Prejudice Against the Roma People and Gypsies

A lot of the Italians in Italy say that the Roma people (Gypsies) are bad people. They're blamed for the increased crime rates. I've also been hearing that they (the Italians) want to drive them out of the country.

Thoughts? Opinions?

Well. Let me try and detail the whole controversy more, as I tend to know quite a bit about it all. The gypsies in Italy, though they come from other places too, are largely from Romania. Romanians, not gypsies, live in a large number in Italy, and most of them are honest, hard-working people. Lately, Italians tend to mix up Romanians and gypsies and do acts of extreme racism and xenophobia.

While it can't be said that gypsies brought this on themselves by begging, stealing, practicing prostitution and even raping, it is also obvious that the Italian authorities have been going overhand with the measures taken, such as getting a person out of the country as soon as there is a slight suspicion of a crime committed. That wouldn't be that bad unless it wouldn't have happened to innocent people. Brussels said "no-no" though and that's rather great.
I'm Romanian and living in Romania. I can honestly tell you that there is not a person who doesn't know someone who works outside the country, specifically in Italy or Spain. 90% or more of these people are honest, but the 10% and the gypsies coming from our country have given the world a rather wrong image, or so we seem to think.

Italians have done racist acts lately. Finger-printing absolutely all the gypsies, displaying xenophobic messages, attacking harmless Romanians, trying to get everyone out, abusively and against the EU norms and regulations. But we can't put this on all the Italians either...
long post:)

Persecution of gypsies is nothing new, sadly, and nothing unique to Italy. It occurs all over the world and has for quite some time. Their way of life doesn't fit with mainstream culture and it gets shunned, its unfair.

A lot of the criticism against legitimate gypsies (not just Romanian people) is where they station themselves and set up camps. Farmers, especially in UK, have had problems with gypsies staying on their land, and I can easily understand getting upset about that. Problems with litering and stealing seem to upset most people, but I think thats an unfair stereotype to hold. Not all gypsies and messy theifs, and its rude to assume they are.

What I say to the farmers that get like a quad bike nicked from one of their sheds here in the U.K, well it's their fault for living in the middle of no where and never locking anything -__-

^ How many farmers do you know in the UK?

I think it reflects badly on Italy as a whole, especially in the newspaper's this week about two young children who drowned in the ocean and there bodies were on the beach, covered with towels and some local people were busy enjoying the sunshine so many ayrds away from the bodies.

I live in devon so i know quite a few farmers who have been terrorised by gypsies and the police do not step in because its private property so not their problem. The worse case has got to be at my little brothers school when about 50 gypsies broke into the playing fields and set up camp on the football pitch for 6 months. The police did nothing because it was ground owned by the school not the state.

So for 6 months the students were unable to use their own school's resources. The actualy school building was broken into numerous times, littler was everywhere, the ground were absolutely destroyed and cost thousands to rebuild.

The thing is in devon we have camp sites, alot of them. But because you have to pay, gypsies set up camp on private poperty. Their a large gardens in some parts of plymouth city and they've been known to break into them and set up camp on drive ways.

I like to think this is a small percentage of travellers but the truth is i've never met one who has not been rude or abusive. They have the right to live how they like but not when it affects other people negatively

NeoSteph:

I live in devon so i know quite a few farmers who have been terrorised by gypsies and the police do not step in because its private property so not their problem. The worse case has got to be at my little brothers school when about 50 gypsies broke into the playing fields and set up camp on the football pitch for 6 months. The police did nothing because it was ground owned by the school not the state.

So for 6 months the students were unable to use their own school's resources. The actualy school building was broken into numerous times, littler was everywhere, the ground were absolutely destroyed and cost thousands to rebuild.

The thing is in devon we have camp sites, alot of them. But because you have to pay, gypsies set up camp on private poperty. Their a large gardens in some parts of plymouth city and they've been known to break into them and set up camp on drive ways.

I like to think this is a small percentage of travellers but the truth is i've never met one who has not been rude or abusive. They have the right to live how they like but not when it affects other people negatively

:shock: Your police can't do anything if its on private property?

Kurtni Ramone:

NeoSteph:

I live in devon so i know quite a few farmers who have been terrorised by gypsies and the police do not step in because its private property so not their problem. The worse case has got to be at my little brothers school when about 50 gypsies broke into the playing fields and set up camp on the football pitch for 6 months. The police did nothing because it was ground owned by the school not the state.

So for 6 months the students were unable to use their own school's resources. The actualy school building was broken into numerous times, littler was everywhere, the ground were absolutely destroyed and cost thousands to rebuild.

The thing is in devon we have camp sites, alot of them. But because you have to pay, gypsies set up camp on private poperty. Their a large gardens in some parts of plymouth city and they've been known to break into them and set up camp on drive ways.

I like to think this is a small percentage of travellers but the truth is i've never met one who has not been rude or abusive. They have the right to live how they like but not when it affects other people negatively

:shock: Your police can't do anything if its on private property?

That's really shocking. I would have thought they could.

Its some stupid by-law when it come to removal of people. Thats the uk police system for you, they can lock you up without charge for 40 days but they won't move a caravan off private land.

NeoSteph:

Its some stupid by-law when it come to removal of people. Thats the uk police system for you, they can lock you up without charge for 40 days but they won't move a caravan off private land.

That totally and completely baffles me. :cheese:

Kurtni Ramone:

Their way of life doesn't fit with mainstream culture and it gets shunned, its unfair.

Not really. No-one has problems with the culture. For example they're great singers, their music is amazing and everyone admires and respects that. It's not about cultural differences, rather about crime rates.

