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gypsythatremains:

Explain how that is offensive, please. I’m dying to know.

You already know it’s offensive.

But, in case you really didn’t then here have some information:

The word gypsy has been used as a catch-all term for Roma, Sinti, Pavee, Irish Travellers, Scottish Travellers, Romanichal, Calo, Kaale, and many others throughout the decades. 

It has been used to enslave Roma (in the old region of Romania and Wallachia), who were not emancipated until the late 1800s.

It was (AND STILL IS) used to forcibly sterilize Roma women in some European countries.

It was tattooed on the arms of my relatives and brothers and sisters in Auschwitz and all the other Nazi death camps as they were kept like animals before being murdered.

It is why Roma and others are evicted time and again from wherever they settle, legal or illegal. 

It is why two Roma in Italy lay DEAD on the beach while sunbathers ate lunch and caught rays without blinking an eye.

It is why a five year old girl was horrifically burned as her house was firebombed.

It is why countless women have lost husbands and sons, as they are murdered simply for being.

It is why we can’t get jobs, find housing, get adequate healthcare, or education.

Even here in the US, it is why we change our identities, hide away, become Mexican or Native American—because THAT is better than being a “gypsy”.

It was why Roma and others were shipped here as “aberrant” during the 17 and 1800s, some even being turned away before they even set foot on the shore. Turned away to die.

The word is offensive and a slur. If someone tells you that it’s offensive and a slur, the normal response is to apologize and refrain from using it. Not to then attack the minority who are telling you it’s offensive.