On the surface, many rants about Liverpool seem simplistic: scallies causing more than their fair share of trouble, a general lack of respect between younger and older generations, the prevalence of drug and alcohol addiction – all of these on the surface seem like a recipe for a terrible place to live: but the problem is much more serious than that, in the sense that this city will grind you down and destroy the person that you are if you are not careful, as anyone who does not conform to the abhorrent ideals of what it means to be a citizen of Liverpool (which I will go into later) and is in contact with the undesirable enforcers of these rules, which happen to be a minority of tracksuit-clad youths of around 25 and under – just like World War One: if you put your head over the parapet, you will be gunned down. Whether it is your self-esteem, your confidence, your enthusiasm for life – you must surrender it to survive.
For a city with such a long and glorious history of wealth, ingenuity and hard work, Liverpool is socially in decline – though there are many shining examples of why Liverpool is considered by some a success – for many unfortunate people, such as myself, Liverpool is like an obstacle course whereby one must continually dodge the scum that litter the street corners and shopping rows of even reputable areas in order to go about ones daily business.
At this point I must say that not all youths are as I describe in Liverpool – quite the opposite in fact – this is a case where around 9/10ths of the people in the city are honest, decent, helpful, friendly and kind, and this applies to both younger and older people in the city who for the most part would tie themselves in knots to help their fellow man – this is focused about the remaining tenth, who see fit to terrorise and ruin, who see no repercussions in their actions and who see difference as a threat. This minority is what you will encounter most often in the city, known locally as “scallies,” they are instantly recognisable by their uniform of branded tracksuits and branded trainers, their propensity to hurl abuse or objects at individuals on a whim and their general inconsideration for the rest of the world; whether it be graffiting, smoking drugs, robbery or assault (or any combination thereof) it is all neatly packed into their repetoire.
The major problem with scallies is “escalation.” This is where any retaliation to their ills leads to ever increasing problems – a large amount of violent crime in Liverpool stems from such escalation, where even simple tiffs on the street can build up to stabbings and shootings with alarming momentum. Communicating with the Police is a problem too – anyone seen to do that (even if it is in their own benefit to do so) is labelled a “grass” and further escalation ensues. The crime detection rate in Merseyside is less than 40%, showing that this damaging behaviour is ingrained in the local culture – law abiding citizens are left in fear of what may happen if they try to protect themselves.
Scallies love to target people who aren’t like them, or to put it another way, people who will not fight back – particularly if they outnumber you, so on the off-chance that they accidentally abuse someone who would plant them in the ground, they always have the “safety in numbers” approach – you will never encounter an individual scally who will flex his proverbial muscles, they will always wait for backup.
I suppose I could ask: “How did it get like this?” When did we get to the point where children and grown adults of all shapes and sizes came off second-best to adolescent punks? The answer is quite complex really – people who shouldn’t be having kids are having them both early and numerous: alcoholic, drug-abusing people seem to attract each other in Liverpool like flies to horse dung and bump their benefits up with a child or two: never mind the kid’s welfare when the local off-license has an offer on. Pregnant women smoking is another fine sight in this fair city, even I was surprised at the amount I have seen this week alone. These fine examples of parenting give birth to God’s little angels and let them roam the streets until all hours – childhood mischief turns into anti-social behaviour or criminal activity easily with no strong parental role model available. Couple this with dismally low performance at schools for such offspring (“why work hard when my dad gets paid to sit on his arse anyway”, or “trying makes my brain hurt so I’ll throw a tantrum instead”) and you are left with a generation of people who are exisitng in a veritable vaccum of knowledge and self-esteem, assuming the lazy parents are too wasted to give their kids a hug once in a while.
This is a sure-fire recipe for young alcoholism, teen pregnancy, dole scroungers and best of all, the scally. The king of his own universe (even if it is only outside a chippy) who will enforce his rule on all unsuspecting passers-by. Who knows only hate, and not love, and by terrorising indescriminately succeeds, by sheer volume, to have adults on the back foot. That, and the law makes them practically invulnerable to punishment – I get assaulted, they get an ASBO or an “electronic tag,” and I get labelled a grass for going to the police; I physically defend myself and it’s jail time for assaulting a minor.
To those amazing parents out there in Liverpool who love their children and each other, who read to them and spend all their time nurturing and caring for them, I thank you: you make all the difference. I hope your generation re-adresses the balance in this once great city. To all the young people who are reading this going “None of this applies to me!” then thank you for taking the time to read what I have had to say, I hope that at least some of this has resonated with you. To any scallies reading this who are saying “This guy’s a faggot and I’m steaming mad!” or whatever you say these days, I hope you can see just what this city thinks of people like you, and know that your time will come to an end one day soon. To those who have been on the recieving end of the abuse and torment, I say this, BE confident, BE enthusiastic, BE AN INDIVIDUAL! Above all, you know in your heart what the best course of action is when you are in contact with these little thugs. HINT – it’s not hitting them over the head with a cricket bat (as they are far too big to conceal in your coat!)
