This happened once in a midwestern town where I grew up. I was in a grocery store when they hit. I thought it was some kind of ethnic wedding party, and noticed a lot of people literally whirling about. Later I found out they did the distraction technique, got the manager away from the safe, picked the safe and fled, leaving a sign that said something like "the gypsies were here." For reals. Very strange. I have never heard of anything like that happening in the US before or after.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:or Irish Travellers, which are not the same as Romany, I believe. Which are hitting montgomery county? Irish travellers often go around with roofing or driveway repair jobs, which may not be well done, but like any itinerant labor, they are likely long gone before the shoddy work is discovered.

They aren't Irish. They are Romanian, use multiple names, and are thieves.

There are different ethnic groups called Gypsies... some are Irish Travellers (who are not Irish) while others are Romany (who are not Romanian). There are other, lesser-known, ethnic groups known as Gypsies, too.

Link to scams specifically from gypsy groups? Bottom line is that there are plenty of scam artists who beg for money, do shoddy construction or convince people they need services that they don't. Making it out to be some big Gypsy invasion to "watch out for!!!" is a little ridiculous. I've lived in Montgomery County my whole life and have never seen any big swoop of Gypsies "hitting" the county with their scams on a yearly basis and then jetting town.

Anonymous wrote:or Irish Travellers, which are not the same as Romany, I believe. Which are hitting montgomery county? Irish travellers often go around with roofing or driveway repair jobs, which may not be well done, but like any itinerant labor, they are likely long gone before the shoddy work is discovered.

They aren't Irish. They are Romanian, use multiple names, and are thieves.

or Irish Travellers, which are not the same as Romany, I believe. Which are hitting montgomery county? Irish travellers often go around with roofing or driveway repair jobs, which may not be well done, but like any itinerant labor, they are likely long gone before the shoddy work is discovered.

Anonymous wrote:PP 22:36 please elaborate.

Perhaps you don't read the newspapers or pay attention to local news. Every spring for decades Gypsies have made Montgomery County a target. They (usually a woman and a child or two women) appear at a door and ask for water. While the homeowner is distracted the other gypsy heads for the bedroom where she/he steals jewelery. Another method is when they spot homeowners out in the yard doing lawn chores. They sneak in the house and steal silver and jewelry. They also do store diversions where two pretend to fight in the front of the store while the men rush in and steal fur coats or other expensive goods.

They move on to the Philadelphia area and are not seen again for a year.

Even the police have been forced to become PC. The gypsies are now called "seasonal travelers".

PP 22:36 please elaborate.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Wootton was totally jipped! I vote we petition for a name change to Wotton county!"

"Jipped" is offensive.

OMG! So offensive. LOL.

Well it was spelled incorrectly which maybe makes it less obviously offensive. If someone used the name of another ethnic group to mean "ripped off" on these boards, you can bet it would be reported as offensive and my guess is Jeff would take the post down. He's taken other racial/ethnic slur posts down before. It seems like Americans are hypersensitive about being PC if the group being slurred is large enough, but we're pretty ok with hanging on to some dated and offensive phrases about Gypsies (Romani) and Native Americans.

When the Gypsies make their annual trip to the Bethesda/Potomac area to rip off elderly people during the spring I don't thank many care about PC terms.

apropos of prepositions and Churchill--The Oxford English Dictionary has something to say to all you grammar bullies:

http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2011/11/grammar-myths-prepositions/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Wootton was totally jipped! I vote we petition for a name change to Wotton county!"

"Jipped" is offensive.

OMG! So offensive. LOL.

Well it was spelled incorrectly which maybe makes it less obviously offensive. If someone used the name of another ethnic group to mean "ripped off" on these boards, you can bet it would be reported as offensive and my guess is Jeff would take the post down. He's taken other racial/ethnic slur posts down before. It seems like Americans are hypersensitive about being PC if the group being slurred is large enough, but we're pretty ok with hanging on to some dated and offensive phrases about Gypsies (Romani) and Native Americans.

Anonymous wrote:"Wootton was totally jipped! I vote we petition for a name change to Wotton county!"

"Jipped" is offensive.

OMG! So offensive. LOL.

"Wootton was totally jipped! I vote we petition for a name change to Wotton county!"

"Jipped" is offensive.