[Clegg]

Why would the police do that? Ramming a carriage in the middle of a busy road while there are cars driving by. It would cause crashes and people would be injured.

It would be a moronic idea.

[Loofy]

My big Fat (American)Gypsy Wedding is so awesome.
http://youtu.be/v7GBamn8dP4

Im confused though. Are these people rich? they spend alot of money on parties and dresses.

[Horse Armour]

i don't understand what's going on here, but can't the cop just ram the wheels or shoot the horse or something?

Oh come on. This is the most stereotypically American thing I've read today.

[echoshifting]

Oh come on. This is the most stereotypically American thing I've read today.

I thought that was the joke...?

[RivalCore]

i don't understand what's going on here, but can't the cop just ram the wheels or shoot the horse or something?

Most (all?) on patrol Irish guards aren't armed so shooting the horse isn't an option. Ramming the trap would've been stupidly dangerous and illegal, they'd kill the rider. Plus only two patrol cars versus several dozen travellers up the road, they couldn't have taken that chance.

[Sir Fragula]

Gypsy threads still slaying Euro-gaffers I see.

It's interesting to watch the reaction from the other side of the Atlantic, as a Euro-Gaffer myself.

I think Americans see the European view as unfairly racist or xenophobic. But the antipathy isn't based on racial or nation stereotypes and perceptions, it's a class reaction.

The people we lump together into the "gipsy" category are there through a voluntary social choice; the choice to live as nomads in countries which are not capable of supporting that lifestyle.

[Borgnine]

But will Euro-gaf strike back with an Amish ban thread??? Pretty much the same deal as far as I can see, both marry young, both ride buggies, both have TV shows.

[Fritz]

Oh come on. This is the most stereotypically American thing I've read today.

Must not quote username

[shadyspace]

But will Euro-gaf strike back with an Amish ban thread??? Pretty much the same deal as far as I can see, both marry young, both ride buggies, both have TV shows.

Nobody in America gives a shit about the Amish. Oh, you're joking.

[Nevasleep]

If this happened in America, they could just call some cowboys??

[echoshifting]

But will Euro-gaf strike back with an Amish ban thread??? Pretty much the same deal as far as I can see, both marry young, both ride buggies, both have TV shows.

Those FUCKING AMISH....are some of the nicest people I've ever met

I dun see it happening

[Sir Fragula]

But will Euro-gaf strike back with an Amish ban thread??? Pretty much the same deal as far as I can see, both marry young, both ride buggies, both have TV shows.

The Amish stereotype is of a clean-living nation of religious technology shunning people. That's nothing like the commonly held view of Gypsies.

You won't get many Americans raging over how an Amish stole their dog for the fights, or similar.

EDIT: Didn't get the sarcasm!

[Borgnine]

I saw on the Amish show they took some of them to England and they had dinner and went to the beach. They didn't meet Travelers though, really hoping for a crossover... maybe a love connection?

[mysticwhip]

wtf are they saying? This shit is so hilarious though.

[The Faceless Master]

I thought that was the joke...?

it was.

[FStop7]

Ireland seems fun. Also, nobody in America knows what an Irish Traveller is.

In the midwest everyone does. Retail stores have special codes they announce over the speakers when people who are known to be travelers enter the store. The announcement would be something like "Bob, please report to sporting goods" when in reality there is no Bob and the message actually means "There are Irish Travelers in the building. Security, follow them closely." I'm not saying it's right but I know for a fact it's happened and still does. And the Travelers have a reputation for shoplifting and running a lot of home improvement scams on the elderly. Again - I'm not saying I necessarily agree with it. Just that is the prevailing belief in a lot of places.

[JonnyBrad]

My big Fat (American)Gypsy Wedding is so awesome. http://youtu.be/v7GBamn8dP4 Im confused though. Are these people rich? they spend alot of money on parties and dresses.

They never talk about money. If the film makers ask them where it comes from they clam up and ask them to leave.

Draw your own conclusions..

[shadyspace]

They never talk about money. If the film makers ask them where it comes from they clam up and ask them to leave. Draw your own conclusions..

So they're like traveling bands of thieves? That's badass.

