Traveller webchat?

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

Dear MNHQ,

is there any possibility of getting a representative from the traveller community on for a webchat?

There is a lot of ignorance and casual racism shown (including on this site), which is not helped by Big Fat Gypsy weddings et al.

This is not a thread about a thread, just prompted by a thread before anyone jumps on me for calling them racist

Yours faithfully,

ItsAllGoingToBeFine

[HelenMumsnet]

Thanks for the suggestion, ItsAllGoingToBeFine. Anyone else agree?

[Sparklingbrook]

Yes, I agree. i would really like to understand more.

[MonaLotte]

Me too

[BitterAndTwistedChoreDodger]

I think it would be very interesting.

[Callisto]

And me

[travellingwilbury]

Me too

[tara0202]

and me ...

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

Oh, I don't think Thelma whatsername (Thelma's Gypsy Girls) counts as a representative :o

[Sparklingbrook]

Nor Sally Bercow

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

Actually, I've been doing some Googling... Is there such a thing as a traveller representative?

[threesocksmorgan]

wow bad idea
just reported a racist attack on travelers, think of the crap that poor person doing the web chat would have to take

[Dromratlee]

Itsallgoingtobefine - you win first prize!
I can give you many organisations- but who will you choose- and which race will they be from - to represent the different races who your councils have chosen to name ?traveller? and make into one people lumped together to be called ?they??

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

Or maybe they could answer some of the questions and put people straight. They would have to have an exceptionally thick skin and really know their stuff.

I would hope MN could keep on top of not letting it turn into a gypsy bashing thread?

[QueenOfFarkingEverything]

I think it is a good idea but... I don't think there is anyone who could represent 'Travellers' as one homogenous group!

Maybe a webchat where representatives from various Traveller backgrounds could chat with each other and answer questions that had been previously submitted might work?

[EmpressOfTheGoldFlames]

Yes, that would be good.

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

Dromratiee
you sound like you know your stuff. Who would you suggest?

I am not denying I am ignorant, I am aware that travellers are not one homogenous mass, I was using it in the same way one might use "British".

I thought that given that travellers face so much antipathy there might have been some overarching organisations working for travellers rights overall?

[Sparklingbrook]

threesocks, was it a post on my thread?

[Hopeforever]

Worth thinking about. I'd be intrested

[Dromratlee]

I am a Khanie Rom ? it would be hard for a Roma ?Romanichal or Pavee to speak for me- or me for any of them.

[sieglinde]

Just wanted to add that I'd be interested; my village recently had a Ridiculous Moral Panic about a traveller group :(

[Dromratlee]

There are many organisations- from the things you said on the other thread- the people you have are likely to be Pavee - Irish travellers or Romanichal -English Gypsys - if thats right then Pavve point if theyre Irish or The Gypsy council if English.
Not all Romanichal accept the Gypsy council because the same as to many Rom - anyone who calls themself Gypsy or traveller is suspect.

[Dromratlee]

One of my daughters says try here to understand Rom and Roma as women- www.romawoman.org/index.php

[Dromratlee]

As I said before theres not someone who represents all ?but talking with my family weve found someone whos a public person whos knowledge and worked with lots of different groups and is used to answering questions about things and talking to the public.

He has said he might be able to help set up something if Mumsnet wanted to do something to try and change the way things always go on here.

Im sending a message to HelenMumsnet on who they are and how to get in touch -and hope something does happen of it ? because what hurts so much is no matter how different our lives are to yours ? Im a parent too and so are some of my children ? they come on here too but they don?t say what they are because of how people are here ? but as parents we worry and have problems over a lot of the same stuff as you.

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

Dromratiee, that's fantastic! Thanks for going to all of that effort :)

Fingers crossed for a really interesting webchat...

[Sparklingbrook]

I think so too, I just want an insight and I really want to understand.