Travellers/Tinks/Gypos: the last frontier in unchallenged prejudice

[gun ainm]

theres been a fair amount of stuff on the bounce recently that uses the various derogatory names for nawkens/travellers - not applied to travellers directly but to people or groups of people that are seen as dirty, crooked, scrounging, trouble making etc etc?

Once called ireland's hidden apartheid with a situation not much better over this side (if at all) are these people(s) the last ethnic group which it ok to be prejudice against? i remember playing with traveller children as a youngster during long summers in galloway and argyll and although I wont say i have a romantic/idealised view of them they are far from the demons they are portrayed as so commonly (and frequently on the bounce) - infact theirs is a culture I both respect and admire. So a quick plea - lay off the travellers a bit please people they've had it hard enough without mindless denunciation.

if not can someone explain why its ok to discriminate against travellers when (thankfully) it has become unacceptable in society to do so against other groups?

 

[Hampden_Hibby]

They call it 'banter' round these parts. :coffee:

 

[Doc Shrink]

They call it 'banter' round these parts. :coffee:

Hey listen you, we never called any of these Gyppo's a weegie did we?

Well shut it.
grrrr









On the OP's comments...... "nawkens"

I seriously don't tink I've heard that expression before , although a quick google sorted me out.
I thought that we were the peg-sellers here according to the Gunts..... or is it our disparaging treatment of Celtc that you mean?

 

[Forzahibs]

Hey listen you, we never called any of these Gyppo's a weegie did we?

Well shut it.
grrrr









On the OP's comments...... "nawkens"

I seriously don't tink I've heard that expression before , although a quick google sorted me out.
I thought that we were the peg-sellers here according to the Gunts..... or is it our disparaging treatment of Celtc that you mean?

I reckon its an Irish thing Doc. Lots of Tinkies around here usually making the place even more of a shithole than usual

 

[Brizo]

theres been a fair amount of stuff on the bounce recently that uses the various derogatory names for nawkens/travellers - not applied to travellers directly but to people or groups of people that are seen as dirty, crooked, scrounging, trouble making etc etc?

Once called ireland's hidden apartheid with a situation not much better over this side (if at all) are these people(s) the last ethnic group which it ok to be prejudice against? i remember playing with traveller children as a youngster during long summers in galloway and argyll and although I wont say i have a romantic/idealised view of them they are far from the demons they are portrayed as so commonly (and frequently on the bounce) - infact theirs is a culture I both respect and admire. So a quick plea - lay off the travellers a bit please people they've had it hard enough without mindless denunciation.

if not can someone explain why its ok to discriminate against travellers when (thankfully) it has become unacceptable in society to do so against other groups?

I remember playing with traveller children as a youngster during long summers in dumbiedykes. Possibly not a picturesque as your location :rollfloor but fwiw I found some of them ok , some less than ok. No different really from the static population that lived around about that bit of the southside.

Certain sections of the worldwide travelling community certainly dont do anything to help themselves imho but such is human nature its far easier to stereotype and label all travellers in derogatory terms. Would I want them moving in next door to me. The honest answers id probably be extremely apprehensive , altho id give them the benefit of the doubt. Certainly theyd find it hard to be more troublesome than some static neebs ive had.

The tinks thing on here always strikes me as more appropriate to section N types and unreconstructed sticky buns than our suppposedly more inclusive support but as HH says they call it "banter".

 

[gun ainm]

I thought that we were the peg-sellers here according to the Gunts..... or is it our disparaging treatment of Celtc that you mean?

used on the bounce to refer to celtic supporters and other "undesirables" - as if calling them celtic supporters wasnt bad enough! certainly used by gunts to describe both Hibees and Celtc fans in a less than well intentioned manner. I (like brizo) associate the use with the section n type fuckwits and wonder why its seen as acceptable by many(?) of the "inclusive" Hibs support. i just picked up on it cos i think its indicative of how marginalised the traveller community are and how accepted the demonised view of them is in Scottish, English and Irish society in general.

 

[buckie]

if not can someone explain why its ok to discriminate against travellers when (thankfully) it has become unacceptable in society to do so against other groups?

because they are not a different ethnic group with their own distinct culture, they are just a group of people who choose to live outside society and make their money by nefarious purposes and avoid paying tax.

 

[mozart]

So Rupert Murdoch must be some kind of traveller he avoigeg paying tax for years along with the rest of his ruling class mob.

