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Original poster

AIBU to find it disgusting that gypsies have taken over a school playground

808 replies

Adizzylass2014 · 04/04/2015 22:17

whilst attending my best friends wedding today in a little village I was horrified to see that gypsies had taken over the school playground. There was rubbish all over the floor, children and dogs running all over the place and scantily clad women puffing away.
why a school playground, these people have no morals. The poor caretaker is going to have his work cut out for him as there was at least 15 caravans! Angry

OP posts:
SoupDreggon · 05/04/2015 12:36

Then the way forward is clear, isn't it. There needs to be proper provision for traveller sites with proper facilities, like there used to be. It's only since they were mostly closed, that travellers have been seen as such a problem in this way.

Is it because official sites were closed? Some apparently manage to live cleanly and not cause problems regardless of whether a site is official or not and I suspect that the kind of person who is happy to leave rubbish and crap on an unofficial site would be happy to leave it anywhere.

Sallyingforth · 05/04/2015 12:39

Worra, that's encouraging. I'm glad to hear it.

Do they also register with HMRC? Some (not all) have some very expensive caravans and 4x4s, that must have come from a substantial income.

WorraLiberty · 05/04/2015 12:41

I have no idea about HMRC Sallyingforth

TheFormidableMrsC · 05/04/2015 12:41

I am absolutely stunned that my posts have been removed when I was describing an incident that I had witnessed, my children had witnessed...and many others stuck in the jam behind them had witnessed, that involved a quite sickening level of abuse inflicted on an injured horse by members of the "travelling community". We called the Police and reported it, well my daughter did as I was driving, in order that the Police could intervene while they were still actually in the vicinity. Neither do I expect my 16 year old daughter to be told to go and "f* her mother". I am hugely offended! As I stated latterly in this thread, I have yet to have a positive traveller experience, ever. All I ever see is the damage they cause and the huge disrespect to the environment around them.

bigfam · 05/04/2015 12:42

Obviously you won't understand the need to follow their traditions of travelling from place to place.
I think the suggestions of building permanent sites is a good idea, if the facilities are there they will use them, it's just a case of making sure there's enough

WorraLiberty · 05/04/2015 12:43

TheFormidableMrsC, if I remember rightly you wrote off an entire race of people due to your experience.

Telling your experience = fine

Writing off a whole race of people because of it = racist

WorraLiberty · 05/04/2015 12:47

bigfam according to Shelter, there are around 5,000 pitches across several hundred council sites in England (it doesn't mention the rest of the UK).

Maybe that's not enough. It doesn't really sound like enough.

Andrewofgg · 05/04/2015 12:51

There aren't enough houses for people who want them either, see thread after thread after thread on MN.

Cherriesandapples · 05/04/2015 12:53

Every council in the UK has a traveller site. My own three at a significant cost to the taxpayers!

WorraLiberty · 05/04/2015 12:55

Also, if you're evicted from a council site due to anti-social behaviour or rent arrears, it's hard to get accepted onto another one.

Just like if you were evicted from a council home.

Sallyingforth · 05/04/2015 12:55

Writing off a whole race of people because of it = racist

Are travellers actually a race?

From my limited observation they are a very diverse lot of people with a single common interest of moving about the country (or in some cases not moving about!). Some are integrated families, some are groups of what used to be called 'hippies'. Some are actually traditional Roma. Quite a mixed bag of different people.

How do they come to be treated as a 'race'?

bigfam · 05/04/2015 12:56

Travellers and gypsies pay tax too

WorraLiberty · 05/04/2015 12:56

Why does it cost the taxpayers a significant amount Cherries?

I don't understand why the rent doesn't cover the upkeep, the same as it does with council houses?

WorraLiberty · 05/04/2015 12:57

Yes, travellers are a race. It's been said many times upthread.

TheFormidableMrsC · 05/04/2015 12:59

Worral Please DO NOT call me racist. That is hugely offensive. I did not write off an "entire race". I described MY experiences, not ONE of which has been positive. Not one. Perhaps you don't mind walking through piles of used sanitary towels, tampons and dirty nappies with your children in a nature reserve. Clearly my standards are too high.

