if a crime is reported in the media, and a traveller did it, why isn't that mentioned

CorkMan

I know I am walking on thin ice, but here it goes. If there is a post office for example robbed in some place up the country, and it is a member of the Irish Travelling community, why isn't that fact mentioned? I know some people who have lived near such crimes and it is generally accepted in and among the area that if an Irish Traveller committed the act, it would be labelled as such.

Or even when they are "fueds" and a person is shot, or there is a group of people in a street brawl using hatchets, etc. In the News or the national papers it is always a "person" or "people" committed this act. If it was a Polish person he would be labelled as such, or a Lithuanian but it doesn't seem to be the case for an Irish Traveller. What does everyone else think?

sensibleken

Because it doesnt matter. It wouldnt say 'member of the settled community' if any body else did it.

Degag

CorkMan wrote: »

I know I am walking on thin ice, but here it goes. If there is a post office for example robbed in some place up the country, and it is a member of the Irish Travelling community, why isn't that fact mentioned? I know some people who have lived near such crimes and it is generally accepted in and among the area that if an Irish Traveller committed the act, it would be labelled as such.

Or even when they are "fueds" and a person is shot, or there is a group of people in a street brawl using hatchets, etc. In the News or the national papers it is always a "person" or "people" committed this act. If it was a Polish person he would be labelled as such, or a Lithuanian but it doesn't seem to be the case for an Irish Traveller. What does everyone else think?

Because Lituania and Poland are countries. Travellers are not countries.

Sykk

Aaaaaaand he's back...

landsleaving

The most important part of reporting crime is age and place of birth. They don't go in for ethnicity.

'John Smith (37) from Blanchardstown... yada yada.'

Journalism is about knowing which arbitrary details the public needs to know.

Now close this traveller bashing thread quick, before it gets ugly.

Professey Chin

No reason

Lustrum

In fairness, not all members of the travelling community are out all the time committing crimes. However, there seems to be plenty of them that are, so maybe we should finally start differentiating between members of the travelling community and pikies!

It's the pikies that are out being scuzzbuckets all the time, leaving rubbish all over the side of the road and trying to break into peoples sheds to steal lawnmowers - they give the travelling community a bad name

strobe

Lustrum wrote: »

In fairness, not all members of the travelling community are out all the time committing crimes. However, there seems to be plenty of them that are, so maybe we should finally start differentiating between members of the travelling community and pikies!

It's the pikies that are out being scuzzbuckets all the time, leaving rubbish all over the side of the road and trying to break into peoples sheds to steal lawnmowers - they give the travelling community a bad name

That you Chris O'Rock?

=================================

Same reason they rarely mention if the person was black or Protestant OP. It's usually irrelevant.

ejmaztec

They probably realise that the mere mention of a surname will get the message across.

sensibleken

ejmaztec wrote: »

They probably realise that the mere mention of a surname will get the message across.

eh. There isnt one name you know.

Links234

Lustrum wrote: »

scuzzbuckets

I don't think I've heard a word like that since I was a kid. how quaint

stovelid

Degag wrote: »

Because Lituania and Poland are countries. Travellers are not countries.

Iceland always seems to be full of travelers in fairness.

Degag

stovelid wrote: »

Iceland always seems to be full of travelers in fairness.

I thought they sacked Kerry Katona?

stovelid

Degag wrote: »

I thought they sacked Kerry Katona?

I hate when somebody takes my lame joke and makes it so much better.

CorkMan

People who know anything would know why I started this thread. If it was clearly reported that they were a member of the travelling community, it would be better journalism.

In their own words they are an ethnically seperate group with their own rights. So why doesn't the media pick up on that?

sensibleken

CorkMan wrote: »

People who know anything would know why I started this thread. If it was clearly reported that they were a member of the travelling community, it would be better journalism.

In their own words they are an ethnically seperate group with their own rights. So why doesn't the media pick up on that?

No it wouldn't.

by that 'arguement' its better journalism to say. 'Mr O'Rourke, a star trek fan, was sentenced to 5 years for assault

CorkMan

sensibleken wrote: »

No it wouldn't.

by that 'arguement' its better journalism to say. 'Mr O'Rourke, a star trek fan, was sentenced to 5 years for assault

Since when does a star trek fan, stictly on him being a star trek fan, become a seperate ethnicity on that alone? I know he would be a geek and all that, but that doesn't count either. :P

sensibleken

CorkMan wrote: »

Since when does a star trek fan, stictly on him being a star trek fan, become a seperate ethnicity on that alone? I know he would be a geek and all that, but that doesn't count either. :P

....really.

Ok, the point was that being a star trek fan is equally as inconsequential as being a traveller in this situation.

Besides, i dont even know what 'media' you're talking about. I have read plenty of times people being refered to as travellers in the Irish Times. It sometimes is not though. Either way it doesn't matter a f*ck

pragmatic1

Because travellers are as Irish as you and me. They arent a different ethnicity no matter how much they want to be.

Degag

CorkMan wrote: »

Since when does a star trek fan, stictly on him being a star trek fan, become a seperate ethnicity on that alone? I know he would be a geek and all that, but that doesn't count either. :P

Likewise, what difference does where someone lives make?

