Dear Mudcatters,

I have declined to participate in controversial threads like this one since my experience with the thread that katlaughing mentioned in her post in Part I of this thread. However, since this is a subject that involves my community and my relations (albeit distant relations), I feel compelled to add my voice here in an attempt to bring information, clarity, and reason to this discussion.

First of all, I have spoken several times to Larry (InOBU) in the last week about this situation. I assure you all that he neither condones Ms. Toogood's actions toward her child, nor condones corporeal punishment in general.

What Larry was attempting to express in his first post, and in all his subsequent posts, is that the authorities and the media are bringing cultural biases, prejudices and stereotyping to bear in their dealings with Ms. Toogood, her child, and her family.

I agree with Larry that Ms. Toogood's treatment of her daughter was totally inappropriate and that intervention was called for in this case. I also agree with him that removing a Traveller child totally from her community could cause potential harm to the child. I agree with him too, that Ms. Toogood is being castigated and criminalized in the media for being an Irish Traveller.

As I read through the posts to this thread, it is apparent that many of you are unaware of the history and background of the Irish Travellers (Pavees). I will not take up room on the server here with a lengthy explanation and/or description of this unique ethnic culture. Instead, I urge you all to educate yourselves by visiting, and reading the information on, the following websites, several of which list bibliographies and/or references that are available for further research:

http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/print/RR/pxrfh.html - The Handbook of Texas Online

http://www.gypsyloresociety.org/cultureintro.html - The Gypsy Lore Society; Information on Gypsy & Traveler Cultures, Gypsy and Traveler Groups in North America, (adapted from the introduction to Gypsies and Travelers in North America: An Annotated Bibliography (where the original citations will be found)

http://www.travellersrest.org/ - Travellers' Rest: Fact And Fiction About Irish Travellers in the U.S.A.

http://www.pitt.edu/~alkst3/Traveller.html - Irish Traveller Notes and Resources

http://www.paveepoint.ie/pav_home_a.html - Pavee Point Travellers Centre; Supporting Human Rights For Irish Travellers

http://www.itmtrav.com/index.html - The Irish Traveller Movement

As for the incident itself: Yes, Ms. Toogood lost control and struck her child inappropriately. Yes, intervention by civil authorities is unquestionably called for. Yes, the civil authorities should investigate as to whether this was a single incident, or if there is a pattern of child abuse in the family. And yes, adjudication by civil authorities as to the results of such investigation and intervention should be carried out.

However, what concerns me is (a) the demonizing of Ms. Toogood and the Traveller community in the media, and (b) whether Ms. Toogood and her family will receive fair and unbiased treatment from the authorities.

Central to my concerns regarding fair treatment is the hysteria and the mob mentality being fomented by the biased and prejudicial coverage of this situation by the media, and its potential to influence such treatment.

It has been noted by some of you that the media is "sensationalizing" the situation and some of you pooh-pooh the idea that such "sensationalism" will have any derogatory effect upon the authorities that have jurisdiction over this matter. Such might be the case if such "sensationalism" was limited to a handful of media outlets.

Unfortunately, when the Mishawaka police released the shopping center surveillance videotape to the national media, they opened the floodgates to exactly this type of news coverage.

Some of you have stated that you have neither heard nor seen any mention of Ms. Toogood's connection to the Irish Traveller community in the media to which you have access. In response, I can only say that I have found extensive coverage in several national news outlets such as the Knight-Rider News Syndicate, Associated Press, United Press International, and CNN and Fox News cable television stations. And I have watched as the stereotypical preconceptions of the Irish Travellers reflected by each of them become more evident from day to day, story to story.

It is just such "ratcheting up" of the biased and prejudicial tone of these stories that concerns me so much. One would hope that the adjudicating authorities would be immune to any influence that might be invoked by such articles and programs. However, we are all too aware that such is often not the case. The authorities are influenced by their constituents; and their constituents are definitely being influenced by the media. If you doubt that statement, simply read over the majority of posts to this thread to see how the media has affected the opinions reflected herein.

What I hope to achieve by this post is to provide educational information concerning the Irish Travellers, and to state the case that there is a legitimate concern for a fair and unprejudiced legal intercession in this matter, due to the influence of the bias evident in the national media's coverage of the situation.

I hope that you all will take the time to read the information that I have provided. I believe that there has been a rush to judgment by many in this matter; and, in consideration of the sensitivity and seriousness of the situation, it behooves us all, as members of a civilized society, to form our opinions with balanced and informed consent.

-- Áine