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.

I'm a Scottish secondary school teacher. A Traveller Liaison Officer told staff at my school that there's a great deal of rivalry and animosity between Romanies, Scottish/Irish Travellers and Carnival people. Is this true?

I've witnessed Scottish/Irish Traveller children being quite hateful towards Romanies and claiming that only they (S/T Travellers) are "true" gypsies.

I would like to know what I am misunderstanding about gypsies, as the only experiences that I have had are extremely negative.

I live in a town of just under 20,000 people and we have a very decent sized park, which is heavily used for dog walking, kids playing, sports, exercise etc. The main entrance of the park is wide enough for a vehicle, because ambulances have to drive on there occasionally if people hurt themselves playing football (or fall or whatever). Otherwise, vehicles aren't allowed on the park and this is pretty obvious from the layout. The park also has gates which are locked at night.

From time to time, lots of gypsies come with vehicles/caravans etc. Usually when it's dark.

The most recent time, they were seen (it was dark) by dogwalkers cutting the chain off the gates (which is criminal) and driving loads of vehicles and caravans into the park. I think because they were seen and possibly videoed breaking the law, they were moved on by the police that evening.

The time before, they stayed longer. The children's play area was being used by the children of residents and the children of gypsies. One of the children of the gypsies had a tin of paint (decorating paint, not a child's toy) and threw it all over the play apparatus. A child of a resident told him to stop throwing paint on the apparatus, so he punched her in the face. After this visit, residents had to organise a litter pick as the park was left absolutely covered not only in litter, but also there was human excrement.

Now, because gypsies have cut the chain that locks the park, the council installed a metal retractable bollard in the middle of the entryway to prevent the entry of vehicles. An ambulance came to the park and nobody knew how to retract the bollard so they couldn't drive onto the park to help the person needing the ambulance.

I cannot understand why people are not arrested for the things I have described above and I also cannot understand why people are allowed to travel around and damage facilities that communities use and cause things to have to be installed that ultimately end up making things hard for ambulances - the bollard. Are you able to explain to me why gypsies (presumably) think that this stuff is OK please?

Definitely true, travellers are not gypsies. Romanu gypsy is an ethnicity that goes back a long time and travellers and show people do not have the same ancestry

Have you been to a horse fair? Badly treating animals is a stereotupe because ita true

Obviously not for all gypsies but Ive seen cruelty to horses that would horrify most people

Can you please describe a typical day for you?
Thank you.

Is there anything local services can do that would help you feel more comfortable or welcome? Especially in terms of healthcare.

You probably don't mean to but I find it quite offensive that you're using an experience of an obviously terrible bunch of people to form your opinion on an entire ethnic group

How would you facilitate your kids following on with school if you also left school early?

I have one inconsiderate group that breaks in and leaves my local park in mess once a year:
when things like this happen do you get more abuse as people lump you in and assume you are the same?
what do you think of the kids being involved in violence?
also I had a Gypsy work friend who used to constantly be asked if her life was like tv, are people this ignorant to you in real life?

My husband has gypsy ancestry and is related to Tracey Emin.
His family started living in houses 100 years ago and his family are just normal English people so don’t suffer from any prejudice. It is interesting that the way they do things seem to have roots in the gypsy way of life. His parents also live in a caravan 9 months of the year now they’re retired and don’t use the loo in there so they don’t have to clean it out! I do wonder if I should be teaching my kids more about their roots though?

I've been to horse fairs but the horses are always on one side and the socialising on the other. As I said I don't have any experience with horses at all so can't really comment on that

What do your children do from age 12, boys and girls? What are they learning? Is it literally boys a trade and girls helping round the house?

Do you understand why restaurants and other businesses worry about letting travellers use their services before paying first?

I also have had horrendous experiences, however I know not all are the same.
my old friend was not the same.
i feel it’s the same as religion, when people do a bad thing, you cannot blame the religion or all the people that follow it .

I'd like to know why some keep their animals so poorly ? Horses tied up on the side of roads, huge teenage boys racing tiny shetland ponies, puppies kept in squalid conditions ? This all happens just outside our local village on a traveller site. RSPCA will never intervene when reported. Is it normal for most traveller families to treat animals so badly ?

Probably the same as any SAHM to be honest, I can't think of anything out of the ordinary in my daily life

I apologise.

I am asking the question because this is my only personal experience of gypsies.

I'd also like to know the difference between gypsies and travellers? Or different types of gypsies?

At the school I work at, we have a large proportion of gypsy children who come from Slovakia originally. They have dark skin and speak Roma? With English as a second language.

Then we have other children who are referred to as coming from a traveller family (not sure traveller is the correct term here or not), and they are white with English as their first language.

What's the difference here?

I hope I haven't offended with any terms used, I'm here to learn and understand and if anything is wrong, to be corrected.

@Concretejungle1 I also asked this but got ignored so it looks like the op doesn't know herself. It's impossible to effectively facilitate something you have not experienced yourself so there is no real answer is there unfortunately.

Thank you for explaining the distinction between the two groups. It helps to know the right words.

Do you have horses?
Do you take them to Appleby?

You've probably had lots more but you don't realise because we are just normal people

I'm a sahm and it sounds like our lives are totally different so I don't understand the reasoning there.

Why is it ok for boys to stay in school long enough for sex education but not girls?

Why if you all look British?

You arent addressing the fact that while the majority of gypsies lead what to you is a normal life there are large groups who behave in anything but a normal or acceptable way.

Are you aware of the havoc caused by these groups?