[mysticwhip]

wait hold on wtf ireland has it's own language?

[Alligatorjandro]

In the midwest everyone does. Retail stores have special codes they announce over the speakers when people who are known to be travelers enter the store. The announcement would be something like "Bob, please report to sporting goods" when in reality there is no Bob and the message actually means "There are Irish Travelers in the building. Security, follow them closely." I'm not saying it's right but I know for a fact it's happened and still does. And the Travelers have a reputation for shoplifting and running a lot of home improvement scams on the elderly. Again - I'm not saying I necessarily agree with it. Just that is the prevailing belief in a lot of places.

The scams part is true.

[Sir Fragula]

wait hold on wtf ireland has it's own language?

Yes; "Irish".

[Clegg]

I'm Irish but I honestly can't tell if the people recording the race are travellers or just from Cork.

The Cork accent is possibly the most awful thing ever.

They are probably travellers but it's hard to differentiate.

[JonnyBrad]

So they're like traveling bands of thieves? That's badass.

Pretty much, minus the badass part.

[sixghost]

In the midwest everyone does. Retail stores have special codes they announce over the speakers when people who are known to be travelers enter the store. The announcement would be something like "Bob, please report to sporting goods" when in reality there is no Bob and the message actually means "There are Irish Travelers in the building. Security, follow them closely." I'm not saying it's right but I know for a fact it's happened and still does. And the Travelers have a reputation for shoplifting and running a lot of home improvement scams on the elderly. Again - I'm not saying I necessarily agree with it. Just that is the prevailing belief in a lot of places.

Whereabout in the midwest? I grew up north of Chicago and this is the first I've ever heard of this group.

[PairOfFilthySocks]

i don't understand what's going on here, but can't the cop just ram the wheels or shoot the horse or something?

Authorities in Ireland don't carry firearms.

why are gypsies hated so much?

It's important to note that the people you see in this video are Irish travellers, and rarely if ever referred to as gypsies. Gypsies is a word used more in England and Europe.

Speaking for myself, the reason the travellers are hated so much is because, at least to me, their culture is inherently detrimental to Irish society as a whole. A traveller child has bugger-all choice in the decisions (s)he makes in life. I've seen it first-hand in the schools I went to. There was a traveller family in our town and a bunch of the kids went to our school. They were poor, but just as much children as the rest of us. However, around the time they hit 13/14, they were yanked out of school for their pre-arranged marriage and a life of living on the dole/working dodgy jobs. The next time I saw the one who had been in the same class as me, he was a different person. This is not an isolated incident, this is the expectations the traveller society places on their young.

From a young age, travellers are brought up to follow the norms and expectations of the traveller culture or be ostracised by everyone they have ever known. The fact that the societal norms of traveller culture is so ass-backwards doesn't help, either. There's a strong sense of entitlement that pervades their culture. They happily treat themselves to the dole money given to them by the government, but God help any authorities who try to elbow-in on their bare-knuckle fights, family feuds and, of course, extreme horse-racing. Nearly any Irish person you might is likely to know of at least one horror story of traveller weddings and gatherings. These are not isolated incidents, and they most certainly do not help traveller/non-traveller relations, relations that have been strained ever further by things such as travellers being eligible to free housing, and the Padraig Nally case.

Ultimately, I honestly believe that the traveller culture possesses very little of merit. This is a case of the 'few troublemakers' making up the majority, thanks to the ideals and beliefs of the traveller society. As far as I'm concerned, a 'good' traveller is good as a result of their moral compass and sense of human decency emerging victorious over the expectations and demands that traveller society places on them.

[Hot Coldman]

Big Fat Gypsy Wedding is either the best or worst show ever. Either way, it's informative.

[mysticwhip]

how the fuck are these gypsies or travelers so rich?

and holy fuck I still can't believe ireland has its own language. is it widely used?

[FStop7]

Whereabout in the midwest? I grew up north of Chicago and this is the first I've ever heard of this group.

Michigan, Indiana, Ohio. Maybe it was just the areas I grew up in, but they were certainly well known and not well liked. The retail store I referred to is K-Mart, which is based in Michigan.

how the fuck are these gypsies or travelers so rich? and holy fuck I still can't believe ireland has its own language. is it widely used?