Knasher

If they announced that a member of the travelling community commits a crime then all people talk about is a) how travellers keep committing crimes or b) how unfair it is to the decent travellers that they all get tarred with the same brush.

Nobody ends up talking about the actual crime.

If we were able to deal with that information in a mature way, rather than resorting to ethnic generalizations, then it would probably be mentioned more. Fact of the matter is that we are able to refer to a persons nationality when they commit a crime because most people are mature enough now to call out racism if people start generalizing. Otherwise it is little more than scaremongering, along the same vein as when Fox News mentions that someone who goes nuts and kills a bunch of people also played video games (ignoring what a large percentage of people game nowadays). Thankfully our media is still somehow above resorting to that type of crass ratings boosting.

mikemac

If I read of multiple members of Ward or McDonagh families in the Galway Advertiser court report, well maybe I shouldn't assume but the assumption is nearly always correct

Captain Darling

If a traveller takes a dump in a forest, does anyone smell it?

Victor

CorkMan wrote: »

Since when does a star trek fan, stictly on him being a star trek fan, become a seperate ethnicity on that alone? I know he would be a geek and all that, but that doesn't count either. :P

But don't most anti-traveller rants go along the lines of "But they aren't a separate ethnic group!!!12"!"?

RustyNut

Captain Darling wrote: »

If a traveller takes a dump in a forest, does anyone smell it?

Yea but the smell of the dump covered it for a while

ejmaztec

sensibleken wrote: »

eh. There isnt one name you know.

I know:P

SEPT 23 1989

I just cant express how much i love the Travelling Community

every last one of them

ejmaztec

CorkMan wrote: »

Since when does a star trek fan, stictly on him being a star trek fan, become a seperate ethnicity on that alone? I know he would be a geek and all that, but that doesn't count either. :P

Because they're generally from a different planet than the rest of us.

Eric Cartman

CorkMan wrote: »

I know I am walking on thin ice, but here it goes. If there is a post office for example robbed in some place up the country, and it is a member of the Irish Travelling community, why isn't that fact mentioned? I know some people who have lived near such crimes and it is generally accepted in and among the area that if an Irish Traveller committed the act, it would be labelled as such.

Or even when they are "fueds" and a person is shot, or there is a group of people in a street brawl using hatchets, etc. In the News or the national papers it is always a "person" or "people" committed this act. If it was a Polish person he would be labelled as such, or a Lithuanian but it doesn't seem to be the case for an Irish Traveller. What does everyone else think?

sure they dont need it anyway, just look for 'Mr. Connors/Ward etc... of no fixed address was arrested and charged with...."

Eric Cartman

Ultimate Chin wrote: »

No reason

your reason is correct , we have ways around it though youve never seen more descriptive sentence writing on a newsdesk until youve seen a traveller story being written

mike kelly

CorkMan wrote: »

People who know anything would know why I started this thread. If it was clearly reported that they were a member of the travelling community, it would be better journalism.

In their own words they are an ethnically seperate group with their own rights. So why doesn't the media pick up on that?

if you read between the lines it will be pretty clear whether or not travellers are involved.

pragmatic1

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

I just cant express how much i love the Travelling Community

every last one of them

I know they're a bunch of sweethearts. Always ready to do a good turn.

Ghost Buster

pragmatic1 wrote: »

I know they're a bunch of sweethearts. Always ready to do a good turn.

And if they do a naughty thing its just part of their culture and we should all try to be tolerant:o

pragmatic1

Ghost Buster wrote: »

And if they do a naughty thing its just part of their culture and we should all try to be tolerant:o

Yeah its a beautiful culture.

Lustrum

It would be better journalism if they used scuzzbuckets more often!

mike kelly

pragmatic1 wrote: »

Yeah its a beautiful culture.

bacteria is the only culture most of them have

Yakult

Because it shouldn't matter whether it was a traveller etc. They should be treated like anyone else who commits crime. But that rarely happens because the guards are scared of them and so is the justice system.

sensibleken

Yakult wrote: »

Because it shouldn't matter whether it was a traveller etc. They should be treated like anyone else who commits crime. But that rarely happens because the guards are scared of them and so is the justice system.

bull, where are you getting that from. The only exceptional treatment travellers get in this regard is that if theres a crime people see it as indicitive of general behaviour of travellers. whereas if someone from the settled community does it then that doesnt reflect on them

donutface

Its not as bad as South Africa at least where crime committed by black people have pictures of white criminals on them with no mention of race. However if a white person commits a crime, skin color is explicitly mentioned

A rather moderate case below
http://mspoliticalcommentary.blogspot.com/2011/04/media-psy-ops-against-white-south.html


I think theyre just trying to achieve one big balancing act so that everyone appears to be equal.

desertcircus

It makes no sense to mention whether someone is a traveller or not. It tells you nothing about the person being charged that you can't get from the charge sheet, and it runs the very real risk of tarring an entire community on the basis of the actions of a minority.

If 99% of paedophiles on earth were white, would you want the specific skin colour of every paedophile to be mentioned on the news and in the papers?

The Master

Less of the Traveller bashing please folks