džulory ladžala

themindislimitless:

Sorry, I’m tired of answering you and then having word limits so I’m going to answer here now.

In my eyes, they are almost like hippies, minus the drugs.

That is EXACTLY what I mean by it being stereotypically racist! That is NOT who gypsies are!

I live in America. That’s all I am given. Look anywhere online, gypsy & Roma are used interchangeably. 

Gypsy and Roma are the same people, technically, except the term ‘gypsy’ is a racist slur, and it does NOT mean ‘hippies, minus the drugs’. Did you even read?

You asked about the word “gypsy”. I am pretty sure if you were to ask about Rroma people, I’m pretty sure they are human like the rest of the earth. 

Um, that’s the point. They’re Roma. They’re people. They’re not ‘hippies, minus the drugs’, they’re PEOPLE. NORMAL. PEOPLE.

You didn’t answer my question. Prior to Hitler, did the word “gypsy” have a meaning?

They were certainly persecuted for many many years, and the word was an ethnic slur. As for when it started, I am not the best person to ask, but I believe the word came into origin somewhere in the 16th or 17th century.

Edit, for the people curious: she changed her URL, yay for open-minded people who won’t let themselves be stuck in an ignorant mindset and are willing to see other POVs! =)

Actually, the word gypsy was first written about in the 13th century by a Franciscan Monk called Symon Simeonis. He travelled to Crete and met the Roma—whom he called ‘gypsies’, cast out of heaven and cursed to wander the earth. 

There is some idea that the word Gypsy actually comes from the Greek word for Egyptian. Roma were thought to have come from Africa because of their darker skin.

Starting in the 14th century, the Roma were imprisoned and enslaved as soon as they entered the old lands of Rumania and Wallachia. They were not emancipated until 1864, when over 500,000 migrated further west.

So, yes. Hitler didn’t just come up with the word all on his own.