I don’t like to interrupt this haven with non-blue things, but this is important. I’ll keep it relatively short.
I am a Romani man. The Romani, also called Roma, are an ethnic group often known by the slur ‘gypsy’. This word is as offensive as the N word is in the US, don’t use it.
There are currently hundreds of thousands of Romani in Ukraine, but no one knows how many because they are often denied birth certificates or government ID, leaving them unable to work regular jobs or even get phone plans or set up an electricity account. This was partially established under Communist rule so we could be made as slaves to work on farms. We have been resettled many times, sent to death camps, forced to integrate, banned from speaking our language and deported to Siberia.
Many were living without water, heat or lights even before the invasion, separated from other citizens by a segregation wall.
Some who had a form of ID had them burned during recent neo-nazi pogroms when all of their belongings were destroyed. As refugees, they are having difficulty crossing borders into other countries without ID and establishing any kind of temporary lives without documents.
While the invasion is very difficult for everyone involved, it is particularly bad for the minorities, as usual. Romani men are volunteering and being conscripted to fight with the Ukrainian Army but without any assurance that their families will be able to escape the country.
Unfortunately, racism doesn’t magically go away when a crisis happens and Romani are facing more difficulties than many as they move into surrounding countries. Some of the aid organizations in surrounding nations are refusing to assist or treat Romani refugees
Please consider donating to one of these two organizations for Romani relief. Or, if you cannot donate, please educate people and share the situation. Thank you so much.
There was an attempted pogrom in the Czech Republic today. Neo-Nazis committed arson and attacked Roma.
POLICE DID NOT INTERVENE AS PROTESTORS MARCHED ON THE ROMA.
… that was until they started throwing rocks, bottles, AND EXPLOSIVES…
Immediately after the playground incident at the Máj housing estate, a Facebook page was created called “Protest Actions against Inadaptable Citizens", the current cover term for all the anti-Romani actions being planned..
and you can BET it won’t be taken down….
I AM SO ANGRY RIGHT NOW.
(more info available atROMEA.CZ (also available in English) and I’ll post more as I find out)
My brother has a criminal record because he participated in a senior prank at his high school at age 16. No one was hurt, no property was damaged. He was the youngest kid there by a year, and the only one charged with a crime.He’s Romani.
I got a really nice question about this, so I’ll clarify why this show is the most offensive way to present a Roma woman’s fantasy life, and why that matters in relation to Wanda Maximoff:
The “Magical Gypsy” Stereotype
Just to clarify: The word “gypsy” is a racial slur, and I’m using it to make a point about racial stereotypes. I’m not giving you permission to use it. If you aren’t Romani and/or Irish Traveller, that word is not for you.
If you’re familiar with the 1960s TV show Bewitched, you’ll have recognized that Wandavisionis dressed up like an homage to that show. What you probably don’t know is that Bewitchedwas conceived as thinly-veiled allegory to interracial marriage, a major hot-button issue at the time. Samantha and her family were a different race from Darrin (Samantha’s husband), in that witches were not humans, strictly speaking. That culture clash was most of the show’s storyline.
It seems as if Samantha and her mother, Endora, were meant to stand-in for Roma women. The popular stereotype at the time was that Romani and Travellers were “mystical,” even magical. The “Magical Gypsy” is our most prominent stereotype. Bewitched’s premise fed right into that narrative, and Wandavision makes it even clearer.
Samantha deceives Darrin into marrying her by lying about her heritage, and then they spend the rest of the series fighting over whether Samantha should act “normal.” Samantha’s parents have no permanent home. They have century-old customs that baffle (and even frighten) Darrin and other humans. They’re sneaky, and they lie a lot, and they often use their powers for personal gain, including theft. The witches and warlocks look white, of course, but they aren’t reallythe same as the “normal humans” of the series. That hit a lot of Romani people where it hurt, back then and in reruns.
One of the witches is even named “Esmeralda,” in a direct nod to Victor Hugo’s famous Roma character.
