MicroShaft Blog: 19/08/2007

A Labour Councillor Neil Cooney from Aberdeen has been castigated as a "racist" after calling some travellers "Environmental Vandals or Terrorists" for the mess that is left behind at unauthorised camps.

After having reading the details I can only describe this as Political Correctness gone mad or at least an attempt to move the news away from the real story which is that Councils still do not provide enough sites for travellers.

Reading from the details it appears that Mr Cooney suggested that, on some occasions, travellers were environmental vandals and on one or two occasions you could call them environmental terrorists. He also added that he had been referring to a minority of travellers who left rubbish at the sites.

Now forgive me but what exactly is wrong with that.

We have all seen the mess left behind by some questionable travellers who park at unauthorised sites and then go on to leave the area in a disgusting state with no thought for their neighbours or other members of the public. This is against the Good Neighbhour Guide used by Aberdeen Council The description of the these people as Environmental Vandals or Terrorists is quite restrained compared to what the majority of people would call these elements.

Perhaps it is the use of the word "terrorists" that is the problem, as it is now thought of as describing bombers and suchlike, but in it's original meaning it was just those who brought terror onto an audience. The audience in this case being the local population who have to put up with the mess and despoiling of a local area and normally other types of activities that some of the scrotes pass off as legitimate "businesses".

Whilst I am sure that most of the travellers are law-abiding and genuine, there is an element who are nothing but freeloaders and criminals. They camp anywhere they feel is handy and then prey on weak and the old nearby before disappearing. Their only link to genuine travellers being the type of accommodation they choose to live in. These people take advantage of laws and bye-laws which are there for genuine travellers, smear their name and desecrate the area they have camped in, the title of "Environmental Vandals or Terrorists" is well deserved.

Various groups have complained as follows:
Lib Dems

Kate Dean, the Liberal Democrat council leader, told Mr Cooney she was disappointed that "racist, xenophobic and discriminatory language" was rife in the council chamber.

Not sure what she was on about here but that's about normal for Kate as she seems to have little grasp on what goes on around her.

Then we have the Gypsy Council who added the following

Alfie Kefford, the chairman of the Gypsy Council, said Mr Cooney's remarks were "highly offensive" and called for him to be removed from office.

He said: "We are extremely angry at what this man has said and want him sacked.

"He would not be allowed to use terminology like that against any other ethnic minority, but because we are gypsies he thinks he can get away with it."

Now if Mr Cooney had attacked all gypsies as being Environmental Vandals or Terrorists then maybe he might have something here but Mr Cooney was only describing those elements who have no thought for the rest of the public. If Mr Kefford wants to be taken seriously then he needs to start admitting that there are some problems in the travelling society (as there are in most societies) and working on this. If we in fact looked at those who are causing the problems, I would bet that 99% of them having nothing to do with gypsies/travelers and are just some scrotes who have been kicked out of their council provided housing and now prey upon us from a different angle.

Then we have the Commission for Racial Equality where a spokesman said

"Travellers are an integral part of our communities and have as much right to receive services as anybody else.
"There is a great tendency to draw stereotypes on the basis of the behaviour of a minority of individuals.

"It is unacceptable to stereotype any group in this way."

Nina Giles, the director of Edinburgh and Lothians Racial Equality Council, told The Scotsman: "There were problems a few years ago in Edinburgh over sites for gypsies, but I don't remember this sort of language being used.

"It is not helpful to race relations to label a particular ethnic group like that. There is also no evidence to base the statement on."

The problem is that Mr Cooney did not "stereotype" this group of people, in fact the only one guilty of stereotyping people was the spokesperson who assumed Mr Cooney was talking about gypsies rather than the so called travellers who are causing the problem.

The real problem is that for many years councils have not provided enough spaces for travellers and so "illegal" camps have been set up, as under Scottish law, gypsy/travellers are classed as an ethnic minority and they cannot be moved from an unauthorised site if the local authority has not provided an adequate number of spaces. Why are there not enough spaces, because it is difficult and expensive to set up legal sites, so it is cheaper to have illegal sites and then clear up after the people have moved on.

Because of these loopholes some groups of so-called travellers exist, who undermine the genuine travellers, and bring the whole group under public suspicion. If these groups can be whittled out and ejected from the genuine travellers then this type of vandalism or terrorism can disappear.

The Scotsman - Scotland - Aberdeen - I'm no racist, says politician under fire over gypsy tirade