To think that certain people should be banned from public parks

[ElleBing]

We have a really lovely park near where we live. It's really big, with lots of grassed areas for picnics etc then an enclosed play area.

DH and I took DS there yesterday for a quick run around before dinner time. I noticed that a group of chavs had set up camp next to the enclosed park whilst their kids ran amok inside. The chav parents were sitting on the grassy bit drinking cider, eating junk food and swearing. Two of their kids started fighting one another and rather than try and intervene, the person who I assume was the father sat in the kids' pushchair screeching at the LOs to stop fighting. They carried on drinking their cider before deciding they were going home to "watch Nanny McPhee on pirate wiv a bag ov chipz" then when the motehr of one of the LOs wanted the child to leave the play area she started shouting "come on will ya pooface" Eugh?

All of the other parents were doing cats bum mouth, not just me. I wanted to tell them to shut up with their common mouths and bad language but too middle class, you see? I'dlove to be able to stand up to these people who make life unpleasant for everyone else...

Anyway, DH were talking about them and I said that people like them shouldn't be allowed in parks. They should have an admissions policy. AIBU?

Utter mince, she didn't say it but she might as well have.

Well, the OP wanted a debate on this or it wouldn't have been put in this section.

Throughout time there's aways been sectors of society that have been seen as 'scum' for want of a better word. Picture the back to back housing of the victorian era, the aparthide in america and south africa, the slums in India and other developing countries, it's nothing new. People don't live by the same values and we have no choice but to mix. So what's the plan?

''a group of chavs had set up camp next to the enclosed park' judgemental non?
'chav parents were sitting on the grassy bit drinking cider, eating junk food and swearing.' As above.
'Two of their kids started fighting one another' Play fighting as kids tend to do?
'screeching at the LOs to stop fighting.' So some parenting/discipline involved, Yes?
They carried on drinking their cider' as you do...I prefer wine, but each to their own...
'before deciding they were going home to "watch Nanny McPhee on pirate wiv a bag ov chipz"' is this quoted accurately? then yes, is illegal so why did you not report them to the police?
'when the motehr of one of the LOs wanted the child to leave the play area she started shouting "come on will ya pooface" Eugh?' Granted, not that nice but not massively offensive. OP is being OTT. Its not that big a deal on the scale of Baby Peter or any of the other high profile abuse/neglect cases. At least they were interacting with the children and letting them express themselves in play.

The trouble with all of this thread is that these 'common' people do have predictable behaviours....they do talk about weed and other criminal activity in front of their children, they swear loudly, the men usually go shirtless to reveal multiple tattoos of animals, the women are usually quite weighty or scrawny rarely pictures of health, the children do wear tacky Union flag/character clad clothes and are often pierced (both boys and girls) and they are all loud and badly behaved.

And as for saying the OP is OTT, why should this be acceptable? Why should nice people fear going to the park? Why is it difficult to understand why a nice person would not approach these rough idiots? Surely they would either get verbal or even physical abuse.

It's about time the offensive people learnt to behave.

It's about time the nice people removed their heads from their backsides, stopped regarding themselves as the template for all behaviour and tried talking to their fellow parents.

'ach no some here have argued is ones human rights to swear,fight in playpark.and hell they will deride any condemnation of such spontaneous beautiful free expression'

Scottish Mummy - this made me laugh out loud when I was catching up with this thread this morning.

It really has taken on a life of it's own now. I really can't get my head around this right on idea that we have to embrace everthing about everyone and not to do so shows us up as some middle class moron!

Unfortunately the term 'chav' seems to have become mixed up with working class when really it isn't. I don't like the term but it is short hand for a fairly recognisable group of people who perpetuate anti-social behaviour. it's not a class issue.

Of course stereotyping and predjudice is BAD but the OP's main complaint was about what the people were doing rather than who they were.

Those of you who would love to embrace everyone into your world - where do you draw the line I wonder?

Northern, really? Head is up your arse if you don't like parents who shout and swear around children? Smoke and drink in a park? Wow, setting your standards pretty low or are you one of the 'rough'?

If the OP had challenged these people she would have got a mouthful of abuse or worse.

Banning people is fascism. Banning certain behaviors from certain places is civilization.