The Maximoff Twins, Adoption, and Romanipen
The Maximoff twins, like many superheroes, have complicated backstories which have not been consistent from universe to universe. In the earliest universes, they are the children of Whizzer and Miss America. Later, they’re revealed to be the children of Magneto, eventually placed into the adoptive care of a Romani couple. In 616, it is retconned that the High Evolutionary tricked them into believing Magneto was their father–in fact, they aren’t mutants at all. Their mother is actually Natalya Maximoff, the sister of their adoptive father and a Roma woman.
So, they might be Romani children (born to Natalya). They might be the adoptive children of Django and Marya Maximoff, without any blood relation. It may seem to outsiders that these distinctions are important, but actually…
Romani people do not determine family through bloodlines, but through a concept called “romanipen.” A person born to two Romani parents, but raised by outsiders, is notconsidered Romani. A person born of non-Romani (or “gadjo”) parents is considered Romani if they’re raised in the community. There’s no such thing as the “Romani race.” Romani people are a culture, and you must be taught the culture to be considered one of us.
The Maximoff twins are just as Romani, either way.
There’s a long, painful history of Romani children being removed from their families by the state “for their own safety.” It happens in the USA, it happens in the UK, it happens all over mainland Europe. It’s happening right now. These losses are horrifying, not only on a personal level but also to the Romani culture. These children–often placed into social services for years, even if they aren’t adopted–are not being raised as Romani. They are not considered Romani children anymore. The government has completely stripped them of their cultural identity. This has devastated Romani populations in some countries, leading to full cultural genocide in only a few generations.
Assimilate to Survive
Nobody understands “hiding in plain sight” better than a Romani. There might be peoples who have experienced something equivalent–Jews, the disabled, and the queer community come to mind–but no one has needed assimilation more, or mastered it more completely. We have assimilated into every country we’ve ever lived. We go to your churches. We speak your languages. We wear your clothes and eat your food and laugh at your racist jokes.
When Wanda and Pietro Maximoff lose their family to war in the MCU, the Roma in me knows that pain. When Wanda is pursued by the government, when they try to cage and control her “for everyone’s safety,” the Roma in me is in that cage with her. When she’s made country-less, forced into exile, the Roma in me has never related to her more.
The alternatives to assimilation aren’t just horrible. They are genocide.
If you have a Romani in your school or workplace, you’ll probably never know it. We don’t tell people we’re Romani. Even admitting it anonymously on the internet feels like playing Russian roulette.
Watching Wanda Maximoff, a Roma superheroine, dream herself into perfect assimilation in time-after-time, place-after-place… That’s really fucking twisted. She dreams about being “normal.” She dreams about putting down roots. She’s constantly assaulted with the possibility that she might not be “normal” enough to live safely, or to have children. Assimilation is the story, here, and that is an integral part of what it means to be Romani.
But In the MCU, Wanda Maximoff Is Not Roma
We don’t have much representation in the media. The MCU strips Wanda of her cultural identity while maintaining all the bitter truths specific to our people. It’s an insult. This show is an insult.
The Romani have no voice on the international stage. We have no seats in congress (few politicians at all, outside Hungary). We have a handful of published writers, worldwide, and even fewer prominent actors onscreen. We are invisible, often by our own design. I have wrestled a lot with that as I’ve grown older. How much are we to blame for our own erasure?
I remember that to be Romani means to live with a constant fear of homelessness, of statelessness. To teach your children to be chameleons. To be an outsider in the country where your grandparents were born. We don’t deserve to be erased, and it wasn’t right for Marvel to whitewash our pain.
Our pain is red. Blood red. Scarlet, even.
I hope that’s clear enough.
This post is doing big numbers again, as it tends to do every four weeks or so. I always get the same few questions every time that happens. I’m tired of answering this one individually, over and over.
What do I mean when I say, “There’s no such thing as the ‘Romani race.’ Romani people are a culture, and you must be taught the culture to be considered one of us?”
I’ve already responded to criticism of my poor choice of wording re: race vs. culture vs. ethnicity.
I understand that the original post is still most likely to be shared, but I have addressed this several times. It’s in the notes of the original post.
Thank you, as always, for continuing to share and engage with this issue.WandaVisionrecentlywon the Harvey Award for “Best Adaptation from Comic Book/Graphic Novel,” which is… Wow. I guess it’s still a stellar adaptation when you whitewash your lead characters. Even in 2021.
