why is it ok to be racist to the Roma?
how a recent gaming session turned into a trip through Europe's hidden biases.
Good day, spectators!
Let’s get right into it! I am starting this week off with a culture post and it’s something I have been thinking about all weekend. There’s a lot to discuss in this one.
OK, it’s the Age of Outrage, and we’re all bigots, everyone is offended about everything and you can barely fart without pissing someone off.
So, it came as a bit of a surprise to me when, the other day, I was relaxing and playing some video games, specifically Fallout 76—and the topic of the Roma people came up in our voice chat lobby. It's at this point I think it's pertinent to mention that my online friend group is…diverse to say the least. We have people from all corners of the globe, some of them theys and some of them gays, some old and some young. For the most part however I would say that they are left-wing or definitely left-of-centre with some notable exceptions.
Which is why the direction of the conversation shocked me a little bit. Now if you live in a bigger European city, what am I about to tell you will certainly not come as a surprise, however, if you do not live in a big European city then buckle up because I am about to show you a more insidious side of our continent.
Europe’s punching bag
The moment it came up in the conversation, things got…a little uncomfortable. And not for the reason you might be thinking; in fact, it's a slightly more sinister one, admittedly.
What started as a seemingly harmless chat about everyday life in European cities quickly veered into a flurry of stereotypes. “Yeah there’s loads of beggars in Paris…but they’re not real beggars, you know? They’re a cartel, they go home and collect the money after and get pissed,” huffed a Frenchman with a comically strong accent. "Yeah, they steal copper," chirped a Bosnian, a claim that came out so matter-of-factly, you’d think they were reading a weather report. Another chimed in, "They’re always begging or pickpocketing in the buses. I swear, if they just rounded them up and put them to work—".
The last bit sort of shook me a little, it smacked of the Holocaust. An event in which upwards of 500,000 Romani and Sinti people were killed. And the thing that got to me the most, the sinister thing that I mentioned earlier, is that I had been nodding my head in agreement up until that point. Laughing about all these jokes and tales of negative encounters with the Roma people.
"Yeah, just deport them all to their own camps," another voice joked, and I had to do a double-take. It's one thing to make edgy jokes—I've been known to sling a few around myself when I was younger—but this level of vitriol toward one specific group, completely free of guilt or resistance, was something I hadn't really been tainted by before— I'm not going to go on about it and beat myself up but it's a reminder how we skirt the edge of some dodgy communities when interacting with the world on the Internet.
statistically disproportionate
So, why is it that when it comes to the Roma, people who normally wouldn’t dream of uttering racist remarks suddenly feel so comfortable simply dumping on them? It’s an uncomfortable question, but one that demands a bit of digging in 2024, a time when everyone is offended at everything all the time.
From my perspective, the main driver is criminality. The Roma community has long been stereotyped and portrayed as a criminal element in society. And let’s say it how it is, if you live in a major European city, you likely know fine well that there is no smoke without fire; pickpocketing, dodgy scams, or, yes, even the infamous copper thefts, are all commonly-understood attributes of the Roma.
The statistics do not help. In several European countries, Roma people are disproportionately represented in crime reports. Specifically in Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania, Roma communities are often tied to petty crimes.
This got me thinking, it’s reminiscent of the way black people in the U.S. are disproportionately represented in crime statistics. Yet, people would absolutely never feel comfortable dropping N-bombs or making fun of black people openly and with such a blasé unconcernedness—why?
the why…maybe?
So, what’s the difference? Why do people feel comfortable expressing blatantly racist views about the Roma, while similar comments about other ethnic groups would be met with outrage? One reason could be the long-standing, deeply ingrained stereotypes about the Roma that have been perpetuated for centuries. The Roma have been outsiders in European society for hundreds of years, and often forced into nomadic lifestyles by necessity rather than choice. This outsider status has made them easy targets for blame whenever society needs a scapegoat.
At some point I tried to convince myself that maybe this was average European banter. Us Europeans have a hostile but ultimately friendly relationship in which we hurl insults at one another relentlessly and with no mercy but everybody understands that it's all fun. (Fuck you, France.)
But that’s not it, it’s something more malicious.
The Roma are just seen as different, not really part of Europe, just a transient thing that exists in the background causing mischief. In the eyes of their haters, this is a people that refuses to integrate, instead choosing to live on the fringes of society and at the expense of the ‘settled’ people. This perception creates a sense of “us vs. the others, them,” making it easier to make them seem like some cartoonish villains. Unlike other marginalised groups that have strong advocacy and media representation, the Roma have little to nothing really in the way of mainstream defence. No one is rooting for the Roma and that’s sad.
thoughts
I’m certain many of us call out racism when we see it. I’m sure we all feel very smug knowing we’re modern people who don’t treat those of other ethnicities But what happens when the target is someone we’ve all been conditioned to see as lesser? The Roma people have been Europe’s punching bag for centuries, and the fact that this is still acceptable in many circles should give us all pause.
And maybe—just maybe—it’s time to examine our own biases.
And on that thought I will let you go,
(Thanks for reading as always, please give this post a ❤️ and I look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas about what the future holds for Europe’s last nomads below.)
If you’d like to help out in another way, just buy me a shawarma below, thanks!
Hi Declan, You are completely right, the Roma are treated appallingly badly and it's pretty universal. (I've given up on left/right because really, these days, what does it even mean? I was a lefty all my life and suddenly I'm far right because I didn't get jabbed and don't think compulsory injections is a good idea. )
I would suggest that the reason for the universal loathing is buried deep in most people's psyche and it boils down to envy. I'm an anarchist and believe we all are, underneath the conditioning. We are clawless, fangless predators, that means cooperation. We lived most of our history in small groups, working autonomously together for the groups survival. Nomads still living that way generally cause resentment in those settled, two different ways of being in collision. Especially given how few of us like our jobs, sometimes even our lives. How many people would go to work if it wasn't for money? When you remove the ability for people to fend for themselves, they become trapped in the system.
How many people in the UK would just like to have a piece of land and be left alone? Millions. It's illegal, obvs. We normalise and normalise until at this point, questioning the narrative outs you to your peers as a nut job conspiracy theorist. Lol. But this current version of humanity is just a blip and so, deep down, is the total normal urge to be a bit more hunter gatherer in life, and quite a lot less "alarm clock and business suits".
Ironically, those lefties would be all over a campaign for the rights of the Yanomomi or Andaman Islanders, the Roma, on the other hand, don't get a look in.
Travelling is well nigh impossible, settling also. I personally think that the question ought to be, how do we recognise the rights of the Roma in a modern context?
The little I know of their culture, most don't want to assimilate, and why should they? I mean, the land was stolen from "we the people" with enclosure and violence, and here we are, sticking it to the people saying fuck you instead of joining them in the fuck you camp.
Time to think outside the box. We are watching genocide live on air, while struggling to keep our heads above water. Don't know about Ireland but the UK is something like the sixth largest economy, there's no excuse for over two thousand food banks. Didn't exist twenty years ago. I understand that most people are stuck in " in the real world" thinking but really, at this point, how much worse could change be?
If only we could get people to understand that they need to stop bothering with silly nonsense like elections and focus attention on coming up with some different ways of living on earth. Instead people are losing their shit over which AIPAC candidate was elected.
Ps. There is no "real world", it's your conditioning kicking in as you try to step past the Overton window.
Thank you Declan!