To hate the laughing at "lower class" people on here?

[brasty]

I know it gets disguised as laughing at certain children's names, phrases, etc, but there is a lot of threads on MN that is really about laughing at poorer people. Hate it.

CoolCarrie The Queen works...is she working class?

Ah 2014newme that would explain it as I am non u, I am me. Though laughably through a quirk of fate I sound U.

Last time I looked there isn't a law forcing you to ask for opinions on a potential name. If you ask, you get. Frankly some of the names are fucking awful and those replying are saving the OP from themselves by giving reasons why a name is a terrible idea. It's not just chavvy names either, they span the whole class structure.

The idea of U and non U is an awful one.

I think on names, there is a real difference between names that I don't like, and names that are cruel.

cah

See that doesn't work if you have short Yorkshire vowels.... 😂 (A what? A ka? What's that?)

The shoes off one always gets me because in the country I live in it's utterly taboo to wear shoes indoors. It's just not done. If you walked into a house wearing shoes your hosts would be appalled and offended. Nothing to do with class here.

Facebook tat - nothing to do with class. Keep that coming those one are great.

Names - definitely classist with an undercurrent of racism.

I'm a wellish paid professional who does hang out on mn in the day from time to time. I work from home, so no one is looking over my shoulder and I do often have five mins downtime while something runs in the background.

I grew up poor. I've been poor, now I'm ok in terms of money. I don't think the attitudes or behaviours of my family have changed at all through that. We are still resolutely wc in many things, and still bookish, mc in others. Class isn't about money, this isn't the USA. It's a very subtle thing, and I think a very dangerous thing as well

brasty I think it's a useful concept actually as it allows you to avoid like the plague anyone who uses the term!

I think tat is condescending too.

It's the I look down on you and you look up to me attitude.

Who cares if someone has a cleaner. What I could never understand is the go out for a day to a spa to someone who is at their wits end regarding a relationship problem.

I agree with you mostly, but I think the tat threads cross the rich/poor divide

Yes, there's plenty of expensive tat.

The idea of U and non U is an awful one

Why? Do you understand what it actually means?

It was a comment above - people with a £35k salary and a £250k mortgage are kidding themselves if they think they are middle class, apparently.

That covers nearly everyone I socialise with - nurses, researchers, academics, PR types, journalists, fundraisers, education officers, teachers, social workers, doctors, film makers. I'm just surprised we all count as working class.

It does seem spiteful and doesn't reflect well on the people who do it.

Good point Kewcumber

@paxillin

No, I do believe there are many people in very middle class professions on here. The academics board for instance is busy. One of the perks that comes with such jobs is a high degree of freedom over ones time and little control. The technician and the administrator in the front office cannot MN at work, the academic can, she has her own office and isn't controlled by others in the same way. This does not excuse her classism of course.

Nah, not buying it. I will accept there may be a small handful of people like this, who post on rare occasions, but the vast amount of regular posters are ordinary low grade admin workers who live in a 3 bed semi, and whose husband works in an equally low grade office job on £23K.

Most people are on mumsnet waaaaaay to much to be a high flying professional.

As @MyrtleMaracas said,

when I read 'lawyer here' or 'cardiologist here', yeah course you are. Absolutely nothing wrong with being a sahp or off sick but the delusions of grandeur are a bit odd.

Most people are not what they say on here, and I can't believe anyone would believe it. As I said, people often claim to be teachers, doctors, lawyers, surgeons, blah blah blah. I just roll my eyes and think 'nah you're not....'

Oh FFS, tone police out again. I'm poor. I grew up in severe poverty. And if I want to take the piss out of people who give their kids made up mis-spelled names and sell tat on FB then I can and will. Because those things are NOT about being poor and its fucking insulting of you to suggest that it is. Poor does not equal stupid.

Just because you allegedly 'grew up in severe poverty,' that does not give you any more right to take the piss out of peoples names or what they call their kids. Do you want a special medal for growing up poor? Get over yourself.

The difference between "punching up" and "punching down" is that you punch up, and the person you're mocking doesn't give a shit, or accuses you of being envious. You punch down, and you've made someone who was perhaps already feeling vulnerable feel even shitter than they did to start with.

One of the most appalling things I was involved with on here was when a "well known and respected" prolific MNer, who was always very vocal about working with, and for, children, spewed her thinly veiled hatred for certain names out. Just awful. Talk about true colours coming through.

Anatidae - are you me? Am I having another episode...

Though actually I grew up in a country that was too hot to wear shoes unless you had to rather than the asian "don't tread dirt into the house" horror weher DS was born.

27feb Of course they are middle class, but lower middle class.

I was talking to someone face-to-face who used to be a prolific MNer. She said she went to a meet up expecting MNers to be very posh and well off, and was surprised to find that nearly all of them were like her - working class with perfectly ordinary looks.

I am not disagreeing with you but I don't think its as bad as it used to be.

You don't tend to get pages and pages of people slagging off the working classes without challenge anymore.

Its a shame when threads about personal taste descend into sneering at people with less choice and less money. They pretty much always do though.

Baby name threads have always been appalling on MN. They are the place where trolls build up their posting history. Lots of them are started purely to mock.

People really show how thick they are on those things. Guffawing at names like Precious and Tomaz even though they are established names in other cultures. The amount of liars that pop up too! All swearing blind they treated or taught a L-a and or heard someone in Iceland call their baby Syphilis.

Says something about a person when they feel the need to make crap up in order to lord it over people they think are inferior.

Yeah, agree with that on names.

I don't like say, Hunter or Alice, or Liam, or Connor But there's nothing thing wrong with them as names. That's just taste. I'm not right or wrong - I just don't like them. I don't like cheese either, but I don't mock it.

I still think calling your kid Ivvonny because you can't spell Yvonne, or aieighmee Chardonnay or jazzmyn etc is setting them up for a lifetime of stereotyping.

People do judge, and even if YOU don't judge it's unwise to set your child up with a name that others will judge.

'The difference between "punching up" and "punching down" is that you punch up, and the person you're mocking doesn't give a shit, or accuses you of being envious. You punch down, and you've made someone who was perhaps already feeling vulnerable'

Well that's just bollocks. You've no idea what's going on in someone's life even if they say sups or wear Boden. They may just be as mentally fragile as the next person.

Do you understand what it actually means?

aspiring MC's using fancier language than they "should" and outing themselves as non-U as a result.

Probably not intended to be used for sneering at the hoi polloi trying to be better than they were but was (particualrly in 50's)

Have I got that right?

I googled something last night about temperature and a lump in baby's neck and a netmums thread came up. The poster's baby was fine but one respondent actually put literally 50 moving hugging emojis on. It was a nice sentiment but made me cringe, I don't know why, it was just so OTT and cracking a nut with a sledgehammer. Is that laughing at poor people?? I wouldn't say anything I'm just explaining my inner reaction.
Isn't it just different cultures laughing at each other? My mum's mc home is tatty, uncomfortable with antique/ old furniture full of art and clutter and animals whereas my mil's is comfy neutral and immaculate. mum still works mil retired years ago.

Anatidae - are you me? Am I having another episode...

Scandiwegian dweller here, but have spent time in Asia, similar attitude to shoes here. I always used to be a shoes off person anyway but now shoes in a house is unthinkable - it's interesting how some cultural mores become 'the norm' very fast.

No YANBU. There are a lot of "mean girls"on here. It's often not very nice.