Arrests made in gypsy scam against the elderly

Gypsy denotes a worldwide ethnic group not a way of life! By calling it a GYPSY scam is a discriminatory comment about a culture who is already one of the most peresecuted cultures today. Gypsy was a term given to the Romani people when ther were mistaken as Egyptian when in fact they originated in India 1000 years ago. The sterotype that "Gypsies" are all thieve and beggers and scammers, is a sterqotype that is alive today, and kept alive by comments like this. Please view using the term Gypsy in this way, just as you would the N word used to describe African Americans or the term Spic for Hispanics. It is the same thing and just as hurtful to Romani people. I will forward this to the Romani Organization for Media Awareness so they can contact you with some educational information.

Thank you for your comment and thanks for reading. I appreciate the input, but that was the description given by police in a police press release.

Since the specific crime involved is a scam, if the suspects involved claim to be Gypsys, then it would seem that the term "Gypsy Scam" is quite appropos.

In response to Noname

Even if they were ROMANI it is still not okay to call it a Gypsy Scam. If it was a Hispanic would it be ok to say "Spic Scam"? For that matter if it was an African American and you were PC and said AFRICAN AMERICAN scam, it is still wrong. What does the race of the people doing the scam have to do with it? It should be irrelevant who did the scam, a scam is wrong and by attaching an ethnic group to identify the scam you are stereotyping that minority implying that it is a common scam by that group of people. All I am trying to get across is for people to stop using the term Gypsy to perpetuate this false image and try to remember it is large minority group.

And thank you for clarifying Jason, I will make sure and relay the true source of the phrase.

The word 'gypsy' has been misused again! Gypsy should be written with a big G anyway.
Our Romani culture has been downtrotten for over 200 years it is a crime of massive discrimination.

Here is some informative websites so you can learn something about our culture so you don't get it wrong again and stop doing harmful slanderous reporting.
As you may get blacklisted.

Yvonne Slee

http://www.geocities.com/~patrin/
http://rromaniconnect.org/
www.geocities.com/romani_life_society/
www.geocities.com/daveauss

Thank you for pointing out that the word "gypsy" in the headline has a lowercase "g." That seems to indicate that the word in the press release was not being used as a proper noun referring to Gypsys or Romanis, but rather as an adjective describing the type of "scam" that the suspects were arrested for. Much in the same way that persons of any race and ethnic background can be arrested for "nigerian scams," if that is the crime that they are accused of. Calling a nigerian scam what it is, is not persecuting upstanding Nigerians, it is honest reporting.

Slanderous? Hardly. Slander is defamation by oral utterance. Who was defamed, and how? Who made the slanderous oral utterance? What was it? When? Where?

Many people use the word Gypsy when they are not Gypsies Romanies at all! So you have attacked our culture and flippantly overlooked what is happening. The Oxford dictionary used the word Gypsy as two different meanings. A way of life so people just say I travel so I'm a Gypsy. They are not Gypsies at all they could be Irish, Scottish even Australian or American etc.
I doubt 100% that those people that got arrested where real Gypsies Romanies meaning people from our culture.
Read the info and see where we come from and who we are. If those people arrested were American for excample then it should be called a American scam.
Get your facts right. Otherwise do you understand you have attacked a innocent peoples of a culture you don't know much about by misusing the name Gypsy. Why hang something on us that we didn't do. Shall I go out there and blame Americans next for everything that happens wrong here and say American scam as we all live the American life, but we don't have to be Americans for that.
Yvonne Slee

The people arrested may be Gypsy Romanies, but what is posted here does not say that they are. They may also be Americans. What the headline says is "Arrests made in gypsy scam against the elderly."

So are you saying that it is wrong to use the Oxford dictionary definitions? What other English dictionary has definitions that are acceptable to you?

The full address for The Gypsy People: A Guide for Journalists (avaivable from http://www.unionromani.org ) and the other pamphlet published in Britain in 2000 by The Commission for Racial Equality, entitled Travellers, Gypsies and the media: Guidance to Journalists which is reproduced here:
Poor quality reporting, which exploits, or panders to stereotypes can cause much hurt to those about whom the stories are written. Make sure that, where ever possible, you check the details with a relevant source, and don't just rely on expressions of local heresay and popular prejudice. Listen to the people you're talking about. This is particularly important when it comes to the terms and language used. Always seek the views of Gypsy organisations to see whether or not there is an alternative interpretation or a different and more significant story line to be presented.
The Commission for Racial Equality has handled many cases under the Race Relation act for Gypsies and Travellers for over 20 years. The number of such cases continues to run at several dozens a year. This is not to put you off reporting about us.
Gypsies want to see more coverage in the media, but are keen to help the media develop a coverage that is honest and fair, open and inclusive.
Steer clear of exploiting us and of prejudice.

