Sister harassed and intimidated by Irish gipsies in Blackpool

thescouselander

hollydays wrote: »

Some people say the same about scousers..

Perhaps so but in my experience the conformance to the stereotype in the case of Scousers is a lot less vs that in the gypsy/traveller community.

Every time, without exception, that I come into contact with these people they are causing trouble. I have also had some gypsies try the same trick on me (except they called at my house). Just this year I've also seem a load of them move into a local nature reserve in which they cut down a load of trees and defecated everywhere. Another group trashed our local pub. I also has a coupe of young traveler lads try to mug me (unsuccessfully) of my bike and on top of that the traveller site a few miles away is being raided regularly with the most serious crimes being discovered including slavery.

Thats a lot of mischief for such a small community.

pelirocco

barbarawright wrote: »

In what way is their nationality relevant? I've yet to see a thread title 'White British teacher picked on my child' or 'English waiter conned me out of change'

Because people would automatically assume they were white / English......my god how racist is that

As someone else has pointed out, how could you issue a warning if you had to be vague , with the same logic they shouldn't have mentioned they were in Blackpool

Imagine someone having a problem. With a certain hotel , and having to warn people to stay away from all hotels.

ttoli

Petra

I'd be curious to know what the Police said / Done ??

gayleygoo

Travelers (in the politically correct usage of that word) have a bad reputation for stuff like this. In a way, it doesn't seem to be their fault, there is just a huge culture difference. I live in Ireland, believe me I've plenty of experience! Some things, like refusal to wait in queues, or deal with their own rubbish in an appropriate way, are annoyances. Actual violence and theft is a bigger problem, but certainly not limited to Travelers or committed by all of them.

A lot of Irish people are superstitious and "Gypsies' Curses" are feared by many, which Travelers might take as authority to carry on with their tricks. I am not superstitious, so have no problem sending them from the door or refusing to spend a tenner on a palm-reading experience on the high street.

However, you can be hassled and conned by people of any nationality or ethnic group. "White" people do not hold the moral high ground!

Hard_Up_Hester

I was escorting 3 Japanese students around London & they were accosted regularly, each time when I intervened (all 4' 11 of me) the tinkers melted away.
One claimed to be afraid of me a I 'had the eye', I must have been glaring at her!

peachyprice

London50 wrote: »

Sorry to hear that your sister had to go through that but it is something that has gone on for many years in towns and cities across the country, those people look for easy prey and intimidate them in the hope that they will get the cash from them.

This exactly. It's nothing new. One of them 'put a curse' on me when I was a baby because my mum refused to take her lucky heather.

The best way of dealing with then is to completely ignre them, do not engage, do not even make eye contact. One you reply to them, even if it's just a 'thank you' as your sister did OP, they won't take no for an answer.

peachyprice

BigAunty wrote: »

Wow, haven't heard or seen heather foisted on the public in this way since the 80s at Victoria Station in London. I assumed it had faded out as a method of intimidating scrounging.

Absolutely not, it's still alive and kicking.

Soleil_lune

Horrible behaviour, and I am also sorry your sister had to go through this Petra. What awful behaviour! I have been fortunate to have just spent the last 3 weeks in the United States and Canada, where very little of this occurs, but Blackpool is awful for it. I have even seen it on the streets of Birmingham and London.

I avoid them like the plague, but they will go for people who looks soft and nice and who dare to smile at them. And 'bigaunty,' this practice has definitely not been left in the 1980s.

I know a few people who have been hounded by them this past year alone. Including an elderly friend of mine who had them demanding they cut her trees, spent 20 minutes doing it, and then asked her for £200. When she said she didn't have it, they said 'you must go to the cashpoint.'

Just as with what happened with the OP's sister, her family turned up just in time; her 2 sons pulled up on the drive. As soon as they saw them, the 2 men bolted.

I also think they ask for the nastiness that they get from people, because they are a nightmare; plaguing the streets and communities with their aggressive attitudes, their rubbish, and their gang mentality. I make no apology for saying that.

There is a different type of gypsy these days, like someone said earlier in the thread, and these type do not represent what gypsies actually are. Gypsies used to be transient and exciting and rough-round-the-edges travellers who bothered very few people. Sadly many gypsies and travellers are not like this now. They are a bane on society. And someone said earlier, they hate everyone outside their community, they never converse with anyone outside their community, and they treat the outside world with contempt, but they are nice to you when they are trying to con you.

barbarawright

geerex wrote: »

Because, with no thanks to people like you, white people are still the vast majority in this country. It therefore goes without saying.
It would be like saying "a black hackney cab". Most are black, so you only need to differentiate when it's white or whatever.

People like me?

moneyistooshorttomention

I doubt I'm likely to see any travellers touting heather where I am now - but I shall have to do a bit of people-watching if I do ever spot any in the future and see just which are the people they approach then.

I have a suspicion that it may well be only the "softer", nicer-looking people they approach - judging by comments here.

I'd always assumed they approached other people just as much as they've approached me in the past and now I'm wondering if that was a wrong assumption to make.

I'm female and am not a "hard" person (thankfully!) and hadn't realised that those two facts might be the reason I've been approached by them before. Thankfully, they do scuttle off the second I open my mouth to say "No thank you"...

Mental note just made to spend a bit of time seeing if they approach men or hard-faced women as well.