April 8th is International Romani Day. There's a lot I could say, but mostly just want to say thank you all for being a community where I don't have to be afraid to say I'm Gypsy. You'd be surprised how not all European leftists even care about us! So I appreciate you all. So thank you all, please continue to stay educated on our issues, and never be afraid to ask me any questions if you have any.
:heart-sickle:
I’ve asked for it so hopefully soon 🙏🏼 In hexbear’s defense, Roma flag isn’t even an Iphone emoji either
Solidarity comrade. The British (soft) left is fucking woeful on this too, but you have comrades and we will #killthebill or burn it down trying.
:stalin-heart: You are one of the best posters in the site @rozako
I was under the impression that the g word was a slur. Has this been re appropriated by the community?
It can be used as a slur, for sure, but most of us aren't fully opposed to it. I have to use it when talking to Americans so they don't think I mean Romanians. If I identify myself, I just say "romani Gypsy." It's fine to use. If you're around people who know who Roma are, just saying Roma/Romani is fine, but if you're talking to a less knowledgeable population, Gypsy is fine. What matters is talking about us at all, not even what we are called. There's way bigger issues than the label semantics to me.
I'd rather someone be spreading awareness that Gypsy women are forcibly sterilized rather than someone who is like "actually DON'T say the G word!!!" and then never talk about the actual issue, if that makes sense.
Sending love for all our Romni comrades, before my decent leftward never knew how much hatred and persecution y'all face nowadays.
:heart-sickle:
Love to all my Romani comrades :stalin-heart:
Being Romanian is frustrating as fuck. You could be talking to the most liberal, open-minded person, but the moment the subject of "gypsies" comes up: boom, they take a hard right past Hitler. It's horrifying how normalized it is.
Also, somewhat related, but I was walking past a bookstore the other day and happened to notice that proudly displayed on the window shelves were books about Ion Antonescu, Corneliu Codreanu and the Iron Guard. Needless to say I don't have a good feeling about the future of this country :side-eye-1:
Needless to say I don’t have a good feeling about the future of this country
Ooof.... that's rough. Did you see the news the other day about how so many Balkan countries birth rates are low, Roma may be the majority in most of the countries? I think Romania was included. People were PISSED about it.
Chuds always panic about that stuff happening but I seriously doubt it will (just like I seriously doubt the same thing will happen with Arabs in Northern Europe which is another thing chuds freak out about). It's not that straight forward for populations to invert when one is at just about 2-10%.
Personally I look forward to our great Romanistan in 50 years! Jk though, I think a Roma nation would be a mess lol. But as long as it makes reactionaries angry.
I don't think I've seen it, but the rightoid reactions to that must be absolutely hilarious lol. It's not even just the birth rates that are kinda fucked here, we also have a super high emigration rate, among the highest in Europe, one of the reasons why our population is in constant decline since 1989. Ceausescu was a total bitch, but his final words are still as prescient as ever.
The original tweet was deleted but here's some lovely screenshots of shit people said.
Euros: Travelers and their nomadism is abhorrent. Also Euros: go on yearly summer vacation, yearly winter, ski-trip and multiple weekend trips.
So my roommate was told recently the term 'roma' is also no good because not everyone who would fall under the category formerly know as 'gypsies' aren't all of Romanian descent. This is the first time I've heard that and was wondering if anyone here has more insight?
Romanian is NOT Romani, Romanians are white, Roma are a very mixed group coming from India originally. Romanians enslaved Romani people. So that's the most important misconception.
Roma/Romani/Gypsy are all fine. It really doesn't matter. The language is complex and doesn't translate well to English. As long as people are standing up for us, I really don't mind what they call us.
Roma are a very mixed group coming from India originally
Whoa I didn't know that. Interesting.
Yeah, it’s hypothesized we were Rajput warriors! And then travelled through central Asia and North Africa and Middle East. We have a lot of South Asian traditions still (like henna, sometimes bindis, etc.) If you take a DNA test, it’s like 30-70 South Asian, remaining being European and MENA.
I didn't think Roma were Romanians but didn't wasn't sure enough to say anything.
