SimChomskia
13-10-2006, 12:59
Ahoy
Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but its the best fit i could find, if mods think it should go in a different forum please move it :)
I had an issue today which was referring to Gypsies living on land within my nation, however it used the word "pikies" to refer to Gypsies. Pikey is thought of by some travelling people as a racist insult, whilst pikey is an old word (19th century) its modern use is as an insult. Within the old Gypsy community (caveat: i could be a bit wrong on this as my info is from my Gypsy relatives who i havent seen since i was a child (25yrs ago or more approx)) the word is sometimes used in this sense:
Full blooded Gypsy = Romany
One Gypsy parent = Diddicoy (or Didlo)
One Gypy grandparent = Pikey
However even that was considered rude ( i got a slap if i used the words), much the same as using the N word to describe Africans.
Like i say i am remembering this and if there is anyone with Gypsy friends or relatives they may be able to shed more light on it/correct me but I still think it should be removed as it kind of goes against the morale feel of Nationstates. Gypsies are a cultural group and deliberately refering to them like this is wrong, you don't get issues reffering specifically to any other real cultural group. I can't see "African immigrants" or "Chinese illegal workers" being acceptable so i think the logic should follow through to Gypsies.
All that said well done all involved, players, mods, admins and of course the great Max n his team for Nationstates - the best free fun on the net :)
Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but its the best fit i could find, if mods think it should go in a different forum please move it :)
I had an issue today which was referring to Gypsies living on land within my nation, however it used the word "pikies" to refer to Gypsies. Pikey is thought of by some travelling people as a racist insult, whilst pikey is an old word (19th century) its modern use is as an insult. Within the old Gypsy community (caveat: i could be a bit wrong on this as my info is from my Gypsy relatives who i havent seen since i was a child (25yrs ago or more approx)) the word is sometimes used in this sense:
Full blooded Gypsy = Romany
One Gypsy parent = Diddicoy (or Didlo)
One Gypy grandparent = Pikey
However even that was considered rude ( i got a slap if i used the words), much the same as using the N word to describe Africans.
Like i say i am remembering this and if there is anyone with Gypsy friends or relatives they may be able to shed more light on it/correct me but I still think it should be removed as it kind of goes against the morale feel of Nationstates. Gypsies are a cultural group and deliberately refering to them like this is wrong, you don't get issues reffering specifically to any other real cultural group. I can't see "African immigrants" or "Chinese illegal workers" being acceptable so i think the logic should follow through to Gypsies.
All that said well done all involved, players, mods, admins and of course the great Max n his team for Nationstates - the best free fun on the net :)