Romani (Gypsies) not even RECOGNIZED in America

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When I fill things out I have to say I'm White because there isn't a Romani option, or even an OTHER option. If you research Romani, It's an ethnic group that originally came from India, meaning it should be more recognized. The Romani people are all over the world, why can't we be respected as an ethnic group?

There's no such thing as ethnic groups. So...

Other is usually an option but if that's not an option and you don't recognize yourself as "white", I suppose you could say you are asian.

I am descended from vikings and nobody cares. I tick the box that says "white".

On the other hand Caucasus is in central Asia, so all Caucasians are really Asians. Right?

Are you able to wear shorts in winter and be comfortable?

The caucasian, negroid and mongoloid categories are very old and really need an overhaul as they are not only inaccurate, but also more or less politically correct.

Also, America's policy is to practice civilian inclusion but also ethnic exclusion, as one of my teacher told us regarding the latino case.

(disclaimer : has had wine)

Yup.

Well, then you're probably whiter than most white people in the winter because while you stay white, they turn blue.

I'm not pure viking though. There's some english on my mother's side, but also some german.

My father's hair is black, which makes him suspect that there is some mediterranean in him somewhere.

Still, if i'm walking around barefoot in my 60 degree house in the winter, and i need to go get something out of my car which is under snow, i just go out barefoot. And i don't prance around like a nancy doing it. I just walk through the snow for 10 paces to my car in my bare feet.

I never choose "white" when it is listed under ethnic origin. White is not an ethnicity. It is a color.

I never choose "Caucasian" because my family has no ancestoral history of being in the caucasus region.

I choose other and write in of Polish/German descent. Or If I am in the mood to harass them, I select native american. This is where I was born so by definition I am a native of America.

I've known a couple guys that I considered viking. One guy used to come to school in the dead of winter with shorts and a t-shirt everyday. I bet him money that he couldn't come in something skimpier, but he did, and he came in with a wife beater and flip-flops. If he was cold, he didn't show it. I lost $10 while amazed.

The whole state of Wisconsin must be Vikings if that's the criteria.

Well, they had the look as well



It's not the look as much as the fact that they could manage the frigid cold to a great degree that caused me to think that. I probably wouldn't have seen them that way had they couldn't.

Heh, I'm as white as it's possible to be. I do not exaggerate. I am aristocratic white. The reason I consider myself to be "white" is that the society around me treats me differently from a black person or a person of "hispanic" appearance or custom. Nobody in the US, I mean NOBODY, would ever try to sell me short for having some Scottish ancestry.

However, if I lived in the UK, it might be more relevant. There was a time when the Scottish were regarded as a "barbarous people" who needed their benevolent English masters there to "educate" them. That's not the only "racial" division in the UK's history, though. I'm sure there was a time when it would have been scandalous for someone from Cornwall to marry someone from Wales. "Did you hear about Cadi? She married that pasty-eating no-good! They're all deviants, you know." The thing is, that's no longer relevant.

And the fact that you have Romani ancestry might mean something to you, but it doesn't mean anything to most Americans. I'm afraid that ignorance has more to do with this than anything, but the fact of the matter is that people in your society are going to react to you as a white person. If you lived in Eastern Europe, being Romani actually would affect your social status, for the worse. Romani people in Eastern Europe are treated pretty horribly.

On the other hand, if you really feel that your Romani heritage is important, you should try talking to your state congressman about it. It isn't hard. Most legislatures allow you to just drop in on your representative whenever it suits you, or you might have to call in an appointment. There are a lot of different ways you can set up a petition or something. I'm certainly not against someone identifying as a certain ethnicity. If it's relevant to you, that's the only person who really needs to think so for it to matter.

The Tsigonis (Roma) are neither a nation-state nor a religion. Why should they be especially recognized?

ruveyn

Andy Rooney had a similiar complaint about the census form- that you can check off specific Asian countries for your ancestry but not "german", or "Scotish".


But I agree with Delaney that though Gypsies were ( and continue to be) the horribly treated N-word's of Eastern Europe they get relatively little discrimination in america. So there is little need for them be acknowleded as a seperate group on those school forms that Uncle Sam makes school kids fill out.

If your folks were Gypsies from say Finland (like Yul Brynner) youll just have to consider yourself Finnish , and check off "White".