143 replies to this topic

[maggies_minder]

my brother is a former copper.

[sonikk4]

The Police do leave marked cars in certain locations to act as a deterrent. Unmanned and normally left for a few days at a time.

[E.L.M.O]

my brother is a former copper.

thats nice for him..... relevance please?

[maggies_minder]

my brother is a former copper.

thats nice for him..... relevance please?

the fact i know you dont get to take squad cars home, unless your a dog handler.

[AVV IT]

This is exactly what I didnt want this thread to turn in to . Let's not debate about travellers / pikeys etc what ever you want to call them.

If you start a thread on a public forum about how you believe that your property will be stolen by someone from the travelling community and then title it "Gypsies" then I'm afraid that it is you that is responsible for fuelling such a debate. I realise that this probably wasn't your intention, but if you think that the terms "travellers", "pikeys" and "gypsies" are equal terms that should be applied to all groups of travelling people, then you are clearly quite naive.

The phrase "Gypises" although often inaccurately used as a generic term to cover a whole variety of travelling people including Irish travellers, new age travellers and boat people, is actually associated with the deeply traditional Romanichal people (of which just under 100,000 exist in the UK). They descend from the wider spread Romani people of central and eastern Europe and are believed to be termed "gypsies" because of their Egyptian ancestry. To use the term "Gypsy" to describe people who steal scrap metal is therefore deeply offensive to anybody of Romani descent. Interestingly the Romanichal people themselves use the term "didecoy" to describe travellers of other ethnic decent that masquerade as gypsies and are associated with criminal behaviour. This is why you sometimes hear of certain travelling communities with a poor reputation being referred to as "didecoy gypsies" or "dids".

The phrase "pikey" is a derogatory and offensive term most commonly used to describe Irish travellers. A community that are believed to have originally derived from the many people made homeless by Oliver Cromwells military campaign in Ireland and the great famine. It is this group of travellers that are more commonly associated with the collection of scrap metal and were traditionally known as "tinkers" due to their association with working with "tin". Even so to this particular group of travellers are generally law abiding and often run genuine and legitimate businesses in the building, and recycling industries. Sadly a criminal element and racial stereotyping tends to give their entire community a bad reputation. By contrast it is not uncommon for Irish traveller sites to permanently exclude individuals or families who engage in criminal activity from their settlement or wider community, simply because they know how damaging such criminal behaviour is to the reputation of their community and businesses. Incidentally using the phrase "pikey" to describe any member of the travelling community directly is not particularly wise, especially Irish travellers who seem to take particular offence to it as it is usually them that it is aimed towards.

In short to term those who engage in the theft of scrap metal as "Gypsies" is about as inaccurate and inflammatory as terming all Muslims as terrorists, Sicilians as members of the Mafia or Japanese people as Triads. So if you don't want to fuel a debate then just be a little more careful about the terms you use to describe groups of people in future.

[maggies_minder]

japanese would be Yakuza
chinese would be triads.

[starletman]

I would urge evryone who reads this thread to sign this e-petition.
http://epetitions.di...k/petitions/406
I work with scrap cars and the like and would love the whole scrap business to be really tightened up,i am sick to death of seeing illigal trucks with stolen metal and benefits scroungers behind the wheel.

[AVV IT]

japanese would be Yakuza
chinese would be triads.

in which case calling all Japanese people triads would be even more inaccurate and inflammatory then and demonstrates my point even further.... thanks for that!!

[E.L.M.O]

my brother is a former copper.

thats nice for him..... relevance please?

the fact i know you dont get to take squad cars home, unless your a dog handler.

Well with respect, my sisters a chartered accountant. But trust me, you dont want me doing your books!

Just because your brothers an ex cop, doesnt mean you know more than me about the subject thank you. If that was the case, you would also know that even every district has its own rules and regulations. for all you know I could be a cop myself!!! But my sisters husbands dads friend is, so I can speak with absolute confidence! he he, only teasing.

So we have covered off the typical my brother / friend / guy down a pub told me, whats next putting FACT at the end of a sentence to reinforce your own personal point of view?! lol

It was still only a suggestion to make it a little safer, I really dont kno why your so hung up on it. seriously what the hell

Edited by E.L.M.O, 11 September 2011 - 07:51 PM.

[maggies_minder]

japanese would be Yakuza
chinese would be triads.

in which case calling all Japanese people triads would be even more inaccurate and inflammatory then and demonstrates my point even further.... thanks for that!!

thats brilliant and made me laugh.

[maggies_minder]

my brother is a former copper.

thats nice for him..... relevance please?

the fact i know you dont get to take squad cars home, unless your a dog handler.

Well with respect, my sisters a chartered accountant. But trust me, you dont want me doing your books!

Just because your brothers an ex cop, doesnt mean you know more than me about the subject thank you. If that was the case, you would also know that even every district has its own rules and regulations. for all you know I could be a cop myself!!! But my sisters husbands dads friend is, so I can speak with absolute confidence! he he, only teasing.

So we have covered off the typical my brother / friend / guy down a pub told me, whats next putting FACT at the end of a sentence to reinforce your own personal point of view?! lol

It was still only a suggestion to make it a little safer, I really dont kno why your so hung up on it. seriously what the hell

in america it happens due to the large areas sherrifs have to patrol, over here ive never once heard of it.
the fact that birmingham only has 6 traffic cop cars covering it says enough really.

[E.L.M.O]

Wow your so knowledgable..... Seriously what's your problem?

[maggies_minder]

Wow your so knowledgable..... Seriously what's your problem?

im giving actual facts and your telling someone to buy a car and paint it like a police car?

[Kam]

japanese would be Yakuza
chinese would be triads.

OP - put a car cover over it, inside chain it down to a secure out of sight ground anchor, don't bother with a security light as no one is gonna take it at night, put a battery in there and an audible motion sensor alarm or them alarms you get similar on jet-skis when parked up at the beach

When I say alarm I mean an awful sounding one and not of of them pony ones which no one takes notice of, it needs to be able to say ***K OFF PIKO loudly! try and get it done so it can operate if the car cover is tugged (not sure how but I'll leave that upto you but don't have them too sensitive) and why just one? get two?

Whats strange is them coming round the second time and after 5mins nothing? I mean? did they want it or not! useless!

[AVV IT]

Wow your so knowledgable..... Seriously what's your problem?

im giving actual facts and your telling someone to buy a car and paint it like a police car?

Wow I love a good public "bun fight"!!.... I'm gonna find a good place to sit down and watch and get me some popcorn too!!