I’m born and bred Liverpool, from a nice part – Aigburth. But I’ve also lived in a few different places including London and Manchester, both of which I found far worse in terms of threatening, depressing atmosphere than Liverpool.
The places and people listed here in this blog do exist in my fair city – as they do in most UK cities, but anyone with anyy urban savvy just avoids that. And you don’t aggrivate the rough looking types wherever you go. Would you cross the path of a New York gangster? Does their presence make New York a bad place…
Liverpool has a stronger community and artistic culture than any other English provincial city – but if you choose to look away from that and follow the media pack to focus on the bad aspects of the city then that’s your choice…But please don’t then complain about iwhat you find.
I was born and brought up in Toxteth. Loved the place, loved Liverpool, loved the people there. But that was a long time ago. I left there when I was in my 20s. Have not been back much since, and every time I did go back was sorrier than the time before. Scruffy? Dilapidated? The place looks worse than it did after the Germans had bombed it! The difference is, that no-one was defeated then. Now, that seems to be the prevailing atmosphere. And never try to hint at that. The drawbridge had been pulled up, defensiveness reigns. Example: I was in a restaurant in France a few years ago and heard two couples on the next table talking – Liverpool accents. I asked them which part of the city they were from. I hadn’t realised my accent had changed so much over the years, because one of the men asked aggressively ‘Oh, you know Liverpool, do you?’ I said I was from there.
‘Oh, yes? Which part?’
‘Toxteth.’
Longish silence. Then reluctantly, ‘You don’t sound as if you’re from Toxteth.’
‘And you don’t f**king sound as if you’re from Liverpool. The people there used to be friendly.’
I’d picked up from their conversation before I spoke to them that these four people were teachers. No wonder the defensiveness, the apathy, the resistance to change is ingrained by now. Maybe it’s on the school curriculum.
I moved to Liverpool, up by London Road City Centre, 2 months ago.
I have lived in pretty awful areas of South East London and a few chavvy areas of Kent.
But nothing could prepare me for the outright lunacy of Liverpool City centre.
-I cannot walk to the gym without being asked for a pound by at least 3 street alcoholics
-Scally lads do start on you randomly, when you are alone, especially when they hear a London accent.
-Drugs (both dealing and taking) are rife throughout the City Centre, on street corners and outside bars/clubs.
-Church Street with its many shops and shoppers are not immune to daytime invasions by roaming groups of youths attempting to intimidate, coupled with middle aged men already steaming drunk.
-London Road has groups of people, ranging from 14 to 34, congregating outside the off license most weekends.
-Down by Vauxhall Road on a Saturday afternoon ou will see the kids playing out the front of the pub, abusing passers by, whilst their parents drink inside the dingy drinking den.
In short, it is not the hustle and bustle city of culture I was sold. However, in fairness, many of the cab drivers are polite and engage in conversation. Alot of the service received in the higher end shops is just as good as that received in London. In the main there are many friendly people living and working in the city centre but against the backdrop of crime and anti-social behaviour createed by the scummy few, they do not stand out.
I disagree with three things here;
Firstly its not just the balck shell suit wearing gobshites that ruin the city its the older people too! If you live in Liverpool or unfortunate enough to have to visit anywhere other than the immaculate L1 area (Where all this investment has gone), you cant walk 5 yards without stepping in dog shit, or kicking through piles of litter! I’ve seen older men not scalls throwing full bags of takeaways etc out of pretty nice cars!
Secondly “decent folk” must be the minority as these children are someones son or daughter, the city is a mess, no one speaks out, no one does anything, I’ve been back in liverpool 12 months and had many altercations as I cant hold my anger in!
eg kids smashing bottles on kids playground, man 30 something casually taking a piss on the train station broad daylight! (& Not a mentalist Just scum) What on earth happened to this country to create these animals?
Thirdly the investment went in to things such as luxury apartments or retail areas ie L1. This does nothing for anyone. However do not for one minute think any real investment will fix these scumbags, any money you put in will be wasted.
Anything nice implimented & paid for in this city for this city will be broken ruined vandalised pissed on by these animals, unless heavily guarded.
In my opinion there should only be one method of investment
Build a big electric fence around any area with an L postcode.
I’ll have left by the time its finished!
I’m a scouser living in Liverpool and I agree with you also. The only part I wouldn’t agree on is your 10% ratio. I think it’s more than that. Liverpool would be the most amazing place without these aggressive, waste of space, scumbags.
