I'm just an average gypsy AMA

[GypsyAMA]

I've noticed a lot of hatred towards gypsies on here so I thought I'd answer any questions anyone may have that could help you to understand my culture more. You might still disagree with many aspects, but at least you'll be coming from facts and not stereotypes.

Bloody hell stop defending them. You should be more sad that they are like this and ruining it for yourself.
When peoples experiences of gypsies are mostly negative then it's not 1%, it's a big problem and something insidious with how they live.

Wording this carefully- is theft just normalised in the community or is it seen as taboo or a crime in any way? Asking because in the city where I live it is completely 'normal' for Roma children to be taught/told to pickpocket and the ladies to steal from shops.

Exactly. You can't 'homeschool' children above primary school age if you haven't been educated yourself above primary school age and when huge numbers of your community are illiterate. Thus is where the homeschooling system falls down. Children aren't being homeschooled in any meaningful sense. Not just gypsy/ travellers, but in fundamentalist religious communities.

I understand your point that no education for girls, girls/women being expedcted to be at home is normal and just your culture but I am afraid I just can't accept it.

As a white South African, I'm old enough to remember the kind of old school racists who would say things like, "well, the [unpleasant word for black people] just aren't like us and it's better if we're all kept separate". But what they really meant was that they weren't going to let black people have opportunities, or wealth or whatever.

It feels similar. It doesn't really matter what the girls think, this is just how it is and they must accept it.

I assume that girls/women are expected to be virgins when they marry? Is the same standard applied to men/boys? Are marriages 100% by choice? What happens if someone wants to marry out of the community?

Hi Op

Can I ask if you have any experience or opinion on keeping horses? We have a large gypsy site near us and the horses are often tethered in public places like the middle of busy roundabouts. Whenever anyone tries to intervene like taking a bucket of water over, they are often abused and it raises tensions in the community. Do you agree with the practice?

Where do you believe your ethnic group originated from? I have heard variously Egypt, India etc... Is this ever discussed in the community?

Me too.

Gypsies are not travellers (or tinkers) 😡

The thing is with a lot of these horror stories people have no idea if they were even Roma, they could have been a completely different lot of travellers for all they know. I know a settled gypsy, you wouldn't know if she didn't tell you and hardly anyone knows because she's afraid of the abuse. My last experience of travelling Roma (I'm just guessing that they were) was on a grass verge down the road from us, a rather lovely painted (single) caravan and horse, no problems and no mess or stories of people being robbed that I noticed or heard about from anyone.

Unfortunately OP your facts endorse the stereotype

I'm guessing health care professionals encourage parents to have their children vaccinated.

Obviously not, if the OP's husband has the final say on whether the children are vaccinated.

I feel the same.

I can't respect that outlook.

The OP seems like a lovely woman, but I can't get my head around such contradictory statements.

FFS I haven't defended any bad behaviour.

Do you realise how bloody annoying it is to be constantly judged on the same level of the worst people are n your society?

Gypsies are everywhere, living normal (for them) lives. They could be behind you in the queue in Tesco or sat at the next table in the restaurant. You just don't know it. Obviously only the poor behaviour grabs attention, why would normal people get attention?

Encourage/harass. I'd say these days it's more of a 50/50 split for people who do and don't vaccinate, where in my parents generation it was next to none.

Wrong. I had the final say, in fact my husbands family al vaccinate. Everything except MMR I think as his parents believed the nonsense about it causing autism.

I find it really interesting that the education thing is what's caused the most conversation. It's just so normal to me and it seems completely unfathomable to you all.

Can you explain why secondary school is unacceptable? And you’ve said that if one of your children wanted to train as a doctor you’d make it possible - but how?

Posters are fixating on education as it is so important. It is so wrong to deny children an education especially girls

You are clearly intelligent and I struggle to understand why you would be so averse to your DC being in a secondary school setting and fulfilling their academic potential. Your culture may not place much value on education but your children might. You would be pretty much scuppering their chances of being able to become a doctor or similar by keeping them away from secondary chool. Do you really believe it is fair that you do this?

I know there's many good ones living amongst us. Who just get on with they lives and cause no issues. But why are there so many awful ones. So many that everyone you speak to has had bad experiences. That's not like any other part of society.

This is so interesting, OP! If the majority of children stop attending school at, say 11 years of age, how do they fill their time?

Why wouldn't you allow your children to stay in school? How would they be able to access higher education if they don't complete school?
Do you home educate?

@GypsyAMA what do you fear happening to your children if they remain in education in a secondary school?

Or if not fear, what is it you don't approve of, dislike, disagree with that happens during secondary school?

Do you ever get bored of being at home doing just whatever there is as housework?

Do gypsies in general go abroad for holidaying?

What do you do about Jehovahs Witnesses? Obviously they knock on all of the doors in a local community. Would they get sent out on their ear if they approached a gypsy camp?

This is the best AMA I've ever read. Genuinely interesting and insightful. OP, your replies are very measured and eloquently written. Thanks for being so candid.

I don't agree with the Gypsy lifestyle but as you've said, I'm judging it by my own standards. I'm enjoying learning more about your way of life.