I'm going to blow your mind: So does Scotland.

And in fact other parts of the UK have separate languages. Ever heard of Welsh?

[Parallax]

It's important to note that the people you see in this video are Irish travellers, and rarely if ever referred to as gypsies. Gypsies is a word used more in England and Europe. Speaking for myself, the reason the travellers are hated so much is because, at least to me, their culture is inherently detrimental to Irish society as a whole. A traveller child has bugger-all choice in the decisions (s)he makes in life. I've seen it first-hand in the schools I went to. There was a traveller family in our town and a bunch of the kids went to our school. They were poor, but just as much children as the rest of us. However, around the time they hit 13/14, they were yanked out of school for their pre-arranged marriage and a life of living on the dole/working dodgy jobs. The next time I saw the one who had been in the same class as me, he was a different person. This is not an isolated incident, this is the expectations the traveller society places on their young. From a young age, travellers are brought up to follow the norms and expectations of the traveller culture or be ostracised by everyone they have ever known. The fact that the societal norms of traveller culture is so ass-backwards doesn't help, either. There's a strong sense of entitlement that pervades their culture. They happily treat themselves to the dole money given to them by the government, but God help any authorities who try to elbow-in on their bare-knuckle fights, family feuds and, of course, extreme horse-racing. Nearly any Irish person you might is likely to know of at least one horror story of traveller weddings and gatherings. These are not isolated incidents, and they most certainly do not help traveller/non-traveller relations, relations that have been strained ever further by things such as travellers being eligible to free housing, and the Padraig Nally case. Ultimately, I honestly believe that the traveller culture possesses very little of merit. This is a case of the 'few troublemakers' making up the majority, thanks to the ideals and beliefs of the traveller society. As far as I'm concerned, a 'good' traveller is good as a result of their moral compass and sense of human decency emerging victorious over the expectations and demands that traveller society places on them.

so what are travellers expected to do once married off? are they thrown to the wolves, or is there something out there thats more important to them than being educated?

[mysticwhip]

holy hell there a quite a few irish traveler bareknuckle fights on YouTube, It's like a whole new world has been opened up to me. One of the fights goes on for over an hour!

Michigan, Indiana, Ohio. Maybe it was just the areas I grew up in, but they were certainly well known and not well liked. The retail store I referred to is K-Mart, which is based in Michigan. I'm going to blow your mind: So does Scotland. And in fact parts of England have separate languages. Ever heard of Welsh?

[echoshifting]

Michigan, Indiana, Ohio. Maybe it was just the areas I grew up in, but they were certainly well known and not well liked. The retail store I referred to is K-Mart, which is based in Michigan.

According to wikipedia, the largest groups live in South Carolina and Texas, but it sounds like they are really scattered everywhere across the south and midwest. Sounds like you probably had encounters with the "Ohio Travelers."

[Hot Coldman]

And in fact parts of England have separate languages. Ever heard of Welsh?

¬_¬

[FStop7]

¬_¬

Sorry, I meant to put UK :(

[Napoleonthechimp]

I saw on the Amish show they took some of them to England and they had dinner and went to the beach. They didn't meet Travelers though, really hoping for a crossover... maybe a love connection?

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/a...guide/series-1

[leadbelly]

Irish Travellers. Some people call them gypsies, but they're not really. Most of them live in the UK as well not Ireland.

[Hot Coldman]

Sorry, I meant to put UK :(

Better have! Respect the borders, man. :P

[fizzelopeguss]

Michigan, Indiana, Ohio. Maybe it was just the areas I grew up in, but they were certainly well known and not well liked. The retail store I referred to is K-Mart, which is based in Michigan. I'm going to blow your mind: So does Scotland. And in fact other parts of the UK have separate languages. Ever heard of Welsh?

Cornish.

[thomaser]

And the Travelers have a reputation for shoplifting and running a lot of home improvement scams on the elderly.