The problem of Roma people has been around for a while. Yes, I'll be politically correct and say it's not uniquely Romanian, but, I mean, it's Romania, people, have you even seen our president? he was sued for discriminatory comments a few months ago, of course everyone's discriminatory and everyone's doing something wrong. Gypsies were shot in 1989 during the revolution because they were mistaken by Arab terrorists. Starting with the middle ages they were servants -not exactly slaves, but close.

The EU is starting more programs next year to help Roma people fit in the European structures. Like the fact that high schools are forced to have two Roma children in every class -not that they actually do, I mean, again, it's Romania, but positive discrimination just as negative one is bothering even in theory- wasn't bad enough, EU organisms will shove a bit piece of communitarian love down our throats again. Oh. And we just needed a rich woman to get murdered to realize that Roma people are a problem.

The only way the discrimination, and this is of course a personal opinion, could stop is if gypsies took action. Actually did something to prove the world wrong.

dark.:

Kurtni Ramone:

Their way of life doesn't fit with mainstream culture and it gets shunned, its unfair.

Not really. No-one has problems with the culture. For example they're great singers, their music is amazing and everyone admires and respects that. It's not about cultural differences, rather about crime rates.

Are you joking? :shifty If that was sarcasm than ignore this reply, I'm awful at picking up on it.

Gypsies have blindly been hated for centuries, before crime rate statistics were even kept, it was all about culture, and in many cases it still is. I acknowledger that many people have issues with the crime surrounding gypsies (as I recognized on my other post) but that does not change the fact that their culture has been persecuted throughout history. For you to say "no-one" has issues with their culture or that "everyone" respects them is almost insulting to the social discrimination they face.

Kurtni Ramone:

dark.:

Kurtni Ramone:

Their way of life doesn't fit with mainstream culture and it gets shunned, its unfair.

Not really. No-one has problems with the culture. For example they're great singers, their music is amazing and everyone admires and respects that. It's not about cultural differences, rather about crime rates.

Are you joking? :shifty If that was sarcasm than ignore this reply, I'm awful at picking up on it.

Gypsies have blindly been hated for centuries, before crime rate statistics were even kept, it was all about culture, and in many cases it still is. I acknowledger that many people have issues with the crime surrounding gypsies (as I recognized on my other post) but that does not change the fact that their culture has been persecuted throughout history. For you to say "no-one" has issues with their culture or that "everyone" respects them is almost insulting to the social discrimination they face.

How many gypsies have you actually been around? On a general basis, how many Roma people do you meet every day?
Have you ever been to a gypsy village?
:shifty

dark.:

]How many gypsies have you actually been around? On a general basis, how many Roma people do you meet every day?
Have you ever been to a gypsy village?
:shifty

My personal experiences are irrelevant to the historical and modern persecution of gypsies.

Kurtni Ramone:

dark.:

]How many gypsies have you actually been around? On a general basis, how many Roma people do you meet every day?
Have you ever been to a gypsy village?
:shifty

My personal experiences are irrelevant to the historical and modern persecution of gypsies.

I beg to differ, I think it is really important to know what you're talking about when talking about how and why Roma people are discriminated nowadays.

I thought that the gypsies were shunned because they cause the crime rate to rise....
I'm not really sure. :XD

ChemicallyImbalanced:

I thought that the gypsies were shunned because they cause the crime rate to rise....
I'm not really sure. :XD

Gypsies beggars are everywhere, they're these 6 year olds with dirty clothes and even dirtier looks on their faces all around town. People have problems with Roma people that are like that, with the ones that beg and steal.
They're 4645765786 non-governmental organizations looking after their rights, they're even more programs to help Roma kids get in schools, get jobs, to stop them from being discriminated in society. I had class mates who were gypsies. No-one had a problem with them. As long as they don't live in improvised houses or on the street, they don't beg or steal, no-one has any kind of problem with you. Don't tell me we discriminate their culture while you have no idea what their culture is or how the behave. We don't live in the Middle Ages.
[Actually some Roma people are doing rather well, there's this village near my town full of Roma castles, and they really look like castles. It's an interesting view. :cute:]

dark.:

ChemicallyImbalanced:

I thought that the gypsies were shunned because they cause the crime rate to rise....
I'm not really sure. :XD

Gypsies beggars are everywhere, they're these 6 year olds with dirty clothes and even dirtier looks on their faces all around town. People have problems with Roma people that are like that, with the ones that beg and steal.
They're 4645765786 non-governmental organizations looking after their rights, they're even more programs to help Roma kids get in schools, get jobs, to stop them from being discriminated in society. I had class mates who were gypsies. No-one had a problem with them. As long as they don't live in improvised houses or on the street, they don't beg or steal, no-one has any kind of problem with you. Don't tell me we discriminate their culture while you have no idea what their culture is or how the behave. We don't live in the Middle Ages.
[Actually some Roma people are doing rather well, there's this village near my town full of Roma castles, and they really look like castles. It's an interesting view. :cute:]

Okay, I'm sorry. I was just wondering. I didn't know.

No it's okay, it's hard to understand Roma discrimination if you don't live with them, if you have no contact with their communities and way of life.

dark.:

Kurtni Ramone:

dark.:

]How many gypsies have you actually been around? On a general basis, how many Roma people do you meet every day?
Have you ever been to a gypsy village?
:shifty

My personal experiences are irrelevant to the historical and modern persecution of gypsies.

I beg to differ, I think it is really important to know what you're talking about when talking about how and why Roma people are discriminated nowadays.

I do know what I'm talking about, please don't insult my intelligence. You're acting as if all people are loving and understanding, and that humanity wouldn't dislike a group of people without reason. Ignorant racism is a very real thing, and you're downplaying the persecution of a group of people.

ChemicallyImbalanced:

I thought that the gypsies were shunned because they cause the crime rate to rise....
I'm not really sure. :XD

Thats part of it, a lot of it is just ignorance.