Yvonne Slee

Please forgive my failure to comprehend, but I do not understand how using words with the intention of expressing something that is clearly part of the definitions of those words in English dictionaries, is slanderous, unfair, or exploitive in any way.

There does not seem to be an alternative English dictionary on the site you referenced.

Since apparently your goal is to change existing definitions of words, you might be better served by striving to have the definitions changed in the dictionaries that are most often used. Then you might have grounds for objecting to what would then (after the definitions were changed) be improper use of the words.

You are missing the point, Jason as nearly all non-Romanies do when it comes to the use of the word Gypsy. Thanks to the 19th century Romantic historians and the Oxford dictionary, Romanies are battling to shake off the stereotyped image of fun-loving, free-spirited wanderers. The unfortunate thing is that whenever the word Gypsy appears in an article, (be it with a capital or small G) the public immediately think of the dark-skinned race that came from Europe. Nearly all references in such articles, particularly news items, are referring to travellers or itinerants and Romanies have no connection with the article at all. By the way, I'd be interested to see the definition of "gypsy scam" and on what basis the news item was titled that.

First of all, the word was used in a police press release, so it would seem that the complaints herein should be redirected to the police rather than to the reporter who apparently accurately reported what was presented to him.

The police may have been using the dictionary definition of "gypsy" and should not be faulted for that.

As far as the term "gypsy scam" being used, since the police in the United States quite justifiably use terms that are common to law enforcement agencies such as the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) it could be that they used the term "gypsy scam" as it is defined in the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin entitled "Traveling criminals: take the money and run" http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2194/is_n7_v63/ai_15658023/pg_1

In response to Yvonne's statement, "Gypsies want to see more coverage in the media, but are keen to help the media develop a coverage that is honest and fair, open and inclusive" it does not seem possible to be more honest and fair than using the exact words used in a police press release.

Yvonne, if the meaning behind your words was that Gypsies want to see more "positive" coverage and less coverage of crimes such as "gypsy scams," I am confident that when no more gypsy scams take place, and more positive actions take place, that the media will reflect that.

Hardly any Romanies travel like that. The racism that goes on in America against our group is appauling.
Did you know for eg. in Australia the only ones that are moving from town to town these days here, are mainly white Australians, builders, miners, tarmac layers, some farmers because they have big cattle farms, etc, all gadje and there is a farmer here in Mossman, a gadjo he's got a story on the internet and he calls himself a bit of a Gypsy because he moves around a lot. Another fool, who's got no idea what a Romani is.
Here you never hear of any Romanies ever in such articles as you write and that's because we are peaceful, law abiding, good people that are just living side by side with the gadje.

First of all, just because the police used the term doesn't make it correct. The police make mistakes just like everyone else. This is not a Gypsy Scam, but perhaps a scam by two people. What does their ethnic origin have anything to do w/ the situation?

Also, you ARE misusing the word. The word Romani is the correct term for this cultural group. The title of the article is racist indeed and this kind of racism towards the Romani is offensive. If these people had been Jewish, there is no way, the title would be JEWISH SCAM ON ELDERLY. They would simply call it something else. This is typical of the discrimination against the Romani.

Dave, it is good to hear that your experience in Australia has not involved "gypsy scams." In the US it is different. Words and phrases develop and evolve as their society evolves. For example, the term "nigerian scam" came into being in recent years following the development of that particular type of crime. In the US, and possibly other countries, the term "gypsy scam" has been used for more than a hundred years, since that particular type of crime has been taking place here for that long.

Ilanna, if the term "gypsy scam" was being used to indicate that those arrested were Gypsys, then how is the word being misused by the police? Would you prefer if the police press release said, "Romanis were arrested for scamming the elderly?" On the other hand, if the term was being used by the police to describe the type of crime, how is that wrong? Are you saying that the correct term for that type of crime should be "Romani scam?"