WindYourBobbinUp · 05/04/2015 13:01

We pay tax (for the hundredth time) and the sites can be great for many groups. My friend (non gypsy) lives on one in a static caravan. Her DP left her unexpectedly with the kids and it was all she could afford. It's been great for her in terms of community and her kids growing up close to nature. The alternative could've been homelessness or a shelter, she felt the site was the best choice for them. Not sure what she pays but you pay to the site for the water and power. It's an address too for those saying it exempts you from tax, it doesn't

edamsavestheday · 05/04/2015 13:02

I'm sure I've walked past/stood in a queue next to Travellers without knowing it but sadly when I have been aware of Travellers it's not been good. There are some prolific shoplifters who turn up in my high street now and again. One of the shop owners currently has a wrenched shoulder after chasing a shoplifter and trying to grab the clothes back. I'm aware that Travellers and Gypsies suffer from a lack of legitimate sites and discrimination but I can also see that there are real problems with some.

Sallyingforth · 05/04/2015 13:05

Worra that's no explanation for calling a diverse bunch of people a 'race'.
Do you actually have one?

TheNewStatesman · 05/04/2015 13:07

No local authority is going to splash out and create lots of wonderful facilities, because if they did then the whole area would just become a magnet for travelers. Lots of money down the drain.

On the other hand, if they provided NO facilities at all then the lifestyle situation of travelers would deteriorate disastrously and the kids would have to be taken into care, and nobody has to money to do that either.

So most local authorities just walk a fine line, provide the absolute bare minimum of facilities, and hope that the traveling way of life will disappear by itself.

I am amused by the people saying "I am of traveller heritage and live in a house and have a job and pay my taxes....!" Good for you, thenyou're not the people that we are complaining about, in that case. Most people on this thread probably know someone who has traveller ethnicity but lives like a settled personI went to school with at least two. No problem.

The problem is that many of the people who ARE actually traveling are leaving pitches in a right state and causing trouble with the settled people. I've heard some OK/positive stories about travelers too, to be fair--but they are decidedly outnumbered by the horror stories. Too many to be coincidental.

Coconutty · 05/04/2015 13:09

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

HayDayRookie · 05/04/2015 13:09

I am a traveller/pikey/gyppo (get called them all) I have had so many terrible things said to me and my children it is heartbreaking. I only contribute to society but am constantly told what "shit arsed group of people i am part of"
It's a vicious circle of bigotry from a group of society that are convenienced they are better than us and the travellers who feel hated judged hitting out in defence.

Viviennemary · 05/04/2015 13:09

They've no more right to camp in a school playground than anybody else has. And that means no right at all. The very fact they camped there shows that these particular ones have no respect for anybody.

IFinishedTheBiscuits · 05/04/2015 13:15

Worraliberty, enough is enough: making exceptions for a pattern of antisocial or violent behaviour because the perpetrators are an ethnic minority who we must be careful not to stigmatise.
It does not work. It didn't work with the Asian grooming gangs. It didn't work with forced marriage and honour killings. (And I say this being half Asian).
If travellers are embarrassed by the actions of others in their community they should speak out against them, but they don't, they close ranks.

madreloco · 05/04/2015 13:17

Yes, travellers deserve the same facilities of living space, education and healthcare as everyone else

But travellers that actually travel don't want those facilities. They don't ensure their children get a proper education but then complain that they don't have opportunities. Traveller children at post primary level miss on average HALF the school year, and tend to drop out early without qualifications. They don't want to be settled and have a house but then complain that they aren't allowed to set up camp wherever they want on other peoples land. They want to be allowed to break lots of laws simply because they are travellers.

It isn't discriminatory to say to a group of people that you can't do the things that nobody is allowed to do. Non travellers aren't allowed to set up a camp on a school playground either. It isn't discriminatory for hotels to ban traveller wedding receptions when the reason is that huge fights and even shootings were the result of the last few that were allowed.
It isn't racism when its properly rooted in the reality of experience.

JanineStHubbins · 05/04/2015 13:19

Sallyingforth Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers have been recognised as distinct ethnic groups by the UK courts and entitled to protection under the Race Relations Act.

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