Posted on 11/09/2004 6:27:30 PM PST by Libloather
All I can think of right now is Lucille Ball singing "I Am the Queen of the Gypsies" in the Operetta episode of I Love Lucy.
Can I gather that you are a Roma? If so, then you are understandably interested in this issue. I did not know much about Gypsies in Europe until I went to Europe, and saw them in all the train stations. Little ones, under the watchful eyes of their mothers, reaching into the bags of sleeping travelers. They were ubiquitous at crowded places, and you always had to keep an eye out for them, old and young alike.
15 years later, I went back, but I wasn't riding trains, so I can't say whether this is going on now. I did see areas in several of the cities and towns where old, beaten up campers and vans were parked haphazardedly outside of town in a makeshift camp. The locals said that these people were Gypsies, and that they would come to town, conduct scams, sell drugs and commit other crimes, and when the heat started to come down on them, they would pick up and move to the next town. The kids were not going to school, and they didn't look like they were eating very well, either.
What percent these people are of the entire Roma population, I can't tell you. I can tell you this. If I meet a Roma computer programmer who lives a normal life, I wouldn't treat him any different than anyone else. If I meet one who is traveling the country in a beat up van, I might be inclined to watch my back pocket. The issue is not discrimination against a people because of their genetic background, but because of their conduct. Those who remain part of the vagabond and ethically challenged culture of the old days earn distrust. Those who join modern society do not.
Certainly, European discrimination played into the reasons for Roma's means of existence, and current discrimination may play into the lack of education and continuing life of crime of some of the Roma. But the culture is what it is.Culture includes things like song, dance, language, poetry, art, and family relations, and I understand that this aspect of Roma culture is very rich. It also incudes attitudes towards work, education, religion, etc.
I am not one of those who says that all cultures are equally valid. Some are better than others, and I think it's ok to prefer a settled, cerebral culture over a rootless, impoverished hand to mouth one that does not value education, work, investment and the other things that develop wealth over time.
Compare the conduct of the immigrant Jewish tribes who came to Europe in the middle ages, with the immigrant Roma. Both experienced intense hatred and discrimination. Yet look what Jews accomplished in the midst of pogroms and hatred. The Jewish example proves that the Roma's life in Europe is not all due to how they were treated by Europeans, but on factors specific to them as well.
Let me ask, what is the origin of the Roma? I have heard some explanations, but I don't know how true they are, and would be interested in what you have to say.
As an aside, on my second trip to Europe, I saw so many Muslims in Italy and France, I couldn't believe it. These are a much bigger threat to Europeans than Roma ever could be.
It's pretty much the same with the Roma, and I wouldn't dignify the standard European treatment of these people with use of the word "discrimination". We are talking about incredibly brutal treatment which included enslavement in the Balkans.
So, to answer your question, I am not Roma but I have studied their situation ~ this was in association with my genealogical studies into Bill Clinton's family.
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