The gypsy question...again

When we lived in Budapest we were shocked to hear otherwise educated and open-minded Hungarians speak disparagingly of ciganyok or gypsies. Gypsies and travellers are getting a bad rap in England too. Recently a vacant lot near my husband's workplace, located near the Crewe railworks, has been descended upon by a nomadic group, presumably without planning permission from the local council if not the owner's knowledge as well. A concrete lot riddled with garbage, weeds and a broken fence in the middle of a busy intersection hardly seems the ideal place to park a dozen or so caravans along with a couple of large Audis and a BMW. One cannot help but wonder what the local residents think of their new neighbours taking up residence overnight virtually in their own backyards. Bitter controversy is underway in the UK on just this topic. Despite the fact that there is a shortage of authorized gypsy/traveller pitch sites and the population is apparently growing, one cannot help but sympathize with long-standing locals who feel they have been granted fewer rights by the courts than their itinerant neighbours.