This message is mostly for my fellow Romani, and I’m putting it under the cut instead of answering through asks because it could be triggering.
I usually let this stuff go because I don’t want to feed the trolls, and I don’t want to give outsiders a bad impression. But. Just.
I’m sick to death of getting harassed.
TW for under the cut: general cruelty, biphobia, anti-white-passing rhetoric (is there even a real word for this?)
I’m sure you thought the harassment that forced this post would come from gadje. In some ways, I wish it did.
I’m definitely too Roma for the racists, particularly the MCU fans.WandaVisionstans have me listed on hate accounts. I don’t even bother sharing that nonsense because I’d have no time to sleep. I haven’t posted anything on AO3 in a year because I stillget racist messages on my stories there, particularly my Avengers WIP.
I’m also not nearlyRoma enough for the Romani traditionalists, which… I’m sorry, but that’s absurd. I’m full-blood Roma. We were raised with romanipen. But the moment I admitted I was white-passing, a small (but vocal) group of Roma decided I’m not Romani enough for them.
I recently responded to a Twitter thread about me that I acknowledged was mostly respectful. I stand by that. It’s hard to stay good-natured about posts like that, though, when I’m simultaneously receiving shit like this. It comes from the same line of thinking.
I want to be understanding with Romani who don’t agree with me online, but you guys seriously suck sometimes. I regularly get links to posts and tweets and reddit threads where people debate my right to “call myself Romani.” Like it’s something I need to earn? By more than just being born to two Romani parents? Do you need mypermission to be Roma? I don’t think you do.
But it’s not really about that, is it?
You don’t like me, and you want to hit where it hurts. You want to invalidate what I say by invalidating me. By gatekeeping (yes, you are fucking gatekeeping) my entire family! You’ve never even met us!
You need to keep my kids out of this. For real.
What. Is. Wrong. With. You?
If you think I have no right to speak to you, you can literally leave. You can click away. You can block me. No one’s forcing you to read this. I don’t get paid a fucking dime to do this, and it’s often completely miserable to be here.
(I’m also not straight, but yes: I’m married to a cis man. Ha ha ha. Biphobia is hilarious.)
If you are white-passing, know that you are valid.
BIPOC don’t owe anybody their DNA tests. You don’t owe anybody else the “right” skin tone, the “right” interests, the “right” romantic partner, the “right” language. You don’t have to prove yourself. Anybody who asks you to do so isn’t worth your time, frankly.
I also hate the parts of our history that make this seem acceptable, even necessary. I do get it. I keep reminding myself that this is an anonymous platform, and we’ve been burned by so many Natalie Winters before. It’s why I continue to give you guys grace while you debate whether or not I even exist.
I’m taking a break. I have to step back again. Sorry to my followers, who are mostly very nice people trying to support each other. Sorry for losing my temper, I hate doing that. But my kids aren’t white, you asshole. Neither am I.
I’m not a “fakeass lgbt,” and I’m not “fakeass poc,” and you need to ask yourself what you hope to accomplish by shutting me down. I have never, not even once, sent something like this to any of you. I wouldn’t.
I initially responded to this ask in the middle of last night.
In the morning, I felt my response was too harsh. This was just one of so many similar asks, and certainly not the rudest. It just hit at the wrong time. A couple things were going on, and I’m always wordy so I put the second half under the cut.
1)Lots and lots and lots of people were calling me white on Tumblr. Some of them came at it sideways (“it’s giving White Savior,” “passing people might as well enlist,” “did your brown rub off in the shower lol”), but plenty more just straight-up called me a white person.
I’ve been really open about white-passing on Tumblr over the last year, because I feel that’s an important disclosure to make when I talk about Romani issues. I experience a lot of bigotry because of it. A lot. As in, at least one new asshole every couple weeks. I get deluges of it any time I post about something controversial.
I’m not white. I don’t have a “white side.” Both my parents are Romani, as are all four of my grandparents. It’s veryracist to call me a “white person” just because I don’t look the way you expect a POC to look. Not to mention, none of you actually know what I look like.
