I've been browsing through leftypol recently, and I've noticed a few threads talking about the lumpenproletariat, most recently in relation to Romani and Travellers.

Is the nomadic way of life inherently incompatible with socialism? I've seen someone on there saying that the only way to properly "integrate" (I have serious problems with that term, but I digress) these groups would be to have social services take their children into care to have them grow up as productive members of society. Many, but not all, of the other people there seemed to agree that the Roma/Traveller lifestyle wouldn't be able to exist under socialism as it does now, and that these groups aren't all that different from criminal street gangs, which obviously wouldn't be allowed to exist under socialism.

I really don't like the idea of separating children from their parents, and the idea of decreeing that a group of people without any real power aren't allowed to live according to their culture anymore seems deeply wrong.

What do you guys think about this?

Edit: Fair enough, I guess they were just being racist.

Edit 2: Okay, perhaps I should explain a bit more. The thread in question started off like this:

Most Europeans that I heard are in general pretty anti-racist ( most of them anyway ) but as soon as they hear about romani people they go full on hitler mode. Most of the hate they seem to get comes more from the hate towards poor people ( arguments like they steal, they dont have culture) and a lot of them happen to be poor. What would be the proper left wing social method so that they get less hate? If you guys turn the racist card on them too I will lose my hope

And started degenerating around the time someone posted this:

I've found their animus is primarily directed at the actual travelers rather than settled and integrated people of Roma descent. Yes, those people get caught up in the racism, but its a very particular kind of Roma and abstract image thereof that they hate. Realistically, development of their economic condition and assimilation of their culture is the only thing that could stop the prejudice. Problem is a lot of the migratory and dirt poor Roma have refused assistance on either front which only reinforces the view that its impossible to coexist with them.

I'll link the thread in the comments if you'd like, but I don't want to put it here because I don't want to encourage brigading.

  • D61 [any]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Rhetorical question time. What is the "Romani/Traveller way of life?"

    Is it something that is intrinsic to themselves as a people or is it what they were forced into by the societies that they exist within being shitty and needing somebody to demonize?

    Problem is a lot of the migratory and dirt poor Roma have refused assistance on either front which only reinforces the view that its impossible to coexist with them.

    In the USA, unless you're one of the rich, any assistance has so many strings attached and threats of punishment if the wrong "t" is crossed or if your address changes or if you make 1 penny more than the arbitrary income/wealth/savings chart says is okay or if somebody decides that you're abusing your kids because they have dirty fingernails or something... that its often not worth the effort (or the actual physical danger) to try to apply for these programs. There's no way this isn't the same way most of these programs are set up in other westernized countries.