AO Interview - Dave Haynie

[persia]

There's an American bloke working here who has Romani blood in him, so it can't be so rare as that or were all the American Gypsies driven force driven to Oz?

tormedhammaren said,
I noticed that myself.  If it's insensitive, try to remember that the whole idea of 'gypsies' is far removed from us Americans; we only get exposed to the stereotype out of fairy tales, or as genealogic trivia over a few beers.  (This coming from a guy who's only knowledge of his ancestors has them as "horse thieves."  A lot can get lost, or just stops mattering after a generation or two.)

So while it'd be great if we'd wake up and remember there's a planet full of people out there, it can easily seem like a vague pejorative to us; same reasoning that makes "raised by wolves" or "born in a barn" seem okay, we don't expect the target groups to exist.  Dumb and probably awful, but people manage to do worse.

Maybe Skal should've known better?

[persia]

Who last checked the board 22/06/10, so it's possible he'll see the message!

You are aware that you here directed questions to a posting that is more than 7 years old? :laughing: