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 totally agree, there are different demographics in all societies and the fact that I'm being expected to answer for the dregs of mine is bizarre. Do you all accept responsibility for the worst people from your community?

Grabbing is an Irish traveller tradition and would not be acceptable to gypsies

If I'm being totally honest I'd prefer they date a gypsy, but if they were happy then I'd be happy.

If you aren't Irish traveller are you Roma or is there another ethnic group that differs from both?

Hi OP.

Sorry another education one. Your community will obviously benefit from doctors, solicitors, engineers etc yet you do not really value state education. I cant reconcile how you can live in a society that relies on the skills of educated people but won't engage with education. Also, whilst you say your children can choose their future, the reality is that by taking them out of school you are making that incredibly difficult for them to understand what other options are out there, you are actually closing doors. I just find that very difficult to understand.

Sorry pressed submit to early. My question therefore is does this ever get recognised or discussed in your community. Can you see it changing?

It must be horrendous to be automatically judged for the actions of others. It's a common theme and it stinks. I'm sorry you have to deal with that.

I hate it. You hear she makes all women look bad but you don't hear he makes all men look bad. You hear he makes all black people look bad but you don't hear he makes all white people look bad. You hear they make all people on benefits look bad but you don't hear they make all people with jobs look bad.

‘Like Amish or any cult.’

But the Amish have a system where young people leave the community as young adults, and live in the ‘outside world’ for a year or two. They only return to the community if they wish to ( and the community decides whether they should be accepted ).

So nothing like an ethnically based self exclusion system, really. And I think it doesn’t fit most definitions of a cult , either.

A couple of people have commented that I've done nothing to make my way of life sound appealing to them, that's not really the point of this thread and I can only answer what's asked of me.

Also my spelling and grammar is pretty much from when I went to school, as I said I was really bright and did well in literacy etc.

Roma

Do you not feel bad that you're denying your children a full education? If you left school early do you really think you're able to homeschool them up to A Level if that's what they want to do? Or do they just get limited educationally without any other choice?

There's some Romani ancestry way back in my mum's paternal line. Some had what research tells me are Roma names but I wasn't able to find much information beyond a couple of generations before them. Do the Roma have any form of written ancestry record keeping or is it all oral history?

I'm not denying them anything, I've already said I would support them as far as they want to go in education. I would be very proud of my child if they became a doctor or something. I just wouldn't let them go to a secondary school setting.

I agree it sounds offensive, and I don't agree nessasery. I was going to ask about education. But I think there is some truth like if u restrict a child's education your causing them by default to continue what is expected of them, which is to marry young and have children young and continue the same way of life . I don't think nessasery that's a offensive opnion. It's how u phase it. It benefits a community to limit or restrict options so they continue the community. Because if you allow education then there is the possibility of career and wanting to Pursue that and not wanting to marry young and have children and be homemaker. so they could potentially leave the community. Obviously not every one would want to but its a possibility, more so than just discouraging education and be very clear about whats expected instead. And then instead of education its all about how to keep a home and raise children. Do u see what I'm saying?

Is that girls as well as boys?

If a girl really wasn’t interested in marriage & kids, would the community find that unacceptable?

Also wanted to add , preventing mixing in like in secondary school is preventing mixing with different ways of life. I assume out of fear but it also continues the idea that if limiting their experiences to keep inside a community then they won't know what options r out there. I do understand why a parent would be fearful. So this is not being rude. But I do also see how it helps support idea of controlling information , but then I don't have to live with being in a minority. And everything that goes along with that. I am interested in the idea of Integration ad I'm assuming it's equally outsiders not wanting to , but insiders not wanting to either.

Also on the eduction thing. How many children are going to be actively asking to continue education. They don't necessarily know what is in their best interest at a young age. If your community has limited education then are you realistically going to be able to home school them? It's just so life limiting.

A long time ago I read something I found really interesting about gypsy life, and wonder if it is still a thing, and what it was about. It was to do with the distinction between inside (a caravan then) and outside. So certain things were only washed outside the van, for example, and were not mixed with things inside. Do you know about this OP? Does it still apply when settled in a house?
Thank you for doing this thread.
A lovely gypsy lady used to come by our house every six months or so and talk to my mother when I was growing up in Somerset. She and her family travelled all around the countryside during the year.

I assume the ones we get are travellers, they seem to have Irish accents. They accost me if I am working in in the front garden asking to do work, they say the drive needs work, the roof needs work, we can prune the trees, etc. I try to say no politely that I don't want anything done, but they then can become aggressively persistent, to the point of a stand off in one case where I was quite frightened. Why do they do this? It is reinforcing the stereotype.

I'm sorry but just because many gypsies are good, it doesn't stop people being wary for very real reasons.
So many of them don't behave in a normal reasonable way.
So many stories of aggression, intimidation, leaving messes, ripping people off.

You are denying them. You've just said that you wouldn't let them go to school. If they want to be a doctor they would need to study chemistry, physics and maths at A Level - would you be teaching them that?

It's the same in nearly every town in the UK. Mine in particular has been targeted 12 times in the last 3 years and the clean up and damage repair costs have totalled over a million pounds.

So how would they get their GCSE and A-levels to get into uni to train?

I live near a town with an annual horse fair and we have a large minority of settled gypsies too.
Most of the ones I know are either committed Christians, mainly Catholic, or come from a family who are/were.
I note someone's question upthread about whether evangelism is becoming more usual.
I am interested in hearing but this too, but my main question is about how much of the old country ways and folklore remains in the gypsy community.
Is there still a tradition of respect for the land, herbalism and belief in earth spirits?
Or did that all die out with the older generations, modernism and Christianity?

Agree with this.

There is playing field/rec about 10 miles from my house that 1-2 times a year, since about 2015, is taken over by 50/60 caravans.

They terrorise the elderly with doorstop calls and refuse to leave when people don't want them doing any jobs (cutting hedges, guttering cleaning etc), they don't pick up any of their litter and leaves tonnes of rubbish when they leave. They have ruined the play ground that was there by stealing the metal chains off swings etc. People have reported pets (dogs and cats) stolen and seen them tied up outside caravans but the police are too scared to do anything because the gypsies get violent and aggressive. They're usually moved on within a week but in that time, they destroy the entire village. House prices in that village have plummeted.

When I lived in Croydon, they did the same. Ditto in Caterham and just outside Tonbridge. They used to do it on the Stoke Bishop fields when I was at university in Bristol as well.

I'm not defending bad behaviour, but where do you expect them to go?

Okay so that's 4 bad groups per year. There are thousands and thousands of gypsies and you are basing your opinion on less than 1%?