There have been problems with this where I live (Norway) the last few years. Travellers from Ireland and the UK come over and offer cheap paving stones for people's driveways. They then do the job horribly and split before it's done, leaving the house owner with an unusable driveway and a few thousand dollars less. Newspapers all over the country have warned against it, but people still fall for it. Especially the elderly.

[Sir Fragula]

Cornish.

Manx okay, the Isle of Mann isn't technically in the United Kingdom.

[Count Dookkake]

The documentary KNUCKLE is required viewing, you baldy bastard.

I went to an Irish Gypsy Pizza place in Chicago. Waaaaaay better than New York. But I didn't tip them because I figure they make plenty of money.

But they probably stole the recipe.

[IceCold]

TLC also has a gypsie wedding show for Americans now:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD-tLWn_E8c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=324953suuYM

[storafötter]

There have been problems with this where I live (Norway) the last few years. Travellers from Ireland and the UK come over and offer cheap paving stones for people's driveways. They then do the job horribly and split before it's done, leaving the house owner with an unusable driveway and a few thousand dollars less. Newspapers all over the country have warned against it, but people still fall for it. Especially the elderly.

Not heard of that, but thats interesting. To be honest I am new to the name travellers as I see mostly Romani people here around Oslo who are currently "migrating" to Bærum (where I live).

[Alligatorjandro]

TLC also has a gypsie wedding show for Americans now: www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD-tLWn_E8c http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=324953suuYM

That show is terrible

[PairOfFilthySocks]

and holy fuck I still can't believe ireland has its own language. is it widely used?

No, it's compulsory in school but few people keep using the language since it's only really still used in small, isolated communities in the west of Ireland. It's a pretty tricky language, sounds like Welsh, but more...natural(at least to me lol).

holy hell there a quite a few irish traveler bareknuckle fights on YouTube, It's like a whole new world has been opened up to me. One of the fights goes on for over an hour!

Nobody cares about the fight videos. It's all about the big talk before the fight.

Edit:

so what are travellers expected to do once married off? are they thrown to the wolves, or is there something out there thats more important to them than being educated?

Getting involved in the...uh...'family business'. Either that or just living on the dole.

[Hot Coldman]

That show is terrible

The British original is good shit though. Depressing as all hell, mind.

[thomaser]

Not heard of that, but thats interesting. To be honest I am new to the name travellers as I see mostly Romani people here around Oslo who are currently "migrating" to Bærum (where I live).

I'm not sure if they operate over the whole country, but they have been at the west coast for a while.

Here's an article in Dagbladet earlier this year: http://www.dagbladet.no/2012/02/27/n...afia/20317427/ (Something wrong with the article... another article about illegal hunting in Africa is jumbled together with the one about travellers)

And here's the police's threat assessment regarding travelling asphalt/paving stone workers: https://www.politi.no/vedlegg/lokale...edlegg_753.pdf It's pretty dark reading.

[Loofy]

I'm going to blow your mind: So does Scotland.

Is it the same?

Is this irish or scottish in the pixar trailer?
http://youtu.be/AtrDBQ_qmlg?t=1m54s

[Fari]

No, it's compulsory in school but few people keep using the language since it's only really still used in small, isolated communities in the west of Ireland. It's a pretty tricky language, sounds like Welsh, but more...natural(at least to me lol).

Over a decade of mandatory education and I can barely string two words together.

Hopefully the language won't be compulsory for the Leaving Cert for much longer.

[echoshifting]

Is it the same?

No, though they are descended from the same primitive language.

There's a Germanic language floating around Scotland too, but I'm not sure how widely spoken it is. I don't think it's considered "Scottish"

[storafötter]

I'm not sure if they operate over the whole country, but they have been at the west coast for a while. Here's an article in Dagbladet earlier this year: http://www.dagbladet.no/2012/02/27/n...afia/20317427/ (Something wrong with the article... another article about illegal hunting in Africa is jumbled together with the one about travellers) And here's the police's threat assessment regarding travelling asphalt/paving stone workers: https://www.politi.no/vedlegg/lokale...edlegg_753.pdf It's pretty dark reading.

Thanks! Will be an interesting read. Yeah I have not heard of this locally but I admit I don't always follow the news. Usually there is trash talk about east-European criminals so this comes as a surprise.