Sinfest

Willem · Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 6306 Location: wasteland style

No, you just repeated what you said in your first few posts. I said you were exaggerating so I expected you to either back up your statements or adjust your stance. You did neither, you just repeated your original statement.
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attitude of a street punk, only cutting selected words out of context to get onself excuse to let one's dirty mouth loose

Sam · Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 8840

Willem · Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 6306 Location: wasteland style

I'm just asking for some nuance, Sam. You're talking about the Roma as a single entity, while Sam the Eagle differentiates between those who've settled in the area and those still travelling around. You talk about Europe as a whole, while the main problem is in countries like Italy, Germany, France, etc. This is probably because these countries have larger amounts of Roma within their borders. You also say Roma face more persecution in Europe than the rest of the world and while true, it's a pretty useless statement, seeing as Europe probably has more Roma than most other continents.

This may seem like nitpicking, but if we are going to talk about this problem (including generalisations and discrimination), it really isn't a luxury to be precise.

That said, Thy is a horrible person and you should ignore him if possible.
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attitude of a street punk, only cutting selected words out of context to get onself excuse to let one's dirty mouth loose

Eiden · Joined: 02 Jul 2007 Posts: 336

My roomate in paris hated roma like it was her fucking job. In most of the places I went to, roma hatred was very apparent, and I was told to stay away from them always.

mouse · Joined: 10 Jul 2006 Posts: 15457 Location: under the bed

willem - i don't know about sam, but you've told me a whole lot more about the roma than i knew, in that last post alone.

there aren't a lot of really truly gypsies in the u.s.; there are assorted people who have been called 'gypsies' - basically anyone who travels around picking up a living however they can, which can cover bums and migrant workers and all sorts of people who share nothing more than a general life style.

much of this discussion reminds me of stuff going on in the u.s. about illegal immigrants (which for most of the vocal discussion really means 'mexicans') - except that mexicans really don't beg, they pretty much come here to work. which leads me to wonder, especially given what someone said in this thread about roma being the laborers in romania, whether what appears to be the perception of roma being beggars and thieves and the like is actually true, or similar to people in the u.s. figuring all mexicans are actually involved in the drug trade or are really here as welfare frauds. mexicans can often be distinguished by appearance (brown skin/black hair) and accents/use of spanish - at least, it's the perception that they are easy to pick out - are roma? if so, does that impact their ability to get jobs?
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aka: neverscared!

Sam · Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 8840

Willem · Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 6306 Location: wasteland style

Honestly though, I don't know too much about Roma myself. They just don't appear in the media here and just aren't seen as an issue. The last time they were mentioned, it probably only appeared in the national media because of the storm over in France.

Aside from that... yeah, not much. There was a bit to do about some Roma that had occupied a derelict building or something in Ghent. I think that didn't even make the national news, just some local papers. And it was mainly about how terrible it was that these people had to live in what was basically a dump and a dangerous one at that.

What I'd be interested in knowing is if the situation the Roma are in can be compared to the fate of other migrating/vagrant/whatever groups in other parts of the world.
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attitude of a street punk, only cutting selected words out of context to get onself excuse to let one's dirty mouth loose

Mizike · Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 5120 Location: Iowa City

A large part of why you likely hear so little about the Roma, Willem, is because there is not a significant population of them near you. This is also likely why you do not perceive racism toward them as an issue (racism being most pronounced when two segregated populations are close in proximity. See Paris, outskirts of and South, Deep.)

That's why the graphic here is so damned awesome. It shows both the size of the Roma (Romani) population as a raw number and as a percentage of a country's overall population. Places with large populations and especially places where a significant percent of the population is Romani have serious issues.

You northern types, not so much.
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Scire aliquid laus est, pudor est non discere velle
"It is laudable to know something, it is disgraceful to not want to learn"
~Seneca

Thy Brilliance · Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 3213 Location: Relative

Willem · Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 6306 Location: wasteland style

Catel · Joined: 16 Nov 2009 Posts: 326 Location: France

Say, Gypsy people, what's written in your big Book of Fate ?

CTrees · Joined: 21 Jul 2006 Posts: 3617

Speaking of Roma, Bill attempting to regulate witches and fortune tellers in Romania has failed

mouse · Joined: 10 Jul 2006 Posts: 15457 Location: under the bed

oh man - can we get some of those roma witches over here, to threaten to curse lawmakers?
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aka: neverscared!

Willem · Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 6306 Location: wasteland style

Well, the EU has reacted and doesn't sound pleased

The French respond with their usual tact and restraint.

Willem · Joined: 09 Jul 2006 Posts: 6306 Location: wasteland style

And if you thought the French had their hands full going after the Roma, you're dead wrong.

Take that, Muslims.
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attitude of a street punk, only cutting selected words out of context to get onself excuse to let one's dirty mouth loose