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

*their

I need another coffee

@NottonightJosepheen there are lots of common traits and sometimes we are able to get along with one another, but it often just doesn't work out. Sometimes people from one will marry into the other and it's never a huge deal, just not all that common.
It's hard to explain specific differences, it's mainly just that each side live their life slightly differently, but based on the same basic principles.
I'm aftaid I don't know the answer to your last question, I really should dedicate some time to researching my heritage but before this thread, I've honestly never thought that far into it.

@NottonightJosepheen of course not all Irish travellers are like that and there are bad in both sides. I'm really not wanting to give Irish travellers a bad reputation in the slightest so I hope it doesn't come across that way

@NottonightJosepheen yes I do and I've met many nice Irish travellers. I think sometimes people prejudice has to come from somewhere, they don't just dream it up, but not all of it is true of everyone.

NotTonight

I’m Irish myself and I’m not talking about all Irish travelers but I have worked with 100s of them and my experiences were all poor. Again, the sector I worked in maybe attracted a certain type.
I was bristling at the us and them vibe but genuinely I can see what OP means. There are vast differences between the Irish and English travelers on the show I’m currently watching, each episode and each different family. I just hadn’t realized that before and had assumed the Irish travelers were being used as scape goats.

@YogaWannabe I'm glad you have been able to witness this and form your own opinion. The differences are indeed vast, but difficult to explain.

@NottonightJosepheen I completely understand and agree with you on that. I would never just blindly push the blame onto someone else and I hope that hasn't been the way this thread has come across. I've learned a lot too and I have enjoyed being challenged on things

Unbelievable. Hiding the thread now. What a shame.

@BlancheM what's unbelievable?

@NottonightJosepheen I'm now quite concerned that I'm coming across in the wrong way. Do you think this is the case?

@Coconutty thank you, I was worried that I had misrepresented what I wanted to say. It has been interesting for me too, I haven't been challenged like this before and it has really made me think. I totally agree and I'm sure it's the same for Irish travellers who feel that they too are tarred with the same brush

Now one of my comments has been deleted and I'm really not sure why

@Pinkyyy perhaps you could ask MN to change your thread title to include "English"? I think, in general, this has been a well-mannered thread, largely because of your measured responses, but I find it a little unfair asking for balance from Irish Travellers when it appears there are none on the thread. I too would be interested to hear more about the differences, especially when, as non-gypsis, we tend to assume that you are all the same, but I don't think it's reasonable to berate you about this, or about what you have identified, according to your culture, are considered to be practises of Irish Travellers rather than English Travellers

@UtterlyDesperate that could be a good idea. Thank you, I have really tried my best to remain unbiased (even towards my own community) in give facts and opinions, even when I have felt very strongly about something. It would definitely be good to hear from the Irish side what their opinions are, because I'm sure there will be negatives from that side too. I hope people realise we are not all the same, and that I'm not pushing the blame onto anyone at all. Thank you

@NottonightJosepheen thank you so much, I have really enjoyed you questioning me and making me think about things from a completely different point of view, is has been really enlightening.

The English/Irish divide is something I find really interesting, and it's fascinating to hear that the opinions are somewhat different in Ireland. Its sort of a role reversal from what you described, as it's pretty much the opposite over here.

I think in England there is a common assumption that all travellers are Irish travellers, and people are often very surprised to learn that this is not the case, which is probably why we all face the same predjudice and judgements.

I was also surprised at the human excrement comments, though multiple people on this thread seem to have witnessed that first hand. We don't have halting sites in England, I haven't actually heard of them, perhaps that's a large part of the problem.

You are very welcome and thank you for showing such interest.

I'm not sure if this has been asked before sorry if it has OP - but do some travellers register to vote? You said most are pro Brexit so was unsure if they chose to vote or if they could.

Most of my experiences with travellers have been quite normal. I've seen a few fight but it was each other, seen a few working and I got given a £20 I dropped in the Co-op by a traveller staying in the caravan park nearby.

I went to bed so late last night, this thread had me doing tons of research and I ended up spending a small fortune on books .
I came across this a while ago about the history of Romanies in the UK, not sure if it's of interest to anyone.
One thing I have found over the years is that there is good and bad in all communities. I have never met an Irish gypsy, that I know of, but have heard they are usually God fearing Catholics. I'm not sure if this is throughout the communities.

forgot to link, I need sleep
www.grthmlondon.org.uk/information/gypsy-timeline/