I assume, in my kinder moments, that people think they’re punching up. You can’t really punch up at a Roma anywhere in the world, okay, but many Americans don’t understand that. I have some privileges. I breathe through it and move on.
Days like yesterday, I’m less charitable. It was too much.
2)I was answering a lot of messages and asks.
I did notexpect to get so many questions. People wanted advice on how to navigate conversations about the Oscars with white people in their lives. Some younger people already had upsetting conversations, and just wanted support.
(If you’ve sent me an unanswered message, I promise I will get back to you as soon as I can. If you sent an ask, be sure you come off anon so I don’t have to answer you publicly. I don’t want you to see a rude comment before I can take care of it.)
I know that the Tumblr consensus was that everything I said in my post was “common knowledge.” I experienced first-hand that it is not. I left the post up as long as I did because it really was helping people. They felt safe to contact me, and talk over things that made them vulnerable. Several of them started their messages by telling me they felt stupid, and that sucks! They aren’t stupid! It was hard to watch so many BIPOC imply that everyone should know how white people will react, so it’s infantilizingto say the quiet part out loud. Not everybody has your life experience. Not everybody has your social awareness. It doesn’t make anyone an infantbecause they need this stuff explained to them.
I’ve tried very hard to be a safe place for people to come online, and that’s why I took down my original response to this ask. I rarely lose my temper on here. I just let myself get stretched too thin.
Was my post “necessary?” I don’t know. What would make it necessary? Is it enough that some people found a sympathetic ear, and some advice from stranger who won’t judge them for asking?
Was it “very stupid?” No. It was probably worded badly, but it was also true. If you don’t learn how to navigate situations like this from a relative or a friend, you’re going to learn it the hard way. It’s awful. I don’t want people to end up in awful situations.
Look, I’m a mom and an aunt. I know I bring some of that energy to Tumblr. So many of my followers are teenagers, and young adults. I always want young people to have the knowledge and the tools to make a choice, and to stand by that choice when it gets challenged. I want them to avoid some of the heartbreaks we had to endure.
There is no “common knowledge” when it comes to race relations, and it’s frustrating to see smart people act like it exists.
So, anyway, I took the post down because people were being both anti-Roma and anti-white-passing. That hurts. I can take criticism pretty well online, even when it’s en masse, but I’ll admit that this kind of bigotry wears me down. You can hate my post for its own sake. You don’t have to disrespect my race.
I struck a raw nerve, and that definitely wasn’t my intention. Honestly, I’m not sure why the post got so much traction. I apologize that it was worded in a way that made people feel talked down to. That’s my error. I truly don’t have an opinion on who was in the right/wrong at the Oscars, but I do know a lot about protecting yourself in white spaces. When we watched it happen live, in our living room, I knew immediately that ordinary people were going to get hurt. My inbox proved me right. So, I am very sorry for the way I said it. I’m not sorry for saying it.
I also apologize for bringing up spanking/smacks in the post, and I admit that I did notexpect it freak so many people out. Maybe that’s a function of my age/stage of life? Maybe where I grew up, or the culture I as raised in? I think it was triggering. That was in poor taste. I’m sorry.
There was criticism I agreed with, and will take to heart.
Umm, also, I’m annoyed, so here’s one extra thought to get pissed off at me about, I guess…
Having white friends is not the same as passing for white. It is not. That was kind of my whole point.
Fellow POC: Would your white friends say exactly the same shit to you if you, too, were white? I don’t know your friends! Maybe they would! From my personal experience, I doubt that’s the case.
Honestly, that’s for the best because people shouldtake your life experience into account when they speak to you. Shouldn’t they? It can be racist, true, but it can also be a way of respecting you. It can function both ways.
Best case scenario is that white people are just as kind and considerate and open-minded when we aren’t around. That would be great. It’s not the norm, though, which is shitty.
Sometimes, I’m in the room as the token Romani. Sometimes, I’m just another pale face. The room is different for me, depending.
White-passing is a completely different experience than having white friends. There are some obvious parallels to draw here, and you’re all smart enough to draw them. Don’t treat this like it’s the same thing.
