Larry.
As in any ethnic group:
They ain't all good.
They ain't all bad.
She still hit the kid.

Find your way back to that, before you state that the folks here are "having a huge time getting past their desire to see this as a country that treats Travellers well."
You have been ranting a bit, and assuming that "we all" give a damn one way or the other about an ethnic group that until a few weeks ago MOST OF US HAD NEVER HEARD OF!
I'll state again, the only place I've even heard of the Travellers has been here in the Mudcat. (Aine, it doesn't matter if you can search and find it, I still have not seen anything in the news reports I've seen.)

Finally:
She still hit the kid.
Justify that. And just that.

Peace,
Blues