So... My sister is marrying a traveller

[Loop Stricken]

Do yourselves a favor and educate yourselves.

Do yourself a favour and read how people aren't (generally) blaming every single traveller ever, just the ones they've personally had problems with.

That said, when the only travellers you've ever met are the ones you've had problems with, ones perception is somewhat skewed.

 

[Spitfire]

I don't disagree that the term "Gypsy" is derogatory, I just think that they shouldn't be named after a nationality that they don't belong to.

They aren't. The "rom" in "Romani" (as in Gypsies) comes from a word in their own language, meaning "man." The "rom" in "Romanian" is related to the Latin word "Romanus," since the Romanian language is related to Latin. They are two different words from two different languages.

The Romani also call their language "Romane", and their community "Romania", no less - but that must all be a coincidence, right?
Actually, none of those words originate from their native language, which I remind you, was a form of Hindi. They've adopted those words from the Romanian language, most likely during their period as slaves here. More importantly, however, there already exists an ethnicity called Romani, and that's the Romanians, so having another ethnicity named such is confusing for everyone.
It's confusing for Romanians, because whenever a foreigner uses that term, we can't tell whether he or she is talking about Romanians or Gypsies. It's confusing for a great deal of foreigners, who think that because the terms Romani and Romanian are so similar, that they must therefore be one and the same people, something that has had dire consequences for Romanians working in Italy, Spain, and other countries (look it up). And it's also confusing for many Gypsies as well, because the Romani are only one of several Gypsy communities out there, with whom they're all mistaken for.

I don't disagree that the term "Gypsy" is derogatory, I just think that they shouldn't be named after a nationality that they don't belong to.

Well... Romani is also the Latin term for the ancient Romans, and a modern Italian term for inhabitants of Rome. And while the word might not be the best name for the "gypsies", it is also a word from their language, romani ćhib.

See above.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

And my sister is getting married soon too. Weird.

Holy shit!

Two people in a world of over six billion have sisters that are both getting married within a similar timeframe?!

What are the chances of that, eh?!
Stop the presses!

Did I mention that she already has a child with him and that he is a traveller but I'm totally ok with it?

No? Good. Because that would be a lie.

 

[senordesol]

This has been an extremely entertaining glimpse into the psyche of a post-conventional mindset society. We've all been well-trained to qualify any statement with 'Now, I'm not saying all of (xyz) are (abc), but the ones I've met...'

Now, granted, my understanding of the topic of gypsies/romani/whatevertheyshouldbecalled is limited. But the stories seem pretty consistent here, and that is: they are well organized and well trained to lie, cheat, and steal at the expense of society at large. Now we, in turn, have been trained not to malign a culture based on the actions of a few; but this seems to BE gypsy culture itself. Of the dozens of anecdotes here (an admittedly small sample size), I can't find a single positive thing anyone has to say about gypsies. It seems that whenever their given an honest chance to buck the stereotypes, they -instead- reinforce it.

That they are close-knit and have a 'rich, wonderful culture' isn't enough to redeem the fact that they seem to have every intention to screw anyone who isn't a part of their culture at every opportunity. Now again, I must stress that I'm a Californian; we don't have gypsies here (that I've ever seen or heard of) the main analogues I can think of are the homeless and gangs. But I'm forced to wonder if anyone can think of a single redeeming thing that gypsies have contributed to society (remember: meeting one who didn't try to rob you doesn't count, it just means that he's a neutral conduit; neither bad nor good). Is there any practiced enforcement policy among them that dictates that the thieves be turned into the authorities? That crying rape, or doing shoddy work is dishonorable and could see you ostracized from the community?

Based on what I've read here (and elsewhere) these 'travelers' really seem to be nothing more than a marauding gang, with a very well-earned reputation. Now I'm willing to accept that I could be wrong, I'd be interested to know how often a caravan might pull into town and (at the very least) the petty crime rate DOES NOT spike. I suspect, however, that we may find that those instances are lower than the instances where it does (making the latter the majority).

If that be the case, I can't see the outright mistrust and suspicion of gypsies anything other than totally justified. And I certainly would not be OK with my sister marrying one.

Just a thought from across the pond.

 

[EmperorSubcutaneous]

Actually, none of those words originate from their native language, which I remind you, was a form of Hindi. They've adopted those words from the Romanian language, most likely during their period as slaves here.

Yes, it is related to Hindi. That doesn't mean they can't have a word in their language that sounds like a word in another language. There is a tribe of people living scattered throughout India called the "Dom," whom most linguists and anthropologists believe the Romani to be relatives of. These two names, Dom and Rom, are related to each other, and both come from the Sanskrit word "ḍoma."

As to the rest of your post, I'm not saying there is no confusion or that it's perfect. What I am saying is that "Romani" and "Romanian" come from two different words in two different languages, and the Romani/gypsies are not being named after a different ethnic group (unless you call them "gypsies," in which case they are).

 

[Atomic Skull]

How do they live with their traveling lifestyles? Education, employment, food, etc must be hard to get if you're moving around a lot.

That's easy, they steal everything they need or want from other people.

Isn't that more like an incentive than a deterrent?