I’m not trying to discount anyone’s opinion based on this bias alone, but it’s really bothering me. If you don’t believe me, ask a white-passing BIPOC that you know personally. See what they think. You might not like my opinions, particularly today, but I can’t let that weird take slide by unacknowledged.
I like Karolina Żebrowska, and I believe her thoughts and feelings in this video are sincere. She gives no acknowledgment, however, of the fact that non-white Ukrainians (and non-white people living there temporarily) are consistently denied aid by Poland. Her heavy emphasis on the similarities between Polish people like herself and the Ukrainian refugees is… concerning. To say the least.
Poland has an estimated 50,000 Roma citizens. A very small population.
In contrast, Ukraine was estimated to be home to roughly 400,000 Romani. Eight times the population in Poland. (Ukraine is only 15% larger than Poland, in overall population.) Ukraine is also home to larger numbers of Jews, Tatars, and international students.
Demographically, Poland and Ukraine are not as similar as Ms. Żebrowska believes, and that matters a lot right now.
“In each reception centre visited by ERRC human rights monitors, the absence of white faces was conspicuous. Moldova’s apparent policy of bringing busloads of ethnic minorities from the Ukrainian border, housing them in ethnically segregated centres (often in poor conditions), and then bussing them to the next border as soon as possible appears to be discriminatory. In addition, Roma are often sent to the border without being informed about of how the immigration process works, and many are turned away for not having the right documentation. Children who are accompanied by adult family members who are not their parents are frequently denied entry, and their family members even faced with accusations of trafficking. Others simply have no passport, or in some cases no identification at all, and are stuck in the limbo of the segregated reception centre, unable to reach their friends and family in the EU and unable to go back to their homes in Ukraine.”
I’m not the only POC to feel frustrated by the response to the Ukrainian refugee situation. I know that. I’ve tried to stay as neutral as I can, since I’m not directly impacted by this issue. I’m not trying to shame Ms. Żebrowska, or to denigrate the work Polish citizens are doing to protect their neighbors right now.
I’m reminded, often, of that quote by Fred Rogers:
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ’Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”
This is true, but I have to suggest:
It also matters who exactly they are helping.
So.
I want to provide some context, and some resources.
“While the Roma family had to show their passports to police officers, on the right, before being allowed to receive food, other Ukrainians were not required to show any documentation. Each Roma child was given only one beverage and one sandwich while the other refugees were offered as much as they wanted.” (Source)
UKRAINIAN ROMA IN MOLDOVA FACE SEGREGATION, POOR CONDITIONS AND – WITHOUT DOCUMENTATION – NOWHERE TO GO (Source)
Czech bus drivers for refugees from Ukraine refuse to rescue Romani refugee mothers and children stuck on the Slovak border (Source)
Ukraine’s Roma activists working to help at-risk community (Source)
Roma Organizations Condemn Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine (Source)
Hungarian pastor steps up to help large Roma refugee family (Source)
Profile: Who are Ukraine’s far-right Azov regiment? (Source)
Nataliia Tomenko, Romani activist from Ukraine: Antigypsyism is quite widespread here, but now non-Romani and Romani Ukrainians fight side by side for our country (Source)
Translation: “For those who are asking, yes it is official. It’s concept art from WandaVision’s book. The joke about ‘Sokovian seer’ in the Halloween ep was that they would initially dress Olsen in stereotypical Romani women’s clothing. Defend that shit now.”
That’s… that’s Elizabeth Olsen. Who is white. They even curled and darkened her hair. This is some EGREGIOUS brownfacing. Fuck.
Sure, maybe somebody stepped in at the studio to say, “Hey, I think this might be racist?” But then they… included it in the art book?
At one of my kids’ lessons, listening to a white couple complain about some of their friends choosing to travel full-time during the pandemic. Like, honey, chill out.
“It’s not going to be as fun as you think.”
“Know what doesn’t make problems go away? Smaller space.”
“This is why older generations think our generation is so stupid.”
For people in the inbox asking for information about Ukrainian Roma, I suggest diving into this explanation. I’m not going to fact-check this thread, but there are links to sources provided.