I hate Liverpool,I lived there for 6 months and I was attacked by a beetle.There was a knock at the door one afternoon,I open it and there was this giant black beetle who head butted me,knocking me to the floor,then run off laughing.An hour later it was back,puched me in the face,then ran off laughing again.Two days later it was back this time it just spat in my face and ran off laughing the bastard.An hour later it was at it agian,this time it kicked me in the bollocks,I went to the docters with infamed balls,he said not to worry as it was usual for a nasty bug to be going around.
Scouser agreeing 100% (Walton born and bred)
Im from Liverpool and I actually agree with what you have said. Only in regards to 10% of the popualtion being the way you described. The 90% are great like me haha. The 10% are the minority who bring us down – who the hell shoots a 10 year old kid?! However, I love Liverpool and its only getting better now thanks to much needed investment.
As a scouser myself I have to agree wholeheartedly, and I fully agree that, sadly, most of the obvious and serious issues with the scale/chav issues Liverpool has stem from my generation. But it truly is something that seems to have come from… I don’t know, I want to call it inbreeding, because sometimes, the idiocy and attitude of many of these; the men who’ve never worked a day in their life, drink like alcohol is a life source, and their wives who are often somewhat similar, have in only one or two generations, managed to instill such a close minded attitude in their caldron that they cannot spell the word aspiration, let alone comprehend it.
I wish I could say I was proud of where I come from, and I guess in some small way I am proud of coming from somewhere with the history Liverpool has. But at the same time, I’m extremely thankful I don’t have a scouse accent, because if I did I doubt I’d ever hear the end of it in any other part of the country.
Yes well Im from Kessington in London,(Sloane square)and myself and Papas maid whos from India and a ex model,very good bone structure very good bloodline for a servent,nearly as good looking as myself aha ha…….ahahaharrrrr.Any way our Range Rover,bit of a old banger ah ha…….hahaharrrrrr,nearly 13 months old,broke down in this Liverpool place,at night,last year,and we were terrified of becoming victims of a crimminal act as everyone was trying to help us,being over friendly,ahah…..ahhaharrrr peasant types with Lidls carrier bags and trainers.And they all seemed to smell rather and talk in a strange accent like nothing Ive ever experienced before,a sort of demented yokal type speak,the kind you here on Tv when you see those Beatles chappeys on those old black and white films,A Hard Nights Weekday,when their letting all their hairs hang out,and grooving it up in the way poor people do,aha…ahahaharrrr.Some cheap chaps were whistling at us as they drove past,ugly types shouting “whahayy showus yer mellons”crimminals most proberly,after mellons,we didnt have any mellons to give them,we were golly scared I can tell you,aha…ahhaha…haaarrrr.In the end Daddys driver came to the rescue,he was a body gaurd for Prince Charles,rough type been in the SAS,he soon shoowed the smelly people away from us,god I could still smell them on my clothes all the way home,I burnt them then covered myself in disinfectant,then sat in the sauna for 12 hours,ah…ahhahahaaaaaarrrrrrrrr.
I’m a scouser currently living on the other side of the Mersey, it’s even worse here because there’s no money into improving the areas that need it. I wil always be proud of where I am from because of it’s rich history and diveristy but it is that small minority that ensure a cloud hangs over the reputation of Liverpool. The area I came from used to be a large friendly community, but it now houses teenage mums (most of which pop out as many kids as possible to make sure the benefits pay for an extra night out) and gangs of druggies. All I can say is Liverpool will always be my home and it’s got to be better than living in Salford (my poor brother and sister-in-law have had the life form hell living there)
Everything you srote there is 100% correct.
I’m a born and bred scouser (from the posh bit in Mossley Hill) and have spent a lot of time living down in the South East in Buckinghamshire and also 8 years living in Bath in Somerset. Down south also has its own chav and scally problems; but I moved back to Liverpool 2 years ago.
While this great city of ours has undergone an amazing transformation since Capital of Culture 2008 with lots of new developments like Liverpool One etc, the scally remain the same. In fact I think they are worse than ever.
The black designer shell suit has become the uniform of the scally and they scowl an skulk around town with their grubby hands down the front of their black trackies. They are absolute scum, and as you have already said, they choose people at random and “have a go” at them. I’ve been on the receiving end of the scally in-breds rants at normal people.
Tourism in Liverpool is in the up, but I feel sorry for visitors to our city who have to see the feral black shell suit wearing scallys acting like tits. Even the young kids can be absolute scum, and some of the tango women with their curlers and pyjama’s aren’t just embarrasing – they are also bloody overweight ugly slappers with gobs on them as dirty as the epicentre of the Hiroshima nuclear bomb!