing that everyone is watching me and i will get thrown out simply for being there.
this is not a life that you choose, trust me. if you want a decent life you need to abandon all friends, all family, every aspect of the life you have led for as long as you can remember, as well as changing many of your opinions (which were never really yours, but you had to agree lest you be ousted from the gang and beaten up every time you dared to leave your dump of a flat). if someone asked you to act like a chav, you wouldn't; it would be shameful to behave in such a manner when everyone you know hates the people you are portraying-this is exactly the same for a chav; you cannot act like a middle class person. you don't have the faintest clue where to begin, you don't have the means to do it and even if you DID, you would be killed for thinking you were better than everyone else.
i also got pregnant quite young: 17. this is what changed my life. i immediately dropped my 'friends', began a relationship with a more responsible guy and moved city. we are good people, my partner works full time to support us and we don't receive many benefits (although we still get some due to us still being working class and as such we can barely afford to feed ourselves sometimes even when working full time).
what annoys me, and i feel is portrayed somewhat in this book, is that i am tarred with the same brush as some of those scumbags who do atrocious things in the name of money. i admit i did bad things and, outwardly, i seemed to be a bad person, but i never was inside; you do what you can to survive. you might say you would never steal-not even a loaf of bread-but try not eating for 3 days, you might just change your mind. and, no, we don't have family to help us out. we have no one. i am sooo annoyed that i never had the remotest chance of attending a university simply because i was born into a poor family, on a poor estate. there certainly ARE chavs out there but there is a reason they are that way; try to live it yourself, see how long you last. many of us hate it and don't want to live in such a disgusting way, but there are little options and only a tiny chance of escape for a life like that. how am i supposed to get a decent job when people assume i am an illiterate crook just because i am from a council estate/have a bad accent. this plagues my life even now, 10 years on. i will never be good enough for anything more than a cleaning position or mcdonalds server (not that there is anything wrong with these jobs; just that its upsetting that nobody would consider me to be intelligent enough to achieve anything more than that).
i would like to add that i will always regret what i did and how i behaved; not a day goes by when i don't feel the burning shame of my actions and thank God that He helped me out of that despicable life. please don't judge as people can change if they really try and some people do desperate things when they are in desperate situations. if anyone would like to read a really inspirational book (true story obviously) of someone being born into s***, going through horror the middle classes can't even imagine and coming out a decent person with a fantastic job, i would recommend this book: A Piece Of Cake by Cupcake Brown; this book really helped me to turn my life around and it is truly inspirational. i also recommend this book as this guy obviously knows what he is talking about.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet or computer – no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
There is a newer edition of this item:
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