Many countries receiving Ukrainian refugees require papers, which many Romani people will not have. It’s true that Poland is accepting refugees without a passport, but they still require documentation. A birth certificate. A driving license. A migrant visa. These are documents that Roma struggle to get in most of Eastern Europe. According to sources on the ground there, Polish border officials are sending non-white evacuees to the back of the line to prioritize “Ukrainians first.” International news is focused on African students enrolled at Ukrainian universities, but there’s no doubt that this policy applies to any of the 400,000 Ukrainian Romani who cannot pass for white. They are in danger from without and from within.
Per this thread: “On October 17 2021, around 50 far-right radicals, some carrying flaming torches, went door to door in the Ukrainian city of Irpin, near Kyiv, chanting hateful slogans and calling for violence against local Roma residents. The mob spray-painted hate speech comments on the fence of one Roma family’s house.”
Keep our Ukrainian Romani siblings, and all the citizens of Ukraine, in your thoughts today. I know I am.
Keep yourselves so safe for me. Please please please.
If you want to know whether or not your joke is racist, you could workshop it with members of the ethnic group you wrote it about.
Do Romani people find this joke funny? If yes, probably not racist! If no, you’re being a bigot. If you don’t care either way, then you can fuck right off.
If the only people laughing hate us anyway, you’ve crossed the line, my friend.
It’s really not complicated.
Also, sort of hilarious to see all of Carr’s defenders asking, “Why say something now? This has been out for over a month!”
They clearly think it’s some kind of gotcha.
As if any non-white people are watching Jimmy Carr do standup? Honestly.
If you want to know whether or not your joke is racist, you could workshop it with members of the ethnic group you wrote it about.
Do Romani people find this joke funny? If yes, probably not racist! If no, you’re being a bigot. If you don’t care either way, then you can fuck right off.
If the only people laughing hate us anyway, you’ve crossed the line, my friend.
I have an awful memory so please correct me if I’m wrong but arent there multiple versions of Wanda? Like in the comics because people are saying shes whitewashed when theres literally a white version of her but also a romani version of her, so how is it whitewashing if there’s a white version of her? I’m just confused.
I’m assuming this is a question asked in good faith, and I will answer it in the same spirit. I was tagged in the comments, which is how I found this. Hello!
You are assuming that just because Wanda isn’t explicitly stated to be Roma, she’s white. Most comics which don’t focus on Wanda’s Romani background alsodon’t tell you anything about her mother. Examples include Wanda Magnus in all of the Noiruniverses, and Wanda Lensherr from 1610 whose mother Magda was a spy with a real identity we know virtually nothing about. In fact, most of the comics give us little-to-no information about Wanda and Pietro’s mother, even if she appears as a character.
Assuming that unknown mother is white makes no sense.
Many readers assume that Romani characters will be drawn to “look Romani.” There is no such thing as “looking Romani,” and Roma characters are almost always drawn with pale skin and light eyes.
Any time Wanda’s race was specified, prior to the MCU, she was Roma (and usually Jewish, though not recently). Assuming she was white the rest of the time, just because nobody said, “So, you’re Romani, huh?” in the text is silly. Nobody has to ask Magneto whether or not he’s Jewish. Readers (and film viewers) will assume he’s Jewish unless specifically informed otherwise.
Mikey Walsh (@thatbloodyMikey) says, “I don’t know what I should be more gutted or disgusted by here… the kind of Racism that GRT people are forced to live with every day… that’s it’s still absolutely ok to demonise us & our demise as a joke… or the reactions of whooping & cheering from the audience..”
On video, comedian Jimmy Carr says, “When people talk about the Holocaust[…] they talk about the tragedy and horror of six million Jewish lives being lost to the Nazi war machine. But they never mention the thousands of Gypsies that were killed by the Nazis. No one ever wants to talk about that, because no one ever wants to talk about the positives.”
The audience proceeds to clap and cheer.
******
This comes from Jimmy Carr’s 2021 Netflix special, Jimmy Carr: His Dark Material. No, I didn’t link to it. I don’t recommend you watch it. Don’t benefit Jimmy Carr financially. Don’t bolster Netflix’s decision to stream the special.
The entire hour is full of truly horrifying shit. He has an extended bit about people with dwarfism toward the beginning that is just awful.
