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I told my husband that I hope my grandma doesn't see this on the news. It will get her started about Gypsies again. She used to terrify me as a kid talking about Gypsies taking little kids in the old days. I have my great-great aunt's journal. She was a little girl during the Spanish Flu outbreak and wrote about Gypsies on the back roads trying to take children. Her journal entries talked about Gypsies going up to homes that had the quarantine drapes on them and asking to talk to the children. She said the Gypsies tried to take her, but her sick mother came out of the house and chased them off. This was in Southern Oregon. Creepy.
I hope the little girl on the news is reunited with her family.
My mom used to tell me to not talk to Gypsies, she said they were known for taking children. The biggest problem I never knew what a Gypsie was Kind of strange someone would take someone else's child.
Nope.
The name Gypsy was bestowed on them by Europeans, who thought they came from Egypt at first. They call themselves the Romani, or Rom, or Ram, or Raminy. Genetically, they are from India, so technically, they are caucasians, but not in the common definition of the word.
Their origin, as best as can be known, is they came from northern India during the late middle ages.
The theory that has the best evidence is they were a defeated army that was run out en masse by the conquering mogul. That one is supported by old written records, and if it's true, the army was about 15,000 strong. As was common back then, women and children traveled with their soldier husbands.
A similar theory is the army was ordered by their mogul to go to the north to fight the enemy, but for whatever reason, the army could not engage. In fear of their leader, they just kept going rather than return to certain execution.
Their language is similar to old dead Indian dialects, but has been colored heavily with whatever country the various groups live in. Romany, their language, is sort of like pidgin English; they can all understand each other, no matter where they come from, but only to varying degrees.
However, they are good at spoken languages because most are illiterate. In every group there are always a few who can read and write, and the others know how to sign their names.
They are good at basic arithmetic, and most can do it in their heads.
As a culture they really stick to themselves. Very few outsiders are admitted, and very little is known about them and how they govern themselves.
There are more gypsies in the U.S. than is apparent. Since they never register for anything they can avoid, and their registration on vehicles, trailers, etc. often uses aliases, they are very hard to count. The low estimate places them at a million people, and the high at 4 million. They began arriving very shortly after the first colonization of N. America.
Unlike European gypsies, American gypsies broke into 2 different groups; some continue to constantly travel the countryside, while others only move from place to place constantly within large cities.
The legends that Gypsies steal children is ancient. The rumors started out of fear and continued as a way to keep them out of towns. But, like any culture, a rare few probably did steal children for ransom or other reasons.
Location: In a Galaxy far, far away called Germany
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They aren't doing themselves any good by re-enforcing stereotypes that have done nothing but bring them persecution. I was in Berlin two weekends ago and saw quite a few of them engaged in illegal activities and annoying the tourists. The German population just barely seems to tolerate their activities, but this patience may be thinning as I could see their embarrassment (on their faces) when they showed up playing music on the trains (which is not allowed) and then trying to pass a cup for money.
Adam Smith was kidnapped by a Gypsy. Folks in the Middle Ages weren't PC. I suspect the tales were based on observing Gypsies stealing children. Makes sense really everyone would know everyone in town so a non-Gypsy kidnapping a child wouldn't prove to be all that successful. For a nomadic people kidnapping children would be a lot easier.
Its been a long time since I saw anyone get something right about Adam Smith.
Adam Smith was kidnapped by a Gypsy. Folks in the Middle Ages weren't PC. I suspect the tales were based on observing Gypsies stealing children. Makes sense really everyone would know everyone in town so a non-Gypsy kidnapping a child wouldn't prove to be all that successful. For a nomadic people kidnapping children would be a lot easier.
Not if everyone who knew each other were all watching the gypsies like a squadron of hawks. The Gypsies were also thought to the thieves, had the ability to cast spells and curses and give people the evil eye.
Who really knows what the common folk believed? Only the monks were literate, and many of them shared exactly the same beliefs and superstitions. Modern historians don't have much material that can be relied on.
I don't deny child kidnapping didn't go on. It did, and every tribe, group, and nation in the world participated. All still do.
The little girl in question was in Greece. She could be a blonde gypsy for all anyone knows for sure right now, or even the actual child of the couple who claim she is theirs. A lot will be decided when the DNA tests come in.
If it doesn't match, authorities still won't know much. Blondes are common all over Europe and so are Gypsies.
Adam Smith was born centuries after the Middle Ages, but that really doesn't matter to this discussion. He was indeed stolen as a child.
I knew it and I wish I would have stated it here. I told my family when this story was on that this girl is obviously a person of color based on her features. I thought it was going to come out that she was half roma, but she is actually full. an albino.
I knew it and I wish I would have stated it here. I told my family when this story was on that this girl is obviously a person of color based on her features. I thought it was going to come out that she was half roma, but she is actually full. an albino.
Uh; that girl may NOT be "albino", sometimes dark skin parents will have a pasty white skin kid with light hair and eyes. Even many Roma ain't full race Asian.
Uh; that girl may NOT be "albino", sometimes dark skin parents will have a pasty white skin kid with light hair and eyes. Even many Roma ain't full race Asian.
in this case she is. her bio fam confirmed that the father carries the albino gene, though I thought both parents had to carry it. anyways, the rest of their kids are albinos too. I know there are roma descended people who are mostly European, like Travelers, but these people happen to be fairly dark. not as dark as the adopted dad, but not white appearing.
Correct me if I'm wrong but Gypsies are caucasian are they not?
yes as was Maria's mother...whom is also Roma. Blonde little white girl was herself a gypsy/roma.
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Kind of strange someone would take someone else's child.
