Romanians are not gypsies
anonymous
January 22 2009, 09:09:02 UTC
Darling,
You making racist statements yourself by confusing Romanians with gypsies. Romanians and gypsies are completely different peoples, racially, linguistically and culturally. Only 10% of Romania's population is ethnic gypsy, the rest are Romanians (circa 75%)and other minorities making up the rest. Romanians are white Caucasians and speak a language similar to Italian (Romanian language is derived from Latin). Gypsies are originally from nowadays Pakistan, are nomads and speak languages related to languages of the Indian subcontinent.
Re: Romanians are not gypsiesjane_darkJanuary 22 2009, 14:47:11 UTC
You're quite right; and I actually am aware of the distinction, but I entirely failed in mentioning it, and for that, I do apologize. The post above has been edited to reflect this. Thanks for pointing it out.
1) the 'darling', especially from am anonymous commenter, is patronizing.
2) I think it's clear that Jane Dark is not confusing Rom or Roma with Romanian herself -- she's relating the story as told in the programme. So if I understand her synopsis correctly, she is saying that the characters were identified by the cops as being Roma first, then further identified as from Romania, and then the show's writers conflated the two.
The 'darling' IS patronizing, but I also made a clumsy mistake in not clarifying the distinction. It's one made by the CM writers, too, but that doesn't excuse me from calling them on it.
Still, thank you for standing up for me.
The characters are actually identified as Romanian first, and then Romany -- which is the word that the writers used. Very little time (i.e., one line) spent distinguishing between the two, and that distinction is muffled by the fact that they also imply that the Romany and the Romanians share a language. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Unfortunately this so called "entertainment" and our society inj general demands a scapegoat race. And whilst we've come a long way toward getting rid of overt racism in the media - there are always those strange sounding euro-people east of the great 1054 and Witch-Burning divides (one and the same in truth).
Same reason Clinton suspended bombing for Ramadan and not for Pascha
Same reason that now all the gangsters on TV are Russian
Same reason the whole Georgian thing was as quickly ignored as it was.
it's "them wierdos over there" and "them" is the west's shadow self and hence feared.
I am Romani (Gypsy)problematikaJanuary 22 2009, 23:17:59 UTC
and I thank you for your post. The American Romani Listserv is FURIOUS about the episode, I can tell you that. As if we didn't have enough CRAP to deal with! [exasperated sigh]
Re: I am Romani (Gypsy)jane_darkJanuary 22 2009, 23:31:39 UTC
You're very welcome. I'm sorry you have to deal with crap like this. I'm planning to send a letter via snail mail to CBS and to the Criminal Minds writers explaining why I think the episode was harmful as well as poorly written.
Re: I am Romani (Gypsy)jane_darkJanuary 24 2009, 18:48:42 UTC
Here's what I found out. On the CBS website, there's a specific Feedback Page where you can send an email, and specify that it's about a certain show, i.e. Criminal Minds.
That might be the most direct and easiest way to contact them. I'm planning to revise my post into letter format and send it today.
I want to send a hard copy letter as well, and for that, it was harder to figure out where it should go. It looks like the following address might be the best one:
CBS Television Network 51 West 52nd Street New York, NY 10019
I'm going to see if I can find something better, but that may be it. Feel free to share any of this, of course. I hope they get a lot of letters.
romanians are not gypsies
anonymous
February 15 2010, 18:20:57 UTC
First of all, there is a big mistake saying that the gypsies (romany or how you are calling them) that they are Romanians. Gypsies are the poorest class of Indians (i`m referring to the people who live in India ). They where exilated from India and since then they are migrating from a place to another. Romania is a south-eastern European country, with Latin origins. The writer of the show must be a shame. Also the Romanians and the gypsies should feel offended.
Re: romanians are not gypsies
anonymous
June 3 2010, 03:27:59 UTC
I just came across this rather old conversation and immediately realized that none of you know anything about the Romany people, including the poster claiming to be Romany. I think it is clear to everyone that Romanians from Romania are not the same as the Romany. However I would like to clarify that the real Romany prefer to be called Rom or Roma. Also, not all Roma are nomadic (gypsies). That is a stereotype perpetrated by ignorant people. Yes, some Roma people are nomadic, but most settle down into a community. As for the Criminal Minds episode, I had to find it online in order to find out what everyone was talking about since I hadn't seen this particular episode before. All I can say is that the show makes it very clear that the family is perverting ancient Roma customs therefore the show is not insulting the Roma people.
Comments 17
You making racist statements yourself by confusing Romanians with gypsies. Romanians and gypsies are completely different peoples, racially, linguistically and culturally. Only 10% of Romania's population is ethnic gypsy, the rest are Romanians (circa 75%)and other minorities making up the rest. Romanians are white Caucasians and speak a language similar to Italian (Romanian language is derived from Latin). Gypsies are originally from nowadays Pakistan, are nomads and speak languages related to languages of the Indian subcontinent.
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2) I think it's clear that Jane Dark is not confusing Rom or Roma with Romanian herself -- she's relating the story as told in the programme. So if I understand her synopsis correctly, she is saying that the characters were identified by the cops as being Roma first, then further identified as from Romania, and then the show's writers conflated the two.
Reply
Still, thank you for standing up for me.
The characters are actually identified as Romanian first, and then Romany -- which is the word that the writers used. Very little time (i.e., one line) spent distinguishing between the two, and that distinction is muffled by the fact that they also imply that the Romany and the Romanians share a language. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Reply
Same reason Clinton suspended bombing for Ramadan and not for Pascha
Same reason that now all the gangsters on TV are Russian
Same reason the whole Georgian thing was as quickly ignored as it was.
it's "them wierdos over there" and "them" is the west's shadow self and hence feared.
Reply
[exasperated sigh]
Reply
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That might be the most direct and easiest way to contact them. I'm planning to revise my post into letter format and send it today.
I want to send a hard copy letter as well, and for that, it was harder to figure out where it should go. It looks like the following address might be the best one:
CBS Television Network
51 West 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019
I'm going to see if I can find something better, but that may be it. Feel free to share any of this, of course. I hope they get a lot of letters.
Reply
Reply
As for the Criminal Minds episode, I had to find it online in order to find out what everyone was talking about since I hadn't seen this particular episode before. All I can say is that the show makes it very clear that the family is perverting ancient Roma customs therefore the show is not insulting the Roma people.
Reply
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