I'm a traveller- AMA

[Pinkyyy]

I was actually asked on another post to start this thread, I've been debating the idea for a while but usually decide not to because I've seen threads like this turn sour before. Hopefully I can avoid that and actually provide information and educate people on a way of life they may well know very little about.

I invite you to ask any questions you may have, and I will do my best to answer them all honestly. I ask that you don't bother to comment if you're going to bombard me with racism and ignorance. If you'd like to question a common stereotype, by all means go ahead but I will not respond to those who are simply here to be hateful. I also hope you'll respect that I don't like to share too much of my personal details on here, so I'm aiming more to speak about travellers as a a whole and not so much about me personally.

So.... AMA

@NottonightJosepheen I would disagree that young women wanting to look nice was eroticising them

@5lnaBed sadly there are particular areas where more 'rough" travellers are likely to live, and equally there are areas where the more elite (basically the most affluent) are likely to live also

@5lnaBed sadly there are particular areas where more 'rough" travellers are likely to live, and equally there are areas where the more elite (basically the most affluent) are likely to live also

The issues we have seem to be with travelling travellers. I’m not sure we are a rough or an elite area. We have £1m+ houses half a mile from £100k houses.

I haven’t had any experience with settled travellers, perhaps because their settled status means their ethnicity isn’t obvious.

Do you think bad behaviour is more likely within the communities who travel around?

@NottonightJosepheen I'm not sure how you have come to the conclusion that a travelling girls' sole purpose is to be an object for male gaze, but that in itself is quite offensive

@5lnaBed I would say that bad behaviour (the type you're referring to where they leave rubbish etc) is definitely more common amongst travellers who move around, because they feel no connection to the community they are passing through and therefore are less likely to respect it. Of course that's not the case with everyone who travels around

Wow josapheen, prejudiced much?

Thanks for the thread. @Pinkyyy I'm going to read it before I ask any questions as they're probably already here.

@NottonightJosepheen I can't believe you would be so blind to a culture that you could say it was 'doomed'. So many of you are hung up on the lack of schooling (I won't say education as I feel we are educated, just not in the sense you see it) to the point where you question the fact that I'm even able to write with decent literacy skills. It is in no way necessary to spend up to 20 years in formal education to be a competent human being, not do I feel deprived. I have already stated that many travellers have the choice to stay in school longer, but you have chosen to ignore that fact and ramble on in long words that you hope I'm too illiterate to understand.
I didn't want this thread to go in this direction and up to now everyone has been so pleasant and it's a real shame that your prejudice is ruining what has been a really enlightening post to many people.
@Ucangourownwoo I'm glad it's not just me.

@Ncobvs you're very welcome, u understand it's quite long now so don't worry if you can't get through it all, I won't mind repeating anything

This is a very interesting thread thank you.

I do want to back up a previous poster with some stats from a study in Ireland for both Roma and Irish Travellers.

Suicide among male travellers is seven times the national average.

Literacy is very low.

Infant mortality is much higher within the community.

Traveller men and women make up more than 10% (men) and 25% (woman) of the prison population despite being only 0.6% of the population.

Travellers live on average 12 years less than non-Travellers.

83% of travellers are on benefits.

To anyone I think the stats above prove that something in the lifestyle is not working. In my opinion I think it is education. I don’t include you in that as you are obviously very articulate but can you see a need to talk about the wider issues in the community. I hope this isn’t offensive to you as I don’t mean to be.

I don't think education is a problem.
I see girls going to college and becoming care assistants, nursery nurses, hairdressers, beauty assistants, and lots who make money selling on ebay and fb.
I have a huge family and without exception the younger women all work.
They share childcare within the family usually, but some use nurseries.

I think the stats can be skewed as well. being a traveller, gypsy, Romany is a blood tie and not just a lifestyle. As you can see from this thread the lifestyle varies just as it does in a gorger community.
I consider myself Romany although I don't live a particular lifestyle, I'm on some benefits and would say so or be classed as such.

Hasn't there been a report out today that shows it's actually the Welsh who are most over-represented in the prison system in Western Europe?!

Pinkyyy (or any of the other contributors to the thread) is there much in the way of an oral tradition? I mean, are "family" histories a big thing, and considered important to learn and share regularly? And do you have any "traditional" songs or dances, things that "every Traveller" will know, that you might sing at gatherings etc?

I've read that many Romany still follow hindu practices of cleanliness i.e. washing all garments for the lower body separately, women only being allowed to give birth outside the home and that food must be prepared in separate areas to washing. Do you follow those kind of practices?

Also heard that Romany don't like cats, is that true?

Last question, what makes someone a gypsy king?

Thank you for an interesting and informative thread. I hope my questions aren't ignorant.

I’m surprised you continue to use the term ‘gorger’ When many posters have said they find it inappropriate

@LegoPiecesEverywhere thank you. I have heard the suicide statistic before, such a shame. Literacy is improving every year, technology is a great help with that. There are some very interesting statistics you mention, and certainly point out some flaws. I find that our community definitely has a hard time trying to 'fit in' with yours. I definitely don't find it offensive and I agree that there are definitely things that can be improved upon, which I'm sure in the future will progress, the progression even in the last 10 years has been huge.

@LegoPiecesEverywhere it was not you that sent me the PM, it was another poster, apologies if you thought I meant you. Of course all of the things you mention can be concerning and I believe that as a community, we are working to combat those issues. With the rising rate of travellers settling, more children are receiving an education as they are not moving from place to place. I feel that the inequality is progressing naturally, for example it is comments for women and young girls to work now, even 10 years ago this didn't happen

@UtterlyDesperate I don't stay up to date with statistics so that could well be true. Families will often share their histories by way of talking about ancestors or old times, but I don't personally know of any traditional songs or dances that are still widely around today

@pisspawpatrol there are quite a few practices we follow in terms of cleanliness, though I haven't heard of the ones you mentioned. Cats are seen as unlucky animals (not sure why). I think the tradition of having a gypsy king died out many years ago, though being well known and highly respected will earn you recognition. You're very welcome and your questions are absolutely fine

@5lnaBed I have already explained my use of the term gorger and why I think it's absurd to find it offensive

@NottonightJosepheen I said earlier that there are quite a few differences between Irish and Roma, hence the 'us and them'

'Gorger' (root word Gajjo) literally just means 'citizen'
Just because a word sounds like it should be offensive (sounds like it's suggesting people are greedy), doesn't mean it actually IS an offensive word.

@NottonightJosepheen it's so sad that you are so caught up in your education system that you don't feel that travellers contribute to society, purely because they don't work in a few selected professions.

@TheTroutofNoCraic thank you for that definition. I am puzzled by people being offended by it and actually asking me to stop using it

Any word usually said with intent to offend is insulting

When I first heard the term, years ago, my immediate thought was that Travellers were implying that non-Travellers were in some way greedy (gorging).
I took the time to find out what it actually meant, in order to decide for myself...but I also did a lot of Masters level research on GRT culture and history so perhaps I forget that it does take a fair bit of looking to find things out on your own.