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

@ReggieKrayDoYouKnowMyName most travellers are very proud to be a traveller so I haven't read come across anything like this. It must have been to do with her won personal circumstances

I think perhaps we aren’t aware of law abiding travellers because they wouldn’t come across any differently to anyone else.

There’s a group of travellers who’ve taken over a campsite near to me for the last six months, I say taken over, I’m sure they’re paying but it’s basically been fully booked since they arrived.

My question is, they all, without exception seem to drive very high range vehicles. How do people manage to earn a bloody good income when they’re never in the same place for very long?

@Huffleypuff I agree with your first statement. I wouldn't class them all legally living somewhere as 'taking over' though. I'd say it was because the cost of living in a caravan is quite low, no mortgage etc

They also go where work takes them and will often travel for work, so are less restricted than people who only work locally

No I realised taking over sounded quite aggressive, my clarification obviously didn’t help much.

Do you have a normal job? What is a typical career choice for a Traveller man, either settled or on the road? A lot seem to be absolutely minted but there's never mention of how it is earnt.

We had a ton of Travellers set up camp closeby over the summer. I had a particular insistent woman knocking a few times asking me for kids clothes for her friend who has nothing after her husband left her, and a lot of the young men were knocking door to door offering to clean gutters etc. Is this typical or are these the 'lower class' Travellers you speak of?

@Huffleypuff no problem

@NoPhelange typical jobs would be roofing, landscaping etc but those who earn big money tend to be into property development, or buying land and setting up caravan sites. I haven't seen women doing this but gutter or driveway cleaning would be typical of a young traveller just starting out

Do you think there are legitimate criticisms of the community, or do you think they all come from a place of prejudice? I'm just considering a few things you've mentioned as common in traveller culture- homophobia, pulling kids out of school and not educating them, and only wanting them to marry within your race. If somebody posted these views on MN they'd likely be torn to shreds.

Thanks for replying 🙂 the lady was very forward, I said I had nothing yet as i was busy sorting it all out and she just said "Ok I'll be back in 10 minutes!" and walked off leaving me too shocked to do anything but grab some bags and throw in some bits there were going to a charity shop 😁 she was ever so grateful though.

It's a fascinating lifestyle.

What is the deal when a Traveller meets and wants to marry a non Traveller?

Is “gypsy” rude, and “traveller” correct?
Both are absolutely fine"

I am surprised by this statement. The only Romani I know dislike the term Gypsy/Egyptian and consider it pejorative in the same way as Irish Travelers find Pikey.

Further they were very firm that genetic studies had proven their assertion that the Irish Travelers had no link to Romani.

Did I encounter an unusual sub group of 'militant' Romani and your stance predominates today?

@Bluestitch I think you have to consider the fact that you are talking about a completely different way of life. For example, the things you mentioned are also very common in other communities, such as Muslims. Not everyone has to agree on everything and of course no group of people are perfect, but sometimes you need to remember that gypsies are their own race.

They also had views on the Balkan Roma that would get me arrested if I repeated them in public!

Thanks for answering OP. I’m sorry if you have personally had to deal with prejudice and criticism in day to day life because of your background.

Do you get frustrated that the majority of visible travellers are behaving badly? I understand there are many more travellers who are law abiding, but many of us either don't know any or aren't aware we know any.

It must be frustrating for your name to be associated with people who behave so badly.

@NoPhelange it sounds as though you helped someone who was in desperate need, albeit a little forward, that was very kind of you. They tend to just go ahead with it, it's never a huge deal really.

@GrumpyOlderBloke I'd say your encounter was with someone who was a bit too militant. We use both terms and find neither offensive. 'Pikey' on the other had, would be comparable to calling someone the 'N' word.

I'm obliged to have yearly contact with somebody from the LA and provide proof that I am providing an appropriate education.

Actually bluestitch this is not a legal requirement and you could opt out of doing this if you wanted to.

@newestbridearound @picklemepopcorn your questions are both similar. It can't be frustrating and it's worse when you suffer the direct consequences of their actions. For example, if a particular establishment as had a bad encounter with one group of travellers, and then puts a blanket ban in place on all travellers

Hi op,

My only query is about the plastic on the sofas/seats. Is this common practice? Isn't it sticky to sit on?

I'm not sure I understand your comments about education. Are you saying that children are taken out of school for home schooling, but then aren't actually educated at home? If I've got that right, do you agree with that?

There was another traveller on here a while back who was pretty clear that she wanted her daughters to be very protected in terms of sex education etc, while boys could learn all this stuff. Is that a common attitude and do you agree with it?

I'd be really riled.
I've seen some awful, criminal behaviour by groups of travelling people, and the aggression aimed at anyone who goes near their camp is shocking.

People learn from experience to avoid people like that.

Personally, I think it is a lifestyle that needs to be widely condemned in order to allow traveller culture to be freely celebrated.

Locally the main issue has been illegal site developments. And it causes a lot of ill feeling. However, I personally judge all types of people on a case by case basis.
The thing I don't understand (and probably never will) is the lack of interest in education. Although of course that is in no way limited to the travelling community.
I also couldn't get on board with the strict gender roles. I would normally say each to their own but I dislike the apparent greater opportunities afforded to boys and men. Although as I say to my students, always happy to proved wrong.
So, to my question, do you support equality of opportunity for the sexes?

@StillGotTheTreeUp it's to protect them, travellers like to sell their trailers on after a while and this helps to keep them clean and in good condition. It's not the most comfortable thing, especially with bare legs if you're wearing shorts etc

@BlingLoving yes that's correct. Obviously you can't just legally stop a child's education before 16 so this tends to be a way around it. I personally think it depends on the individual and what they want for themselves. Yes that's true about wanting to 'protect' them from that, it's a core part of the values of travellers. Boys probably wouldn't attend that class either though as it tends to be viewed as being vulgar.

@GrammarTeacher I personally do support equality and freedom for individuals to choose what they want to do. There are a lot of travellers who don't feel this way and probably equal amounts that do. I do like traditional values and there are certain aspects of my life that probably wouldn't sit well with feminists, but again I believe it's all down to the individual

Pinkyyy - Do you pay tax?
Does your DC go to school & will DC remain at school?