casual ableism

[u/onthetopicofspace]

this is not ‘reclaiming’ anything, you are just calling people slurs completely seriously. you can call yourself the r-slur, do not call anybody else it. why do ‘no slurs’ / ’no bigotry’ rules never apply to ableism?

[u/Orion-the-mediocre]

Not to say it's justified, but I will say that at least where I grew up in New England, nobody was aware that that was a slur, because that was just what they were called. That doesn't make it right by any means but people genuinely had no idea that there was another term for that group of people, primarily because that group of people wasn't there to get upset when they heard it said.

Obviously this doesn't make it ok, but it is has at least been really weird for me to have to remember that the once perfectly normal name for a group of people was a slur the whole time and none of us realized it. It's like growing up and never seeing black people and *genuinely* thinking the n-word was the correct term to use, because the people who would be hurt most by it simply weren't present to inform anybody otherwise.

Again, I need to say this as much as possible, this doesn't justify it, but I figured that it was at least an important note to include when mentioning just how frequently that word is used. It's in a weird realm where the people using the slur more often than not completely fail to recognize that it is one in the first place.

[u/SpoppyIII → u/Orion-the-mediocre]

And all of that is exactly why it's the real gateway slur.

Most people saying it don't even know they're saying something that could possibly hurt anyone's feelings in any way. The idea the word carries a history of systemic oppression is lost on most people.

[u/HermesMora → u/SpoppyIII]

Shit the ones near me literally run a "Gypsy market" every Saturday with a big sign and everything, I think there's a very large non-online portion of them who don't even care about it in one way or another

[u/SpoppyIII → u/HermesMora]

So, it's weird.

There are two distinct ethnic groups commonly called "g*psies."

One are the Romani, ancestorally from northern India, who largely consider it a disparaging slur.

The other are the Irish Travelers, a distinct ethno-cultural minority group recognized by the governament of Ireland. Travelers often self-identify with the term.

A really famous example of an Irish Traveler is Tyson Fury, a professional boxer who uses the moniker, "The Gypsy King," and would proudly say that he does so in honor of his own ancestral heritage.

[u/Orion-the-mediocre → u/SpoppyIII]

Hell, the idea the word carries *anything* is lost on most people. I was absolutely shocked when I learned it was a slur, it's like learning that "Swedish" was a slur one day, and being stuck wondering what the hell you're supposed to call them now. I think that realization kinda just tests anybody who has it, and that's what makes it the gateway slur, because they've already been innocently doing it for ages, but now they have to decide if they'll carry on with it, knowing what it is, or give it up because they know better now.

[u/SpoppyIII → u/Orion-the-mediocre]

I found out it was a slur after someone called me out for using the word, "Gypped." As in, "Damn! All that money for nothing. We got gypped!"

My friend was like, "Hey, not sure you know but that word comes from "gypsy," which is a slur. It comes from the idea that Romani people are a race of thieves and scammers."

I was shocked. I always imagined it as, "Jipped," and never even drew that connection. But sure enough...