Comment by Qristina Zavačková Cummings on May 6, 2012 at 2:35

I wonder then if we should have some example letters or emails to send to people? Maybe some key points or something? I think it might be good to be consistent? ... just an idea. I know sometimes I'd feel better having a couple of pointers to help me out.

Comment by Ciuin Ferrin on May 6, 2012 at 2:45

I always want to open anything by finding common ground. It works when the person I am writing to is an author. If not, I tend to start with the issue at hand and explain the current situation Romanies face and how their article/show/movie/book affects people they've never met. I end with a suggestion about how the issue can be resolved. 

I am not saying there aren't instances when an 'in your FACE' letter isn't the right thing. Sometimes that is the only way you can reach certain types of people. But you catch more flies with honey.

Comment by Qristina Zavačková Cummings on May 6, 2012 at 2:50

Thank you for your suggestions. I will keep them in mind for when (if) I write an message to such a person in the future :)

Comment by Glenda Bailey-Mershon on May 6, 2012 at 6:05

I will post those here as soon as I can get to my larger computer, tomorrow.

Comment by Qristina Zavačková Cummings on May 6, 2012 at 17:21

I spoke with two small bookstores here who have the book and who said they'll let me "bring the leaflets to look at". They haven't said yes yet, but they're willing to talk with me!

I just need a copy of the leaflet! najis tuke!

Comment by Glenda Bailey-Mershon on May 7, 2012 at 2:12

Qristina, sorry it took me a while to get to this. Here are the materials, which includes talking points, links, and handouts that can be printed back-to-back and distributed anywhere the book appears, after first asking permission, of course.

 

 3RevisedGyppedActionpkt.pdf

 

We found that one bookstore was even willing to print the copies for us. I will try to print some of it here for everyone to read--it's too large for the site to handle--as well as attaching the entire packet for possible distribution, at the bottom of this message. The material includes a Khetanes timeline of Romani history, which Ciuin was most instrumental in adapting from Ian Hancock's work.

 

The author has already apologized and indicated her willingness to listen, although she has not yet agreed to help us get the book retitled. That would, of course, cost her publisher and possibly put her royalties in danger. She is likely required by her contract to continue readings and events, but it would help us if we at least use this publication as a teachable moment to help spread the word about how we view use of her title, Gypped. 

 

 

Comment by Glenda Bailey-Mershon on May 7, 2012 at 2:15

STOP DEFAMING AN ENTIRE ETHNIC GROUP!

 

Talking Points

 

Author Carol Higgins Clark has made a fine career writing mysteries with one-word titles, such as Mobbed, Wrecked, Cursed, Zapped, Burned,  etc. Her latest book, however, is titled with an ethnic slur: Gypped.

 

 

• Stop using harmful stereotypes! "Gypped" is an ethnic slur derived from the word "Gypsies," itself a negative name used for the Romani people, who trace our ancestry to India and who have been in diaspora since wars and disease drove our ancestors from their homes in the eleventh century. Known commonly as Gypsies, a name given to them by Europeans, who thought they came from Egypt, we, their descendants, call ourselves Roma or Romanies, names from our own language.

 

• Discrimination is not a thing of the past. Roma, among the world's poorest and most oppressed minorities, today face pogroms, deportations, and a rising level of violence, including murders, from neo-Nazi groups, who have lately been heard to chant "Gypsies to the gas chambers!" at demonstrations throughout Europe, terrifying people who remember the one to two million Roma who died in the Holocaust  (called O Porrajmos in our language.) In Canada, refugees from Hungary, where the violence and intimidation is at its worst, have been denied asylum on the basis of their ethnicity and negative stereotypes.

 

• We ask all fair-minded people to help us combat the dangerous stereotyping of Roma/Gypsies as inherently criminal, wild, and violent, In the United States, these stereotypes lead to Romani people being followed and harassed in stores, bullied in schools, and wrongly profiled by police officers, as well as being targeted in other ways by a society that uses the term "Gypsy" and its verb, "gypped," only in a negative and harmful way, implying all Roma are venal and dishonest.

 

• When a popular author uses such a slur to sell her books, consciously or unconsciously, she spreads stereotypes that make scapegoats of our people. This book's very presence on a shelf, without explanation of Romani history, wrongly implies that the word is acceptable in popular discourse.

 

 

Read about some of the ways that Roma have been the targets of discrimination here:

http://www.errc.org/article/violence-against-roma-on-the-rise-errc-...

http://www.romea.cz/english/index.php?id=detail&detail=2007_1787

http://racerelations.about.com/od/diversitymatters/a/Five-Terms-You...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comment by Glenda Bailey-Mershon on May 7, 2012 at 2:16

WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT GYPPED

 

Help us get this book pulled from libraries and bookstores, and retitled, at the very least, by its publisher, Simon and Shuster, who should know better!