It's ok! Many people get it confused, and it's not their fault, but it definitely sucks because Romanians hate us 😪
The person saying this stuff wasn't being a jerk and is a long time friend of my roommate so I'm guessing her intentions were good but had some bad Intel.
Yeah don’t worry I don’t doubt it! A lot of misinformation is out there about us.
Thanks for clearing it up, as well as everyone else in this comment cluster. Really informative stuff.
When did the term Roma come about?
Is it connected to that relationship with Romania at all...or is it like a derivation from roam or something?It comes from the word 'Rom' which just means man in the Romani language. So it's basically like Roma as an adjective, aka Romani people. Nothing to do with Romania at all.
Also they may be talking about how Irish Travellers call themselves Gypsies but aren't Roma, and just are white. That's a... complicated issue. They appropriate a lot from us and our activism. If I am ever talking about Gypsies, I mean the Romani Gypsies. That's all I'll say on that specific distinction.
I don't know much about Travellers, what have they appropriated from Roma culture?
It's hard to explain, but the label for one. It may have been moreso appropriated and forced onto them than them taking it, I have hardly looked that much into it, but nonetheless. Many activism is under the title GRT (Gypsy, Romani, Travellers) especially in UK, and that is the worst of it. The appropriation of activism. Because Travellers have it bad, don't get me wrong, but it has never and will never be on the same level. We are not the same, our issues are different, and they end up taking up more of the spotlight because people can stomach them and their equality more than ours.
Yeah for the most part. They are a white group, we’re not. We have more history of systematic injustices too, like Travellers weren’t ever slaves for example.
I've skimmed the wikipedia article and it says Roma comes from Rom meaning husband in the romani language. It doesn't have anything to do with Romania.
Rom can also just mean 'person'. The language is confusing and there's many dialects. Anything works, Roma/Romani/Gypsy.
I think it really depends?
I have family that identifies themselves explicitly as Beyash-descent and not Romani; but I am not particularly close with them and I don't know how meaningful that distinction is, or whether it's rooted in some kind of cultural factionalism, or even if this is just a familial quirk and not a widely-held opinion.
Oh once we start getting into subgroups of us, it all goes to hell. Sinti don’t usually like being considered Romani (they are). We’ve got a lot of intercommunity beefs and hierarchies lol.
Interestingly I am probably more familiar with the plight of the Romani in Europe than I am with those in the United States. I recall a disgusting TV show.. I think it was called my g—— wedding. I feel like that’s the only (and obviously negative) portrayal. Would be interested to hear more about this shows impact on the community, particularly in regard to policing. Are Romani mostly concentrated in upper Appalachia?
Worst part is it was more than likely faked, and opened up the community to worse treatment by society and state violence. Fuck everything about it.
Ironically most of those from what I’ve seen om the show have been Irish Travelers or like 1/4 Roma haha. But I have seen some clips of actual Roma and Romnichal on there. Mm... yeah it probably adds stigma. I’ve seen parts where they imply we treat our women horribly. I haven’t seen much of it though nor do I think American Roma always represent European Roma culture much.
There’s Roma everywhere in America, the issue is we are prolific liars. You’ve might of met someone who is at least 1/2 Roma before but say they’re Latino, Italian, Indian, Greek, Turkish. We tend to lie about race a lot (for obvious racism reasons). There’s a lot in South USA because Roma were enslaved on some plantations. Texas has a lot. Texas also has like “Gypsy crime” units in police agencies. Antiziganism is still prevalent in America, it’s just been forcibly made hidden.
I always love your posts and I learn so much. Just making this stuff known is so important. Solidarity!
I don't think non-negotiable would be the right word. Most Roma nowadays are settled and not nomadic. Often, settled Roma will look down on those who still are nomadic in the traditional sense. We have been really forced into non-nomadism, so at this point, even if it were completely allowed and enabled, I don't think many Roma would go back to that way of life. many of us wouldn't know how, as those who were nomadic are either rather old or have died (we tend to have a shorter life span than other races at least in Europe).
I'm just one person, but I think our main political demands would be access to equal education, medical care that does not aim to harm us, a place to have our voices heard and considered in politics, and just less discriminations.
They won't give me one because they know I'll just comment it on every post from now on, no matter how irrelevant.