At the end, he goes to great lengths to explain that he’s presenting “career ending” jokes. The Holocaust joke finishes out this section, 5 minutes and 40 seconds from the end of the hour-long special.
This joke receives the biggest reaction of the entire “career-ending” bit. The audience lovesit. People actually whistle in agreement.
Carr goes on to say, “That’s a very good joke for the following three reasons. Firstly, fucking funny. Well done, me! Secondly, edgy. Edgy as all hell. A joke about the worst thing that’s ever happened in human history. And people say, ‘Never forget.’ This is how I remember! I keep bringing it up. Third reason that’s a good joke is that there is an educational quality.” He then goes on to mock the murder of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
I understand that Jimmy Carr’s comedy is, in general, not meant for me. I’m not white enough for it. I’m not rich enough for it. I’m not nihilistic enough for it. I’m not his target demographic.
That said, the joke itself–coupled with the audience reaction–is a fucking nightmare. It’s disgusting. Can I call it moredisgusting than the rest of his special? No. The whole thing is terrible. Can I honestly say I’m surprised by the audience’s reaction? No. People have been gleeful about murdering Roma for thousands of years. All that said…
You never really get used to hearing people cheer your own death.
Anyway, keep yourselves so safe for me.
XOXO, Earnest
Something’s getting lost in the response to this…
Non-Roma seem fixated on Carr, on his bigotry, on what an asshole he clearly is and apparently has always been. That’s all well and good. But I don’t give a fuck about Jimmy Carr.
It’s the audience. Look at the audience.
That’s a full house. It’s not a laugh track. How many of the people in the audience went home after that show feeling good, feeling happy? How many told their friends it was a great night out? How many laughed again, days later, thinking about some of his funnier bits?
Now let’s expand on that.
Jimmy Carr didn’t debut any new material at the taping of his special, friends. He’s been traveling around the country performing these jokes. He’s workshopped the shit out of it. Carr would never have taken a risk this massive, right at the end of his set, unless he was absolutely sure of the audience’s reaction.
This wasn’t about one particularly bigoted audience… but about audience after audience after audience, across the U.K. and possibly around the world.
He knew that the majorityof people would laugh at that joke. He was absolutely sure. That’s how deep the anti-Romani bigotry runs.
It’s easy to look at a man like Jimmy Carr and say, “He’s the problem! Eliminate the problem!” But the problem wasn’t really Jimmy Carr. It was the people clapping and cheering and whistling their agreement. It was their enthusiastic approval of Roma genocide.
So, yes. Fuck Jimmy Carr! But don’t get comfortable, thinking he’s the problem here. How many of your neighbors would’ve gone home feeling good, feeling happy? How many would have cheered?
Mikey Walsh (@thatbloodyMikey) says, “I don’t know what I should be more gutted or disgusted by here… the kind of Racism that GRT people are forced to live with every day… that’s it’s still absolutely ok to demonise us & our demise as a joke… or the reactions of whooping & cheering from the audience..”
On video, comedian Jimmy Carr says, “When people talk about the Holocaust[…] they talk about the tragedy and horror of six million Jewish lives being lost to the Nazi war machine. But they never mention the thousands of Gypsies that were killed by the Nazis. No one ever wants to talk about that, because no one ever wants to talk about the positives.”
The audience proceeds to clap and cheer.
******
This comes from Jimmy Carr’s 2021 Netflix special, Jimmy Carr: His Dark Material. No, I didn’t link to it. I don’t recommend you watch it. Don’t benefit Jimmy Carr financially. Don’t bolster Netflix’s decision to stream the special.
The entire hour is full of truly horrifying shit. He has an extended bit about people with dwarfism toward the beginning that is just awful.
At the end, he goes to great lengths to explain that he’s presenting “career ending” jokes. The Holocaust joke finishes out this section, 5 minutes and 40 seconds from the end of the hour-long special.
This joke receives the biggest reaction of the entire “career-ending” bit. The audience lovesit. People actually whistle in agreement.