Sigh. I see this is still going and anyone who supports OP doesn't want to actually deal with what is/was offensive about what she's said. To clarify:

AIBU to think people drinking and swearing in parks is unpleasant and they shouldn't do it?
YANBU, great, I'm sure most of us agree.

AIBU to think people should be banned from public places for behaving in a way I don't like but is legal and is not declared as unacceptable in the park notices?
YABU

AIBU to make it a class issue and bring in things that aren't relevant unless you want to make it about class - the children's names, the junk food, etc - none of these things are detrimental to you or your kids, you just want to make a point about the social group these people come from.
YABU

AIBU to use the lazy term 'chav' - Well I think YABU, but I accept others may disagree.

I think maybe the actual 'banning' statement was meant to be some kind of witty exaggeration? I don't think it is witty though. And if not exaggeration, it is really unpleasant.

It is a class or rather classless issue. I can't remember the last time the Boden Brigade ruined anyone's day out with their nice talk, perfect picnics and fun games.

I have just packed some cider in my picnic, along with some homemade organic chicken nuggets, homemade pink lemondade, home made scones and jam and chicken and mango salad.

I will try not to consume my cider near any middle class people, I really do think that they should zone parks so us working class oiks can stick together and not annoy you lot.

Elle were you a bit bored this weekend? so decided to stir up a mini frenzy on here? I cant work out of you are for real or not as the main impression I have thus far is

calling children cunts
dissing chavs

do you want to genetically cleanse society so we are all middle class? How would you be able to appreciate how lovely and middle class you were, if there were not "chavs" to remind you?

I really dont get it. and you said it was a "big park", so move the fuck away from them then!!!

am averse to reacting as suspect you not for real.

WTSAP.....Why are you drinking during the day with your children????? I assume you're walking...

Are you being sarcastic posieparker?

A glass of cider with a picnic is unacceptable and worthy of all exclamation marks?
Do you never drink wine with dinner whilst your dc are there?

Nothing wrong with drinking with children around, as long as you don't become so drunk you're no longer responsible. I have drink at my children's birthday parties, I have Pimms in the park every summer, pub lunches etc. No biggie

"I noticed that a group of chavs had set up camp next to the enclosed park whilst their kids ran amok inside"

So they are not allowed to drink when they are outside of the park

"I'dlove to be able to stand up to these people who make life unpleasant for everyone else..."

I can;t see how they were making you life unpleasant, unless they were hurling abuse at you etc etc...

Posie, come judge me!! I've drunk wine in my garden while my child is there!!!

strikes me as some weird shift since my childhood, where my grandparents used to ply y parents with booze at early morning coffee time...daytime drinking has become a bit taboo, no doubt because of anti drink-driving campaigns. but i don't see any harm in a glass or five of an afternoon, so long as you aren't driving and don't get too drunk to look ater the kids.

Nonetheless, i used to drink and indeed smoke in publicparks as a student...I don't find these things particularly offensive. what i do find offensive, is when people through their behaviour, give off a scary vibe - i don't mean laughing or talking loudly, but yelling at each other, using loud bad language and littering would be the obvious things. You know, that gathering where you have a feeling any second one person could start hitting another....i don't think the OP would be unreasonable to object to that. although that situation is possibly too vaguely defined to be made a bye-law, and wouldn't be observed anyway.

also i am suprised how many people call their kids derogatory things - i got really cross with DH about this (he was calling DD 'Smelly') as i felt it created a culture of no respect between adult and child (and DH has little respect for his Mum who often cals him names, i wanted to nip that particular parent-child-parent cycle in the bud) which he thought was sanctimonious of me, but I am very glad I did.

Dear ElleBing

You have NO class whatsoever. End of.

Regards

baluchi NOT Baluchi

aye.and saying end of isnt very classy is it

Dear scottishmummy

I don't know. Isn't it? Y R U obsessed with class?

R U ElleBings sister?

Do u own a pink mobile phone?

Regards

baluchi

an obvious lame attempt at being quirky.try harder or knock yourself out and write a wee letter because that would be really original

saying aye isn't exactly 'U' is it SM

Posie - why wouldn't one drink during the day when they have children - it makes dealing with the little poofaces more bearable!!

Dear scottishmummy

I seem to have touched a raw nerve, lol.

Regards

baluchi

ps, what was Jeremy Vile about today?

Dear lowerenergylightbulb

I agree with your comments.

regards

baluchi