[Artemisia] the "G" word one last time

[arwenmc at aol.com]

I'm feeling pretty alone on this one, so one more post on this and then I'm finished speaking my peace- to the relief of many I'm sure  :)




 Laurel College of Arms has ruled about offensive stereotypical names and offensive political terminology not being allowed.  If you want a Romani or related group as your persona please use good taste, do your research, and be respectful.   No one will argue that racism was widespread during period.  It does not belong in the SCA.  



The word Gypsy is now considered by many, admittedly not all, people to be an ethnic and racial slur.  At the very least, it is a term loaded with negative racial connotations.  That is enough for me to edit my vocabulary.  I'm not making this up to stir the pot. I'm genuinely concerned about this issue because it is serious.  They have been a target of mass genocide, forced relocation and continue to be killed because of their ethnicity even today.  This is not just an SCA issue and I will not treat it lightly.  To the Romani people around the world this is not just a game of dress up and fantasy.  Here is a small sampling of what I'm referencing:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_slurs#G
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005219
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/20/romania-gypsies-dictionary-definition-change-_n_904986.html
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/250432/Rom
http://www.peak.sfu.ca/the-peak/98-2/issue6/feature.html
http://www.nrado.com/Home_Page.php

I'm asking my fellow Artemisians to please give this and related issues due consideration.

Thanks for bearing with me,  Esther