HermanM, totally agree. It's the culture of 'ism' that is, in my opinion, generated by a genuine need to attack some forms of abuse, but that has got out of hand because people are too scared to say anything about anyone anymore. The Scottish thing last week was a highlight, and I questioned it at the time. However, mention so much as the colour of your curtains these days and the PC police are all over you like an angry MNer.
I think the film Crash, from a couple of years back, addressed a lot of the frustrations of everyone, when trying to decide what is racism. My experience is that people that are not white can be equally, and certainly more in some cases, racist as any perceived white racist. Totally wrongly, white people have to put up with Sainsburys selling racist publications like Ebony and Voice, aimed squarely at the black community at the expense of any other race, white or otherwise. It's a common argument that if there was a publication called "Ivory", or "The Silent Voice" aimed at whites only, there would be burning effigys at every till. I can only comment on my experience, but the term 'race' needs a much better definition.
Interestingly, when declaring your ethnic background, you can claim to be white, white British, or White Irish. But not white Scottish, white Welsh, or White English. Should you chose to be white Northern Irish then that's a stupidly large can of worms I bet.
This is a mile away from the Chav debate though. Typically, and ignoring the non-existent racial overtones in describing chavs as 'white trash', it's a phrase used to describe a certain type of person according to clothes (Burberry etc), lifestyle (smoking children, excess alcohol in public from cans etc.), and a general (perceived) look of inbred lack of intelligence. Again, interstingly, the early posts here are about 'white trash males' rather than including the females, but the term applies equally I think.
Would anyone like a debate about what we should call 'black trash' ? Or 'asian trash' ? Or perhaps excercise our rights to not comment on the ethnicity of the trash but to just agree that they are trash full stop. Didn't think so.
The PC brigade, again mainly white in my experience, should concentrate on real problems, real racism, real discrimination against gender, sexuality, and, the biggest crime, disability. Not waste all of our time with correcting non-existent problems, and being racist/sexist in the workplace in the name of equality, which is just wrong. If you can do the job, have the job. Nobody cares what colour or sex you are, they are just being told they have to.
Right, got that out of my system. Anyone else fancy a sing song from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ? All together now...Trrrruuuuuuulllllllleeeeeeeee Scrumptious, sheeeeeeesssssssss...