Carr goes on to say, “That’s a very good joke for the following three reasons. Firstly, fucking funny. Well done, me! Secondly, edgy. Edgy as all hell. A joke about the worst thing that’s ever happened in human history. And people say, ‘Never forget.’ This is how I remember! I keep bringing it up. Third reason that’s a good joke is that there is an educational quality.” He then goes on to mock the murder of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
I understand that Jimmy Carr’s comedy is, in general, not meant for me. I’m not white enough for it. I’m not rich enough for it. I’m not nihilistic enough for it. I’m not his target demographic.
That said, the joke itself–coupled with the audience reaction–is a fucking nightmare. It’s disgusting. Can I call it moredisgusting than the rest of his special? No. The whole thing is terrible. Can I honestly say I’m surprised by the audience’s reaction? No. People have been gleeful about murdering Roma for thousands of years. All that said…
You never really get used to hearing people cheer your own death.
What’s up, fam? For International Rromani Day this year, I thought it would be a good idea to maybe post some basic info. So here is your IRrD cultural crash-course cheat sheet:
The word “G*psy” is an ethnic slur. It comes from the misconception that we originated in Egypt (hint: we did not). Basically, white Europeans were like “hey those guys are brown. They must be Egyptians. lol ‘Gyptians. lol ~G*PSIES~”. AKA, they couldn’t be bothered to ask where we actually came from. Some Rroma have opted to reclaim this word and may use it to refer to themselves. That does not mean that it’s okay for just anybody to use it. Friendly tip: do not use this word unless you are actually Rromani.
Rromani people trace their roots back to India and some parts of Pakistan (but mostly India?). While many don’t necessarily consider themselves Indian or even South-Asian, we are also not white.
We are a diaspora group. That means we were expelled from the country/left nationless.
Rroma come in all colours. Some of us are dark-skinned and some are light-skinned. We are all POC. There are certain physical traits that are common in our ethnic group, but that does not mean that we all have these traits. In fact, many of these traits have been used to stereotype us, which isn’t cool.
Our culture involves a lot of dancing and music. And food. And our food is generally pretty spicy.
We are not Esmeralda (The Hunchback of Notre Dame). In fact, that book is hella racist and the movie isn’t really much better. In the book, Esmeralda was a gadje (non-Rromani) girl who was kidnapped by Rroma (stereotype) and raised in their community (stereotype). As you will know from the movie, she dressed provocatively (stereotype) and danced for coins (stereotype). Rroma women are often portrayed as sexual objects, which is really gross tbh. Although the cute lil’ goat friend is 110% factual. I mean, not really. But I had a goat friend. Her name was Rochelle. More on that later.
Rroma men are often stereotyped as lazy.
Other stereotypes include fortune tellers, witches, thieves, beggars, and street performers. I am here to tell you that we are honestly no more likely to do these things than any other cultural group so… yeah? And those that do are often forced into these positions by laws and discrimination in their home countries.
Speaking of which, forced eviction, mass deportation, sterilisation, systematic impoverishment and oppression, workplace discrimination, segregated education, and TAKING CHILDREN AWAY FROM THEIR FAMILIES are problems that Rroma are still facing TODAY.
Rroma are sometimes known as Travellers because we have historically been a fairly nomadic group (by necessity). Rromani people would (and many still do) travel from place to place, looking for work, only to be chased away by prejudiced locals. Think old man on a porch shouting “Get off my lawn!” at the paper boy. Dumb, right? Right.
We do not want your children. For some reason, gadje think we want to steal their children? Some even think we eat them??? We do not do this.
Gadje is not a bad word. It literally means “non-Rromani person”.
Our language is called Rromanes or Rromani Chib. There are like a gajillion different dialects. Those of us who actually speak our chib might not be able to understand another Rrom because of dialectical differences. It’s complicated.
We are not a costume. A G*psy is not something you can just become. You can’t convert. You either are or you are not. Wearing long skirts does not make you a ~*G*pSy*~. Being a hippie does not make you a ~*G*pSy*~. Pracitising witchcraft does not make you a ~*G*pSy*~. We are not mythical creatures. You cannot become Rromani any more than you can become Black or Asian or Hispanic. It is especially concerning when people act like we are a style instead of an ethnicity because a) it makes a mockery of our culture, and b) makes it seem like we do not actually exist.