 

[buckie]

So Rupert Murdoch must be some kind of traveller he avoigeg paying tax for years along with the rest of his ruling class mob.

the Queen is the biggest gippo of all, Total anarchist

 

[PILTONSTANY]

If they would stop stealing Laptops then they wouldn't have to view anyones online slurs :raisehat:

 

[gun ainm]

because they are not a different ethnic group with their own distinct culture, they are just a group of people who choose to live outside society and make their money by nefarious purposes and avoid paying tax.

whether you believe them to be a distinct ethnic group or not - the government does:

At a recent employment tribunal (October 2008), Judge Hosie arrived,

at the view that Scottish Gypsy-Travellers have ethnic origins, with reference in particular, to Section 3(1) of the 1976 Act, and that they therefore enjoy the protection of the Act.

:coffee:

 

[buckie]

whether you believe them to be a distinct ethnic group or not - the government does:


:coffee:

are we not talking about the general publics view of them, not the govt definitions?

 

[gun ainm]

are we not talking about the general publics view of them, not the govt definitions?

depends on whether thats an informed view Buckie - no?

 

[darren_l_]

If they would stop stealing Laptops then they wouldn't have to view anyones online slurs :raisehat:

:rollfloor:rollfloor

 

[buckie]

depends on whether thats an informed view Buckie - no?

every view is an informed view in the mind of those who express it is it not?

 

[Greenman]

:worthy<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TOSZwEwl_1Q&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TOSZwEwl_1Q&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

 

[SG7nil]

Isn't it the romanticised view that they are simply a set of people doing no-one any harm, just living the way that they want to live... not damaging the environment and (more) at one with nature (than static folks).

The reality that I've seen in the last few years is that they move to a greenfield site and colonise it for a short time, churning the area to mud and damaging the local environment by cutting down live trees etc.

I used to (until a few months ago) work shifts at Sighthill, and overnight we would see them coming and going with stuff that they had stolen usually nicked cars (often loaded with tv's etc) which they'd then systematically strip down to the bits of bodywork that were no good, then pile up at the back of their site out of view of the road (blocked out by their caravans).

They'd also roam through the industrial estate where I work breaking into cars and businesses as bold as brass. We would see them climbing the fence into the car park where our cars were parked and steal whatever they could. A couple of years ago we were getting work done and there was a locked tools and equipment container fenced off in the corner of our carpark, about six of them climbed over and broke in.. we called our security guards (a couple of older guys) to let them know and they said "what do you expect us to do about it?"... we then watched the guys carrying lots of stuff away.

After a few weeks/months they leave and the council take weeks/months to finally remove all of the car remains etc from the site and make it nice again (although the rutted muddy land can take a lot longer to heal) so that they can return the next year and start their crime spree again. Their sites are knacked just now as the tram extensions are going on the land so I don't know where they'll roll up next.

I know that there may be some more responsible travellers out there, however that is my repeated experience of them so it's ahrd not to tar them all with the same brush.

 

[gun ainm]

every view is an informed view in the mind of those who express it is it not?

is every view informed? no - a statement like that can only be informed if they understand what ethnicity is and they understand what the social history and tradition of the travelling people is. Otherwise its just reactionary, ill judged and ignorant.

is it informed in the mind of the person making the statement? does everyone question how informed they are before launching into a statement like that? i'd be suprised.

 

[Looby-Lou]

I know that there may be some more responsible travellers out there, however that is my repeated experience of them so it's ahrd not to tar them all with the same brush.

We have had bother with them in the industrial estate! Bold as brass so they were, in broad daylight in front of security camera's! Saying that I descend from romany gypsies (v distant!) so I'm no dissin them :rollfloor

 

[gun ainm]

I know that there may be some more responsible travellers out there, however that is my repeated experience of them so it's ahrd not to tar them all with the same brush.

undoubtabley crime is high within traveller communities- thinking about it for a moment why do we think thats so? why is crime so rife in poor black communities in america for example?

might it be something to do with opportunity and discrimination? unemployment is very high in the communities the traditional traveller type jobs have all but disappeared as agriculture has become more mechanised. Add to that the persecution of travellers through the removal of their traditional sites, the increasing beurocratic load on the citizen (which makes travelling more difficult), and prejudice in schools and employment and you begin to paint a picture.

Not that I am excusing the theiving and destruction - they must take esponsibility for their actions - but its not a product of their ethnicity, its a product of their circumstance - you look at other ehtnic groups - aborigines in oz, blacks in USA, lower castes in India etc are they also more genetically prone to crime, getting drunk and livinging in shit?