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.

There are tens of thousands of Roma gypsies from Eastern Europe now living in the UK. Do you share the same ethnicity?

@Lifeomars there is a large cohort in a nearby city from Slovakia. They have definitely come from worse conditions. Ostracised, often not allowed into mainstream education or work. There have been some real issues since they moved to the UK, the noisy street culture is unacceptable to many in their neighbourhood. Litter, fly tipping, street fights etc. It is calming down a bit now, the police have a base in the area, and there are a couple of workers from the Roma community who speak the language and try and encourage a more acceptable lifestyle.

I just wanted to comment and say I work with a couple of ‘gypsies’ and they’re a couple of the nicest people I know! I really detest the ignorant misconception most people have about travellers.

How would an unplanned teen pregnancy be received in your community? Would the teens be encouraged to make the relationship work? Would abortion be deemed acceptable?

Shame she didn't use those "excellent" reasoning skills to understand the reasons to immunise her children from deadly diseases... But no... She "did her research" and came to the conclusion that actually billions of others and decades of research are obviously, in her highly educated and well read position, wrong.

Why have you chosen to put apostrophes either side of the word gypsies?

Do you live in a house or a static home?

I went to a traveller site (which might well have been a ‘gypsy’ site as it’s permanent) with a colleague as our rules state no unaccompanied site visits to traveller sites. Anyway, the static home we went into was spotlessly clean but, bizarrely, had plastic covers on pretty much everything inside. Is this a ‘thing’? The woman I spoke to said they are judged within the community on how clean their homes are.

What is your line of work, out of interest? That might (or might not) go some way to explain why your experience of gypsies and travellers has been good, while for others it's been bad. I suppose it depends on the nature of your contact with them.

Thank you for doing this AMA @GypsyAMA, it's both educational and fascinating!

My question is about technology - I have 2 teenaged daughters, and much of their social lives are shared online with their friends (we only allow them to add people they know in real life on Instagram, Snap Chat etc.) and I wondered if Gypsy teenagers are as welded to mobile phones as our "gorger" children? Do you allow them to have their own phones and are they allowed to share things online?

Hi OP

Just to say I've only read the replies you've given and it's been really insightful. Admittedly I was quite prejudiced before reading but happy to be educated on your community. Thank you and sorry for the vitriol you've encountered.

I love this threat. Where I live we have a lot of gypsies. Some are lovely and will say hello and then you get the ones that cause of few problems especially with their horse and carts on the roads and not following the highway code. I got told to suck my mum's dick because I was in the correct lane and he cut his horse and carts across in front of me, obviously my fault! Lol. And the way they whip the hell out of those horses ... Awful. But like I said that's just a pinch of the community that end up tarring you all with the same brush.
Thankyou for this threat and how respectful and honest you are. Much love x

I have a question, do us gorgers do anything that you find really bizarre that you would like to ask about?
Hmm, I would like to know why so many people go to university. Is it mostly for the enjoyment of the social side of it? I've read that the amount of people who get a job in their field is really low so it seems strange to take on that debt.

Was once refused entry into mini golf with my nieces and nephews, that was really sad for them as they'd been looking forward to it all week.

To fit the definition of a cult, a group must revolve around a central charismatic figure.

Having a set of customs and traditions passed down over generations is characteristic of a culture.

I've told this awful story before but I grew up on a sinkhole estate in a pit village and there was a kid on there who was a fucking psychopath. He was a preschooler and he threw ducklings against a wall and also squashed them through grates. He tortured any cat he could get hold of. He was not a gypsy.
Also on that estate, not him because it was years before he was born but someone half skinned our cat alive and someone skewered next doors pets to the floor of their hutch.

Some people are evil.

I understand from your thread that women look after the home/children - how would you feel if your kids did not want their own children (both sons or daughters)? As more women are becoming child free by choice, I didn’t know if this was also happening in your community? Thanks!
I'd be sad as I'm sure anyone would, but I don't really know anyone IRL who is child free by choice

• No OP, you can’t be ‘sure’ of that - very judgemental for someone to be quick to jump in on any comments they feel are judgemental of them. Not everyone wants to have children, for a huge range of reasons, and not all parents are sad not to have grandchildren (especially if that’s the best thing for their children). That’s a truly horrible thing to say.

I'm a nurse in a high security prison - one of the biggest threats of violence is keeping the travellers and the gypsies apart
The absolute hatred , mistrust and pure intent to harm is shocking
I'm in the Midlands so we have a lot of gang related violence also but this issue is in the top 5 risks

What does a typical evening meal involve? Are there particular dishes that are really popular in your community? In terms of alcohol, do women drink?

Also posters have mentioned women shoplifting stealings using kids begging etc - these are often the trafficked victims of organised crime.

Something you may/may not find interesting is that we don't use the word pregnant, we would say expecting etc instead.

I could go on a long time about this subject as there are many differences.

Families will all come to your home when you take the baby home. I came home from the hospital with my first born and had 15 visitors that day. Also we always name the first born son after the dad.

I'm close with my family and luckily have good in laws.

@PoppyJM I think you will find that was Travellers not Gypsys that you are talking about

In very traditional cultures such as this, though, it really would be vanishingly unusual, especially among women. Although in some cases it could be a mask for repressed homosexuality.

Was once refused entry into mini golf with my nieces and nephews, that was really sad for them as they'd been looking forward to it all week.

Why though? You describe them as 'looking British' and the description of their clothing is just like anyone else's.

I don't really get it. Is there some other 'giveaway' do you think?

@GypsyAMA a degree will help you get many different types of graduate level jobs, not dependent on your degree subject. My degree subject has no well defined employment area that relates to it other than being an academic in that subject. But it is desirable for many career paths due to the skills learnt as part of studying that subject.

The other aspect to consider is that plenty of people enjoy learning and interacting with other people who enjoy learning. So, i suppose that's "social" but it's not about drinking and partying. Although plenty of people enjoy that too.

It would be quite the scandal. Usually the girl and boy would elope ASAP and try and play it off like the pregnancy happened after the elopement.

I'm a devout Catholic so against abortion

Fascinating thread @GypsyAMA thank you!

I just fell down a rabbit hole of gypsy surnames, would this list below ring true? Others I spotted include Matthews, Ayres, Green, Taylor, Williams, Shepherd, Chapman and Scott. All very British sounding and pretty common.

Also I noticed Boswell is a typically gypsy name - apparently it was the family name of the English gypsy royal family. Which leads me to Bread… were they meant to be a gypsy family?