Wondering how the word gypsy is a racial slur? Why are you referring to it as the G word when it literally means a free spirited traveller. What is so offensive about that?
Let me tell you a story, ignorant one.
Once upon a time, there were a group of people migrating from northern India and Pakistan after the invasion “of the Persian Muslims who have since settled in Trukey, all of Europe, and the Americas These people are called the Rromani.” (x)
Once the pale bird feces people of Europe came into contact with the Rromani, they believed them to hail from Egypt, thus calling them Gypsies.
Now about what disgusting white people like you have been trying to turn this racial slur into. There is nothing about being a free spirited traveller if you’re called such a word. What is up with white people romanticizing everything to make it seem all nice and rainbows for them?
“They were not nomadic by choice. They moved around because they had to… they were persecuted everywhere they went, and still are, to this day. They were persecuted alongside the Jews in the Holocaust – the Roma & Sinti”. They were forced to have this sort of nomadic lifestyle because “no country wanted them there”. (x)
Let’s not forget these lovely things Rromani people did and still go through because of who they are:
“Forced sterilization (yes, it is still happening)
Eviction
Harassment (by law enforcement as well as civilians)
Fingerprinting (this is happening in Italy right now – all Romani people are being fingerprinted, simply because our race is considered ‘criminal’)
Concentration camps
Starvation
Exclusion from public schools and welfare programs
Bombings (it is not uncommon in places like the Czech Republic for people to throw molotov cocktails into the windows of Romani homes)” (x)
“First and foremost: THE WORD “GYPSY” IS AN ETHNIC SLUR. It is a pejorative. It is an exonym that is hurtful and offensive. You need to accept this, period.
We are NOT your halloween costume. We are NOT your flowy skirt. We are NOT your fashion sense. We are NOT your wanderlust. We are NOT ‘boho.’
Gypsy is not fashion. Gypsy is not traveling. Gypsy is not a headband or a costume, or boho, or a long skirt.
Gypsy is a hurtful ethnic slur used to refer to the Romani people.
We cannot seem to emphasize this enough to people. This word is a slur. It was created to be a slur. Its meaning does not change. It will always be a slur. It will always be offensive.
‘The word is not yours. It’s ours. We can use it as we see fit. You cannot.’ - biggadjeworld
We are a real people, with traditions, culture, and colorful heritage that spans centuries.” (x)
The “x”s in the post refer to sources you can click on and educate yourself with. On those pages, there are more links to become familiar to this slur and the Rromani people.
Also, don’t forget to stop by thisisnotromani!
- Jess
This is some shit that the witchcraft and neopagan communities really need to get straight. You are not a “gypsy” witch, that does not make you mystical, you are not special, you are just racist. V sorry.
I REALLLYYY need everyone to read this at least three times so there is no chance for confusion.
This is important! In America we are not used to hearing it as a slur, so it can be hard for us to realize it’s one if we don’t run into it or seek it out. Fly across the pond and say it you will get VERY different responses. If you want replacement words for free spirit and bohemian aesthetic, just use “free spirit” or “hippie” or even “flower child” honestly. Hippie Witch sounds more catchy anyway 🌻
Never appropriate someone’s culture for the sake of ‘aesthetic’!!! Learn the history of the words you use. Respect people. Say what you mean (and if you use these slurs, you MEAN to be racist, no two ways about it!). If “free spirited traveler” appeals to you there are suggestions above- other suggestions:
Traveling witch, footloose, wanderlust, free-wheeling, free lance, roaming, nomadic, mugwump, beatnik, avant-garde, offbeat, alternative, idiosyncratic, arty, outlandish, backpacking, bird of passage, excursionist, explorer, gadabout, globetrotter, landloper, adventurer, nonjuror (like conjuror!), pereginator, peripatetic, rootless, scatterling
Thank you for educating people about this!
!!!!!!!!!!
Hits close to home for someone who is whining on their blog that people would dare get upset that they, a white European, use hoodoo in their spells.
