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Notes -
This could plausibly be explained by genes, as the selection event that filtered Normal Irish into Traveler Irish would have selected for the most antisocial Irishman. If Cromwell’s invasion caused many Irish to be homeless, and this is the event which triggered the formation of the traveler community, which type of Irishman decided to continue living itinerantly post-upheaval? Which decided to continue this way of life over the centuries? Those who were made homeless but who were prosocial didn’t stay homeless; those who were prosocial yet born into the community would have left (throughout the 18th century). So there’s a plausible genetic mechanism by which [make most of the Irish homeless] followed by [select those who continue being homeless after a decade] would have selected for the uniquely antisocial. All that’s left would be [let the prosocial born in the community leave], which didn’t happen in the 20th century but could have in the 18th and 19th, followed by [let the most antisocial have the most children]. If the itinerant lifestyle selects for antisocial genes because the most antisocial traveler can steal the most goods and thus afford the healthier children, then we can maybe work out a genetic explanation. In the same way, the Gypsy community weeds out the most guilt-prone because they would be unable to inflict harm on another human without emotional distress via the daily scheming grind. Something something pitbulls and golden retrievers.
We could also have to look at what the normal Irish were doing 18th-21st century. Were they weeding out their antisocial by imprisoning and executing “their own”, while the travelers were simply fleeing with their criminals in tow? This would also elucidate a genetic divergence etiology
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