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The trouble with any attempt at scholarship or writing about the Rom--and many have attempted it--is that the Gypsies themselves refuse to be studied and will lie blandly and constantly. A linguistics professor I attended was convinced he had unlocked secrets--but all he had managed was to learn some of the language. You speak a language, and can't hide it.

Social workers have attempted to "cash in" on Gypsy culture, thinking that they've found a new grievance group with which to demand government attn and launch themselves as the Great White Father of the Rom on Network Television and the Academic Circuit. But these social workers themselves get conned, over and over.

A delightful thing, that.