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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to think just because you live on a council estate does not mean you are automatically a druggie

48 replies

adrenalinejunkie · 22/11/2010 18:26

i have been reading a few posts here about cheryl cole and how she is lucky to have got where she is depite living on a council estate and how she did not fall into a life of crime and drugs , my dad came from a council estate and so does most of my family , i spent half my life living on one and know for a fact if i took drugs or resorted to crime my family would be horrified, i dont think im being unreasonable in saying that a lot of celebrities are actually cokeheads/druggies pay for prostitiues and drink drive and they live in mansions on gated estates .

OP posts:
Katey1010 · 22/11/2010 18:28

Rich people just hide it better. I know a few people who went to very 'good' schools and they were a hotbed of drugs, sex and eating disorders.

lollipopshoes · 22/11/2010 18:29

YANBU

I know plenty of people from council estates who are nice, responsible people.

I also know a few upper class nobs people who are little better than alkies or druggies

Not that that's a scientific study or anything Confused

ChaoticChristmasAngelCrackers · 22/11/2010 18:29

YANBU

I live in HA housing that was previously council and I know that there are drug users on this estate. However, I'm not, and never will be, one of them.

2shoes · 22/11/2010 18:31

yanbu
I was born(yes actually born) on a cancel etstate and grew up there, people on the whole were just people some good some bad.

2shoes · 22/11/2010 18:32

(I think CC/TWEEDY is judged thatw ay because of her brother)

sarah293 · 22/11/2010 18:33

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StewieGriffinsMom · 22/11/2010 18:34

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muggglewump · 22/11/2010 18:35

YANBU.

TheJollyPirate · 22/11/2010 18:35

YANBU - I was brought up on a council estate and still live on one. I don't just live on any council estate either but the notorious one locally Grin. I am neither a druggie or a criminal and (shock, horror) have a job as do many of my neighbours. The other neighbours (all bar one) are SAHM's and all are lovely too.

There are shite people locally who cause a great deal of trouble for the rest of us, thankfully the police are getting on top of them now.

nancydrewrocked · 22/11/2010 18:35

I suspect the druggy/crime comments relate to her brother who I believe is a druggy criminal (and the fact that...erm...yes she does indeed have a criminal record) thus providing a useful illustration of where her life could easily have gone.

I don't think it is particularly contentious to remark that most people who grow up on council estates have less advantages than most people who don't.

Hulababy · 22/11/2010 18:38

I grew up in a council estate. I was brought up with manners and decorum. I was taught what was right and wrong, how to behave appropriately and how to treat others and their belongs with respect. My parents are huge believers in education and supported us through school and university - all three of us went and we were the first int he family to do so. They would never have condoned drugs or ay form of criminal activity - or even vaguely grey areas.

My life has changed a lot since then, as has my parents and my silings.

But it still makes me cross to hear how people are judged because of their background.

There are statistically more people who get ino trouble on council estates I know. Amd I know that some estates have worse reputations than others. But even in the very worst estate there are good people living there too, and they don;t deserve the disrespect some people feel justified in doling out regardless.

muggglewump · 22/11/2010 18:39

I went to a Council Estate todayShock
I'd love to say I had drugs, but I had a homemade cake. My friend is a great baker.
Next time I'll tell her first that I'd prefer a wee lineGrin
Surely she'll be able to get it no problem, living on a scheme as she doesHmm

I read on here yesterday that ex forces housing is considered a bit dodgy. I've lived in an ex MQ for 9 years and never knew!

Portofino · 22/11/2010 18:41

I grew up on a council estate too, and I and all the people I am still in still contact with turned out to be perfectly repectable people. I lived in Heaton in Newcastle as a student in the 80s (which is where she grew up) and it wasn't THAT bad. Though in nearby Byker they had metal grills on all the shop windows....

Hulababy · 22/11/2010 18:41

I have to add though that I would find it very patronising and somewhat derogative to be described as a council estate girl done good. Hmm

sarah293 · 22/11/2010 18:43

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muggglewump · 22/11/2010 18:44

I went to Nursery in Heaton in the late 70's/early 80's!

My Mum was a Social worker and knew everything dodgy about every dodgy area in the North East!

DrNortherner · 22/11/2010 18:45

Great post Hula.

I too grew up on a council estate, My Mum and Gran still live on one so I visit regularly.

People are just people wherever they live. IT's what you do with your life that matters.

usualsuspect · 22/11/2010 18:46

I live on a council estate and find it bloody insulting when people say things like..they worked their way up to a better life etc

adrenalinejunkie · 22/11/2010 18:46

is it possible that statisically crime rates are higher on council estates because they do not have the money/rich parents to bail them out of trouble?

i must say i lived in what was deemed the drugs capital of the north and was never once offered drugs, until i met my first bf and was offered drugs by his middle class uni friends (btw i am not saying all middle class people are druggies just in case people get the flamethrowers ready)

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ApocalypseCheese · 22/11/2010 18:46

Oh ffs, these stupid generalisations about council estates drive me potty, fwiw we grew up in a 'good' area, the neighbours on one side used to beat hell out of each other and the other neighbour (nice guy and his wife) was a scientist, he also had a cocaine habit which led to him chasing his wife down the street with an axe Hmm

And yet we were the ones looked down upon because mother was a skint, single parent Confused

discobeaver · 22/11/2010 18:48

Rich people can be tossers, poor people can be tossers. Twattishness knows no class divide, it's the ultimate leveller.

usualsuspect · 22/11/2010 18:49

My sons mates who live in a better area smoke a lot of weed

DrNortherner · 22/11/2010 18:49

Oh yes, I must say, the shenanigans that go on are priceless, but no different to any estate anywhere I guess.

muggglewump · 22/11/2010 18:49

I grew up in one of the 'posh' houses, with said SW Mum who knew all there was to know about drugs.
Totaly missed my drug taking/drinking/non eating phases as a teen.

It's stereotyped crap.

Wilts · 22/11/2010 18:54

I grew up on a council estate and live on one now. Infact I live on the most notorious council estate in my town. If I had a £ for every time I have heard comments like 'will my car be up on bricks if I live it outside?' and other such hilariously funny commentsHmm then I would be rich.