 

Here's how you can help:

1.  Leave the author a comment on her web page at

http://carolhigginsclark.com/contact/

 

or on her Facebook page:

 https://www.facebook.com/carolhigginsclark

 

2. If you can help with informational packets to spread information about why the word "gypped" is an ethnic slur, please contact Rromani Zor at com.romanizor@gmail.com for materials that can be easily copied. These packets can be offered to bookstores or libraries that carry the book.

 

3. Ms. Higgins Clark has already apologized and allowed discussion about the negative effects of her title word at one event. Each time her title is displayed or marketed, more people are exposed to its harm. We expect that she will open to more discussion. Can you attend an event for this title to discuss calmly with the author and audience how harmful such stereotypes can be? If so, please monitor the author's site for an event close to you. The informational packet can be downloaded for use at the event. Contact the bookstore or other venue in advance to let them know you plan to attend and to remain civil during the discussion. Bookstores may leave the information out long after the event has passed.

 

You may also leave comments on the book's Amazon page at

http://www.amazon.com/Gypped-ebook/dp/B005GG0MV0

 

4. Ask your local bookstore or library not to stock this book:

Product Details

Scribner, April 2012

Hardcover, 224 pages

ISBN-10: 1439170312

ISBN-13: 9781439170311

 

5. Ask the publisher, Simon and Shuster, to recall and retitle the work.

Toll free: (866) 248-3049

Leave them a comment on their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/Simonandschuster

 

 

 

Comment by Glenda Bailey-Mershon on May 7, 2012 at 2:17

Who is ripped off by Gypped?

 

1gyp noun \ˈjip\. . .Definition of GYP. . .2 a : cheat, swindler b : fraud, swindle

 

Origin of GYP

probably short for gypsy

First Known Use: 1750

 

2gyp verb  gyppedgyp·ping Definition of GYP: cheat

 

Synonyms: beat, bilk, bleed, cheat, chisel. . .victimize. . . .

 

http://www.merriam-webster.com/

 

1.	gyp
	A ripoff; something that is not worth what your are giving for it; referring to gypsies who make their living off of swindling others.
2.	gyp
	To be ripped off, or to get a bad deal. "I spent $500.00 more than I should have for that lemon...I got gypped!"
3.	gyp
	A derogatory term insinuating that Gypsies steal. Man, you gyped me

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=gyp

 

Gypsy is the name given to Roma since they appeared in Europe in the thirteenth century, refugees from the widespread warfare that had overtaken their native India as part of the expansion of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. Europeans took these newcomers from the East for Egyptians (Egyptian, Egipcian, 'gypcian, 'gipcian, gipsy, gypsy) , and feared them because they were not Christians, they had no homeland, and their experiences with slavery and brutal oppression on their path westward had caused them to shun non-Romanies. Laws were passed forcing the Gypsies to move onward, at times penalizing them for their presence with death orders. Survivors were often shipped to Europe's colonies abroad, where Romanies were exposed to indenture or slavery. Education and employment were forbidden to the living. This unreasonable hatred culminated in the murder of more than one millions Gypsies/Roma by the Nazis. And the misconceptions and oppression have continued: Today the Roma are Europe's poorest minority, and neo-Nazis are screaming in the streets of Eastern Europe, "Gypsies to the gas chamber!" In some countries, they are allowed to live only in undesirable areas such as refuse dumps, and they are forcibly deported when they try to find better homes.

 

To use the word "Gypped" is to feed the stereotypes and hatred!

Comment by Glenda Bailey-Mershon on May 7, 2012 at 2:17

For more information, contact: com.romanizor@gmail.com

 

Gypsies are NOT

 

• a lifestyle
• a set of behaviors
• a mythical people
• happy wanderers

 

We are

 

• an ethnic group of Asian Indian origin
• present on all continents since our diaspora began in the eleventh century
• organizing
• claiming our right to be free of racial stereotypes

 

 

 

HELP US END THE USE OF RACIAL SLURS!

Carol Higgins Clark can repudiate the word "Gypped"

and speak to her publisher about retitling it.

Simon and Shuster can recall and retitle this book.

Bookstores and libraries can refuse to stock or shelve this book

until its title is corrected.

You, the patron, can refuse to buy until it is retitled.

Everyone has the right to say what they want.

We have the right to be offended and outraged.

Our people who even today are facing pogroms,

neo-Nazi death squads, and more hatred

have the right to live and prosper in peace. 

Help us!

 

 

 

 

Add a Comment

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• …
• 24
• 25
• 26
• 27
• 28
• …
• 34
• Next ›
• Page