Meet the Somerville News, which is that much worse for being free. May I direct your attention to the second section in this piece.
From the article:
[They] were part of a transient group of criminals known as traveler gypsies...Deputy Chief Paul Upton said traveler gypsies use a variety of scams to get inside a victim's home to steal what they can. He said gypsies sometimes perform shoddy home improvement work at inflated prices to bilk old folks out of their hard earned money.
Surely I can't be the only one who sees the problem with this sort of language? Like how they describe an entire ethnic group as being con artists and thieves? Is there some meaning to the term traveler gypsy that isn't based around an ethnicity? The way it's written seems so damnededly matter-of-fact about the whole things, as if this were a commonly known fact. Odd.
2 comments:
Is it problematic that they seem to be essentializing (intentionally or not) an entire ethnic group? Yes. However this is a commonly known fact (enough that I remember watching a 20/20 expose back in the 90s). Many of these traveling groups do self-identify as gypsies even if they are not Roma Gypsies but Irish Travelers etc. So perhaps this person's statement is not as problematic as you might believe.
Interesting. In NZ, those who self-identify as Gypsies are more of the travelling circus folk and entertainer sort. Huh.
PS: Heard you're stuck in Cambodia due to troubles in Thailand. Best of luck for getting out without too much hindrance.
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