{"id":83180,"date":"2023-09-12T08:35:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-12T08:35:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mylifestylemax.com\/?p=83180"},"modified":"2023-09-12T08:35:02","modified_gmt":"2023-09-12T08:35:02","slug":"im-judged-for-being-a-gypsy-people-wrongly-assume-were-thieves-and-liars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mylifestylemax.com\/lifestyle\/im-judged-for-being-a-gypsy-people-wrongly-assume-were-thieves-and-liars\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I’m judged for being a gypsy \u2013 people wrongly assume we’re thieves and liars’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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    A mum who gets viciously trolled on social media for being a traveller opened up about the biggest misconceptions other Brits hold against her community.<\/p>\n

    Elsa Chambers has been told to die for being a gypsy but is refusing to let trolls hold her back.<\/p>\n

    And the 31-year-old believes travellers are unfairly judged for a variety of things \u2013 from their parenting style to their aesthetic.<\/p>\n

    READ MORE: 'I gouged my own eyes out while high on meth \u2013 but life is very different five years on' <\/b><\/p>\n

    Speaking with the Daily Star, she said: \u201cI feel like travellers get a lot of hate online. I\u2019ve seen it, whether it be for the way we raise children, the way we dress, the way we cook, the way we clean.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI think people don\u2019t realise we are such an isolated community, some of us like to mix outside of it of course, but some people seem to think we only live by our own rules and that\u2019s not the case.<\/p>\n

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    \u201cAgain, people jump to conclusions about the culture but they don\u2019t know anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Elsa, who has 160,000 followers on TikTok, continued: \u201cThey only know what they\u2019ve seen on TV and most of that is made up or edited.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI feel like they should speak to someone sensible from the community.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI would say that we\u2019re not terrible or thieves and liars.<\/p>\n

    \u201cA lot of the community are very religious, hard working and do a lot of charity work but that doesn\u2019t get seen, only bad.<\/p>\n

    \u201cBut like I said, there is good and bad in every community.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Elsa, who lives in the UK, said she \u201cdoesn\u2019t really come from anywhere\u201d having moved to different areas in caravans for most of her life.<\/p>\n

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    And two years ago she started a TikTok page to raise awareness about her culture before it surged in popularity in recent months.<\/p>\n

    Her purpose is to inspire laughs and she said making others happy helps with her own insecurities.<\/p>\n

    The social media star struggles with anxiety, depression and body dysmorphia and spreading joy allows her to feel better. <\/p>\n

    But the vitriol she has received by a nasty minority has impacted her.<\/p>\n

    She said: \u201cIt does affect me mentally and I feel sometimes that maybe I should stop and I have done in the past.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI removed myself from all of social media and I just gave up but our mindset can change like the wind and I came back a little stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Elsa is a mum to a daughter and she has also had vile death threats on the video app.<\/p>\n

    And speaking to us about the worst comments, she said: \u201cI get a lot of trolling and death threats are some of the worst. I get told to hang myself a lot.<\/p>\n

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    \u201cThey always run back to \u2018you\u2019re a gypsy\u2019 or \u2018pikey\u2019 and I've had a lot of hate recently. Sometimes I am putting on a brave face, but it still gets hard when people are telling you to die.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI understand people will come for you (on social media) but I am not nasty or opinionated, I just want people to be happy and to laugh.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI think if I can make one person who\u2019s having a bad day smile it\u2019s worth the hate I get.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Elsa added: \u201cI like to joke, I like to laugh and I want other to laugh. I make fun of my own culture a lot because it\u2019s funny.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI wanted people to see the funny side of being a gypsy, there\u2019s a lot of people who think we all marry our cousins so I make videos joking about it.<\/p>\n

    \u201cBut I also want people to see we\u2019re not all bad. There\u2019s good and bad in everyone. We\u2019re not all monsters.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI understand there are people in the community that do bad things but we\u2019re not all the same.<\/p>\n

    \u201cAnd I believe that instead of trying to defend the bad, maybe we should try and show the good within the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

    To follow Elsa's journey on TikTok, you can do so here.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

    For emotional support, you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.<\/i><\/p>\n