Is it not true: the most scary and violent people in Britain are white and black working class?

Answer 1

Quantative data on this subject is hard to come by, as one firstly has to establish exactly what the working class is - from what people is it constituted? Then one needs to define "scary" - what frightens one person may not worry the next person down the street.

In the Criminal courts, the majority of the defendants are 'working class', irrespective of race. The crimes are the minor spats of urban life - assault, battery, aggravated assault, assault likely to cause actual bodily harm, along with the usual drunk and disorderly and sundry crimes of recklessness.

It would take far more time and space than is available here to suggest in full the reasons for this phenomenon. Essentially, the working class are often the most disadvantaged people. Working on hourly, daily or weekly pay, rather than on an annual salary, credit is difficult to get (except at high interest rates). This alone frustrates any efforts that the worker may make to move his family from a 'sink' estate to a better location, to pay for additional education for himself or his family. The cost of the traditional entertainments has put many of them out of reach of the disadvantaged - how much does it cost to attend a Premier or Championship football match. Even the cost of beer in a pub, the social setting where people can get some free entertainment by playing darts, dominoes, pool and the like, has rocketed disproportionaltely. People now drink cheap supermarket lager at home, or use drugs, which reduces the chance of socialising and promotes a 'me first' attitude. One man's party at home may be his neighbours idea of hell, hence drink-induced fights and consequent appearances at the Magistrates Court.

Unable to get the financial credit available to the middle classes, trapped in a slough of mediocrity that has existed for generations, deprived of expressions of class solidarity such as the Trades Unions, stripped of the traditional industries in which there was at least a chance of promotion, kept insecure, housed in communities in which people who, thirty years ago, would have been placed in Mental institutions, the worker is assailed from all sides by pressures that simply do not touch the middle classes. Having a family discussion about whether one can stick another 10.,000 quid on the mortgage to install a new kitchen to replace the one you bought 5 years ago, or having a similar discussion as to whether to have a few beers down the pub, or eat decent meat for dinner, may appear to be hyperbole, but I have seen it happen.

The upshot is that the working class will turn to drink, to drugs, to crime. Their youth, not yet sufficiently mature to appreciate the consequences of their actions, either to themselves or to their victims, will run amok. A middle-class sees this phenomenon when driving through the inner city on their way home to their leafy suburb, and will advocate conscription, boot camps and ASBOs to tackle a social problem that ultimately has its roots in the abandonment of hope and the denial of dignity.

All people crave dignity. We need to spend the money we are currently frittering away on other people's wars to regenerate the working class. We need to organise long-term spending and commit ourselves to long-term policies. A return to Keynsian economics, where employment is subsidised at times of slump to ensure job-security, a return to the Weberian way of looking at the structuring of society, in which a laddered heirarchy in employment grading enables people with the brains or guts to climb from the bottom rung to go wherever they wish to go, needs to be organised. People need to be given hope; the knowledge that if they strive they can improve their situation. Currently, they get bread and circuses, and not a great deal of either.

Answer 2

Why do you have to be working class to be scary? Have you any facts to back this up? I think you are being judgemental because you come from a middle class suburb and were taught to think that all working class people are scary. I would start living a 'normal life' and start finding out about the rest of society, because scary people come from all walks of life. Besides working class people are among the best to know as they know the value of friendship in hard times, whereas most middle class aspire to be upper class and think they are better than the working class,but aren't. But enough about class distinction, look beyond that and start looking at people differently or else you are living in a very scary world indeed!

Answer 3

It is the working class who keep the country going... if they are "scary and violent" then it is because they do not get the credit they deserve

Answer 4

The prisons are overflowing with ethnic minority prisoners.

These immigrants occupy a heavily disproportionate amount of cells.However,even the biggest critics of the government cant muster the courage to say so.

If they were repatriated ,then the prisons wouldnt be full.

Answer 5

i think amy f is the confused one. it's not like 33% of violent crime is commited by the working class, 33% by the middle class etc.

i'd agree with you (even though i have no statistics to back it up) and i'd probably throw people of middle eastern descent in there too

Answer 6

It is not true. The Clintons are among the most egregious liars in history.

Answer 7

Are you serious?!? What a bigotted question! What is scary is someone who is happy to generalise and stereotype people because of their colour and their class.

Answer 8

are you trying to be racist or something?

if you're talking about all races of people why bother saying "white and black"?

i generally think that men are more scary and violent.

Answer 9

So how did u come across that conclusion? Are u black or white, maybe an asian?

Answer 10

For the rich, all people who are poor are scary.