- so does it follow that Keith, and staff members are ignorant for having gypsy items on the site in the first place?

I can honestly say, hand on heart, I have never heard of gypsy being a bad word. I am 46. When I was a child, a gypsy was a fortune teller, with a caravan, a horse, a crystal ball, gold earrings, and flowing clothes. How on earth that developed into a racial slur, I will never understand.

i really really appreciate this!! awesome job, subeta : )

They were ignorant of the term being racially offensive, most likely because those items are years and years old. I was ignorant of the word being racially offensive when I was a child and dressed up as a gypsy for halloween. Knowing now that it's a racist term, I regret doing it. I was ignorant, because I didn't know, because the information wasn't widely available then like it is now.

People are acting like this word has just recently developed racist connotations, and that's far from the truth. Where do you think the phrase 'I've been gypped' came from? It came from 'gypsy'.

That's a racist stereotype. Same as assuming asian people are all buck toothed, wear glasses, and are good at math. Same as assuming black people all eat fried chicken and drink koolaid.

As an example: I didn't know 'sand digger' was a racist term until about a year ago. I was ignorant of that. Now I'm not.

Ignorance is only a bad word when you choose to be ignorant rather than being open minded.

- wow, just...really?? My example of what a gypsy meant to me as a child was nothing more than highlighting there was nothing bad, or otherwise, about gypsies. They were viewed as magical and beautiful people. If you choose to see that as racism, that is up to you.

As for being open minded - I already posted earlier on this thread that if the majority felt it needed changing, then it was probably a good idea.

I do not understand the hostility on this thread. The fact that not everyone was even aware of this gypsy-racial issue does not warrant some of the comments made by some people.

As I already pointed out, this was not an issue as I was growing up, and totally took me by surprise when I saw Keith's post. I still do not understand why it is classed as a racial slur, but there you go shrugs

Just because it's 'magical' to you doesn't negate that it's a stereotype, and it is in fact racist. How you feel about the word, whatever it means to you doesn't mean anything, because it's a slur to the Roma/Romani. If you'd actually read through the board, you would have seen someone that obviously identifies as one of the people that gypsy describes, and they were happy about it being changed. To them, it was clearly a racist term.

How they feel about it is all that matters. Not some magical mystical crap you came up with as a child.

- I get the feeling I'm wasting my time talking with you. You seem intent on insulting me and being as rude as possible, so I will be the adult here and leave this thread.

I am glad the word was changed if the majority asked for it, as I already pointed out, several times. That doesn't negate my original point ^^

The only thing I'm insulting is your attempts at defending a racist term because you thought it was something magical when you were a kid.

This, so much this. People are absolutely losing their minds over a small change. So many people are acting extremely rude over a /minor/ change. This kind of behavior on subeta is baffling to me, everyone I've met in the past have always been so nice and understanding, not slinging around insults and being jerks in general o.O People behaving this way is exactly why I stay out of the shoutbox and tread lightly in the debate forum (which this is not, yet some people are treating this as a debate).

Anyways, I'm just going to meander out of this board and not post again, but wow, I just gotta say, some of you are really showing your true colors here. (lol no this is not a reference to race before you try to come after me, but a reference to the fact that you're acting like... well... ) ;)

Acting like an ass toward them is not helping them understand the situation at all. 😒

I posted a link on the third page

There is also google

Link Link Link Link Link

Do you need more?

'Why is gypsy a slur?' Why is N*gger a slur? Why is wetback a slur? Why is slut a slur?

Because people outside of the persecuted group came up with the name and use it to refer to them negatively. That's literally all there is to it.

Aztec actually linked to a really excellent explanatory article on page three, if anyone's interested in reading a first-hand account of why "gypsy" is hurtful.

That magical, romantic stereotype of long skirts, gold jewelry, and dancing under the moon?

That is the stereotype. It's a caricature.

It's a romantic, magical image, sure, and on the surface, it's a nice one. But it also goes hand in hand with the long-held assumption that "these people are also thieves" (which Aztec alluded to with the 'I've been gypped' phrase, the meaning of which is "I've been cheated out of what I rightfully own/have", which directly links the word Gypsy with thief and is still in common usage).

The Rom aren't magical people, fantasy people or imaginary people that once existed. They exist IRL, all over the world, and the gypsy stereotypes still affect them. They're the ones who have begun to say "we do not appreciate being called this, this is not who we are. Please stop."

That's great. 👍 I am sure the people that saw that post, and took the time to visit the link learned something. That doesn't mean it's cool for you to be a jerk to people on page 9. 👎

There was never a time that the terms "wetback" "slur" or "n*gger" were anything but a slur. That's not true for the word gypsy. If it was, this thread would have never needed to be created, because this site would have never allowed gypsy themed items.

Literally one of the links I posted said gypsy was a slur BEFORE it gained the contemporary meaning of nomad.

Also, when were n* and slut never not slurs?

There was a time when the word gypsy was viewed as an acceptable term. Hence the "gypsy" items on Subeta. Hell, stores like Walmart are still selling gypsy Halloween costumes.

There has never been a time when people thought it was anything BUT insulting to call someone else a slut or a ngger. There has never been a time when anyone on Subeta, staff or otherwise, thought "Hey guys it would be really neat if we had a Ngger Costume Truck"

While you may have some great knowledge of the history of the word gypsy, the manner that you choose to post to people like that are truly unaware of the meaning of the word is offputting at best.

I never thought gypsy was a bad word, honestly. Please don't jump on me for that but I honestly never knew. I didn't know people thought gypsies were thieves either... I guess I just live under a rock but I've been informed now..

Gypsy has been a slur for a hell of a lot longer than a couple of decades. Which apparently you, and others, aren't seeming to grasp. It's not recent. It's not like the words queer and fag. It's been a slur for a hell of a lot longer than that.

If the debate stirred up by a simple notification thread, opens just one persons eyes and teaches them something, I'm all for it. The number of people who have admitted to prior ignorance and are grateful to have learned of the slur make me proud of the majority of my fellow Subetans. Everyone will always form their own opinions on the subject, but an informed opinion is a good thing.

TIL that "Gypsy" is a racial slur. Knowing that I think nomad is a great change.

I'm glad this got changed! And I'm glad more people are learning things.

I think what some people are not understanding is the difference between one person being offended by something versus a word that was/is used to systematically oppress and persecute a group of people. Everyone is offended by something, but there's a huge difference between being offended and systematic oppression.

Edited for slight wording change.

Galactic Nomads sounds much better, as do the changes to the item names.