I get it, the word "gypsy" is now offensive. But please don't equate it with the "n word".

[Anonymous]

Gypsy isn't offensive except in uber politically correct circles. Stop trying to manufacture something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who told you that it was? Gypsy comes from a mistake about the origins of the Roma/Sinti/travelers and it offensive to many, but I've never seen anyone claim it is *exactly* like the n-word. Both are slurs. One has a more robust history of terror in the United States.

Word.

Just look at murder stats by race/ ethnicity of accused.

I do not see many Roma there.

We don't really have a population on Roma here either.

DC has a nice Roma population. They own some businesses in Adams Morgan and, I'm sorry to say, they beg in the suburbs.

....at the corner of Democracy and Old Georgetown Rd!

[Anonymous]

Is it such a reach to say that a group that was sent to concentration camps has been victimized?

I don't understand why you need to rate suffering. It's a slur. Call them Roma.

[Anonymous]

There is actually a TV show in England called "my Big Fat Gypsy Wedding" -- and that is a highly regulated tv market -- so no, nowhere remotely close to the "n" word, even in Europe. (And England does have gypsies/travelers who face discrimination etc)

That said, Michelle Obama said "gypped" a while back -- that's been considered offensive for a while now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it such a reach to say that a group that was sent to concentration camps has been victimized?

I don't understand why you need to rate suffering. It's a slur. Call them Roma.

It's not a slur.

[Anonymous]

Agree

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is actually a TV show in England called "my Big Fat Gypsy Wedding" -- and that is a highly regulated tv market -- so no, nowhere remotely close to the "n" word, even in Europe. (And England does have gypsies/travelers who face discrimination etc)

That said, Michelle Obama said "gypped" a while back -- that's been considered offensive for a while now.

It's an age thing.

I don't find it offensive, as I've had plenty of face-to-face encounters with gypsies. They are all over Europe, and when I visit family and friends in Italy, they are always begging. Europeans are not tolerant of them, nor should they be. Able-bodied folks who beg in the streets and who train their children to follow in their footsteps don't deserve respect.

Have you seen the ones wheeling themselves around on wagons, pretending to have no legs from the knees down? classic

[Anonymous]

Not a slur. They hardly come by a person friendly towards their culture who is not out to put them down. The word "gypsy" is often used with other words that are hurtful.
"Dirty gypsy", "damn gypsy", "like a gypsy"-all bad. Now, "free like a gypsy" has a good connotation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who told you that it was? Gypsy comes from a mistake about the origins of the Roma/Sinti/travelers and it offensive to many, but I've never seen anyone claim it is *exactly* like the n-word. Both are slurs. One has a more robust history of terror in the United States.

Word.

Just look at murder stats by race/ ethnicity of accused.

I do not see many Roma there.

We don't really have a population on Roma here either.

DC has a nice Roma population. They own some businesses in Adams Morgan and, I'm sorry to say, they beg in the suburbs.

....at the corner of Democracy and Old Georgetown Rd!

They are nice and non-violent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe not in North America. But in Europe it is definitely on the same level as the N word is here. And frankly, who are you to decide what's more offensive to respective minority?

this exactly.

So tired of others helpfully dictating to me the ranking order of offensiveness. If you are the son of two sharecroppers, by definition you have no experience with being the son of 4 grandparents who were made to walk the Trail of Tears at gunpoint. Stuff it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe not in North America. But in Europe it is definitely on the same level as the N word is here. And frankly, who are you to decide what's more offensive to respective minority?

this exactly.

So tired of others helpfully dictating to me the ranking order of offensiveness. If you are the son of two sharecroppers, by definition you have no experience with being the son of 4 grandparents who were made to walk the Trail of Tears at gunpoint. Stuff it

OK. Some of the posters on this thread have said that the g-word is as offensive in Europe (part or all) as the n-word is here. What about here? Is the g-word, in any context, as offensive as the n-word? I do't think it is, but if the Roma tell me it is, then I'll delete it from my vocabulary.

Some words are okay in some countries/cultures and not okay in others. That doesn't mean they should be banned worldwide.

[Anonymous]

All words are offensive. just say HRH and you will be fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who told you that it was? Gypsy comes from a mistake about the origins of the Roma/Sinti/travelers and it offensive to many, but I've never seen anyone claim it is *exactly* like the n-word. Both are slurs. One has a more robust history of terror in the United States.

Word.

Just look at murder stats by race/ ethnicity of accused.

I do not see many Roma there.

We don't really have a population on Roma here either.

DC has a nice Roma population. They own some businesses in Adams Morgan and, I'm sorry to say, they beg in the suburbs.

In most European countries they beg all over the place. Imagine outside EVERY Safeway (even the most remote ones you don't even understand how they got there), every CVS etc. Here, I am yet to see one.

Seen them couple times on red line. They go inside the train with you and than harass people till next stop where they thankfully go to next metro acr. Reminded me of good old Moscow metro...

[Anonymous]

Gypsy just means a traveling people or a wanderer.

I have seem the Roma gypsies in DC metro stations with the fake babies and all. I also saw a lot of problems with them in Italy and France when I lived there (homelessness, leaving trash everywhere and stealing).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If it's a costume at party city, then it's not a commonly accepted racial slur.

The word gypsy isn't used exclusively to refer to the Roma. It has many commonly accepted uses in the English language.

Cool! So next Halloween when I wear the red/green/yellow tam, fake dreds, carry around a giant spleef (from Party City) and I put 5 layers of tanning cream on my face to make my face appear like a "black" person, this cannot be offensive, either. Do I have that right?

Oh! and all those Indian headdresses that mimic religious and ceremonial attire sold at Party City? When I wear the most sacred of those with "suede" bra top, hot pants and moccasin stilettos next Halloween, that cannot be inherently offensive either since Party City deemed it OK for frat parties.

I love this freedom to be a twat because Party City has decreed it not offensive to the relevant peoples.