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news
thebrewdogchaingang-new.pngBrewdog criticised for calling its new cycling club a "chain gang"
Where do you stand on the use of the term ‘chain gang’ in cycling? It’s pretty common, but beyond the sport it of course carries a very different meaning.
The London Evening Standard reports that Brewdog has been defending itself from criticism after last week announcing The Brewdog Chain Gang, a series of social cycling clubs operating out of its various bars.
The beer brand’s social media followers obviously aren’t all cyclists and a number of them got in touch to express their displeasure at the name.
Emily Jane tweeted: “Is it just me or is Chain Gang a pretty gross name for @BrewDog’s bicycle club? It’s a slavery humiliation and forced labour slang word right?”
Another Twitter user – William Shatner’s TekWar – added: “Apparently 'chain gang' is a term used in cycling circles, HOWEVER, you'd think a multinational corporation (with previous problems of causing offense) would think a bit harder about this sort of shit. Its not hard, just dont be a dickhead.”
(William Shatner’s TekWar was presumably referring to Brewdog’s pink ‘beer for girls’ earlier this year, which the firm said was a “parody on the failed, tone-deaf campaigns that some brands have attempted in order to attract women.”)
Commenting on the Brewdog Chaingang, a spokesman said: "We named our cycling club Chain Gang as a nod to the well-known and often used term in the cycling community referring to a group of cyclists riding in lines behind a leader, allowing for a slipstream effect.
"It’s a commonly used turn of phrase in cycling and thousands of cycling clubs, races and organisations around the world use it within their names.
"The launch has been really well received with over 1,600 people signing up to create over 150 new cycling chapters in more than 20 different countries, achieving our goal of bringing together like minded beer and cycling enthusiasts.”
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
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67 comments
I must say I like the nanny state!
If one has a penchant for "craft" beer, it can be very accurately simulated by adding some lemon cordial to a pint of Stella.
Brilliant, this comment made me laugh out loud
.
Well they've got a shedload of free PR from this.
The cash registers must be kerchinking and the shareholders must be ecstatic.
I just think it's a real shame that all these people would suddenly choose to join a BrewDog cycling club, rather than joining one of the thousands of existing local cycling clubs. Anyway their kit looks awful.
I knew them before and they hadn't gotten a cent from me, they're still not gettin' a goddam cent from me.
"We named our cycling club Chain Gang as a nod to the well-known and often used term in the cycling community referring to a group of cyclists riding in lines behind a leader, allowing for a slipstream effect.".
WRONG!
In what way ?
I hope these people don't listen to The Pretenders...
Emily Jane. I hope a man holds a door open for you.
"A chain gang is a group of prisoners chained together"
They are still used in Arizona - "in Maricopa County inmates can still volunteer for a chain gang to earn credit toward a high school diploma"
All in the first paragraph on wikipedia. Chain gangs included people of all colors and creeds. Get over it the name is totally usable in this context. I hope they don't change the name.
"A chain gang is a group of prisoners chained together"
They are still used in Arizona - "in Maricopa County inmates can still volunteer for a chain gang to earn credit toward a high school diploma"
All in the first paragraph on wikipedia. Chain gangs included people of all colors and creeds. Get over it the name is totally usable in this context. I hope they don't change the name.
It's the wrong name in accordance with thier incorrect discription of a chaingang though!
"We named our cycling club Chain Gang as a nod to the well-known and often used term in the cycling community referring to a group of cyclists riding in lines behind a leader, allowing for a slipstream effect.
These people are to be ignored. Not getting a reaction is their worst nightmare. They need to learn that a few thousand people on a social media website would translate into a few thousand rooms with a single idiot being laughed out of them in the real world.
You haven't ignored them!
These people have expressed an opinion which is fine and they have every right to do.
What I don't like is the lazy journalism here. A couple of people have expressed an opinion on something. The Evening Standard have blown it in to a news story cause cos it's easy fodder and requires no research. The amount of stories in the media about what people say on Twitter is depressing.
Anyway if Brew dog wanted to live up to their faux punk image, rather than just put too many hops in beer they would call it something definitely offensive like "pedal c*nts" or "lycra paedos"
Pedal Cunts. You, sir are a fucking genius!
They read road.cc do they?
No such thing as bad publicity.
You're all talking about it. What a masterclass by Brew Dog.
Talking doesn't pay the bills.
Never understood why people say that, when it's quite obviously not true.
I mean, tell it to Gerald Ratner. Or, in a much darker spirit, one might ask how is Louis CK's career now?
Anyway, no idea what I think of this. The fact that Brewdog have US branches seems important - otherwise I'd say it's completely irrelevant what the term means in a US context - we've never had prison work gangs here, and it's not a live and contraversial political issue. The term doesn't really have much resonance in British English.
But I can see why those who never heard the cycling usage might raise an eyebrow at using it for a coffee outlet, and a multinational that wants to make profits has to be careful about such stuff. Hard to really care either way.
Coffee? Nope. They make hipster juice. Overly citrus-y craft beers with edgy names to hide the fact they can't organise a decent brew in a brewery.
Yes, good point. Clearly I needed a coffee. Or less beer. One or the other, anyway.
Yes, "chain gang" has a bad history but I am quite certain there was no intent to make light of that history in this promotion.
The term chain gang actually refers to the southern US practice of chaining together prisoners for punishment work activities. It doesn't refer to slavery.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_gang
Ah bless the short attention span of the internet generation.
Click on the link in your post.
READ THE ARTICLE
I hope you feel truly embarrassed when you get to the history section.....
I trust you are referring to:
Gorman, Tessa M. (March 1997). "Back on the Chain Gang: Why the Eighth Amendment and the History of Slavery Proscribe the Resurgence of Chain Gangs"
Just because Gorman offers an interpretation don't necessarily make it so.
Ah the wonder of the internet - accepting everything written as fact.
So... You originally claimed the term chain gang had nothing to with slavery and used an article that specifically states that one of the uses of the chain gang was to perpetuate the effects of slavery after it was officially abolished in the US.
You then managed to read the article and found you were in error. Your response to this is a vague accusation that a published paper in a law journal is incorrect without offering any actual criticism.
Have you read German's paper? Why is incorrect? How many papers in law journals of the subject have you had published?
I need to remove a cassette today. I dare not name one of the tools I shall be using.
An angle grinder?
'Listen, don't mention the war. I mentioned it once, but I think I got away with it all right'
The use of the word 'tool' clearly shows your phallic-centric and patriarchal views! Please use implement to avoid offence!
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