You don't know any gypsies so how would you know 'most' are lazy want something for nothing? You are taking a false stereotype and applying it to an entire group of people. Whether you think it is or it isn't, that's racism.
The attitude towards gypsies your showing is exactly the same attitude towards blacks people 30+ years ago - lazy, stupid, thieving, and out for something for nothing.
It doesn't surprise me, the whole the UK is stuck in the ignorant past.
Pikey just means you're a bit tight fisted, nobody really uses it to cause offense where I'm from. It's all about intent, if the intention is to be funny then I don't see the problem.
The intent in that picture is to suggest that 'pikeys' steals things. It's flatout racist. 30 years ago people thought p*ki was harmless as well as n*gro and n*gger. If that said 'N*gro - Just Steal it' it would have been removed immediately regardless of intent. I don't think a kid who regularly gets bullied because of being a gypsy would see the funny side of that little sticker. Grow up ffs!
Because the gypsy community is so hidden (because of the insane amount of prejudice) people haven't had the opportunity to actually understand what they are saying or how they making people feel. Throughout history gypsies have been vilified above and beyond practically every other culture or race. They have suffered slavery, butchery, and general hatred. Pikey is no different to any other racial slur. Don't give me this bullshit about it means something different where you're from because you wouldn't say that about any other racist term.
Time people pulled their head out of their arse.
Feels oddly like a 1970s voxpox of Britain with the "the minstrels are harmless" brigade. eery.
Jeez mate, its a sticker for christ sake, I cannot see how you can defend them, how can you defend the fact that they rip off innocent citezens, by carrying out sub par building work and charging a premium, Then dumping they rubbish for someone else to collect? (usually done by the local council which us tax payers fund)
how can you defend them when they occupy land, which they do not own and make the land owners life a misery, when they do eventually leave they leave mess and chaos?
Why should they be let off paying tax? they use the NHS when there idiot son falls off a stolen motocross bike without wearing a helmet? They us the roads like everyone else? why dont they pay road tax?
How can you defend a 'race' (haha) that is renound for theft? Not petty theft, Were usually talking Plant machinary, that someone has paid for with hard earned money,
They lie, They steal, They ruin lifes of so many people, they think they are always innocent, THERE IS NO SMOKE WITHOUT FIRE
Dont say I dont know the crack, Im a son of 35yr serving police officer, who has seen all of this first hand,
Don't stick up for gypsies, you clearly know NOTHING about them.
They spit everywhere, root through bins and beat their children. They are scum and criminals. No exceptions. You obviously live in an upper-class area/situation because you clearly have no experience of gypsies in the UK.
Every gypsy I've encountered has been an obnoxious twat, I had a knife held to my throat by an 'Irish Gypsy' they also killed a 4 year old child in my hometown. In Bradford (where I live now) the kids [romany gypsies] shoot footballs and BB guns at peoples windows in an attempt to break them, they spit everywhere and also every two minutes, they set fireworks off at people, and me when I was pushing my son in his pushchair and destroy walls, bins, cars, trees, anything they can touch.
So really, stfu defending them in an attempt to be neo-liberal. Most people for freedom don't know what having no freedom is like. Can't leave my house for long periods of time or my windows will get smashed and I'll get done for all I'm worth. Oh yea, but give gyppos the benefit of the doubt, they're not 'ALL' bad. RIGHT?
I just gave (whether you believe it or not) multiple examples of true events that occured to me, via two different kinds of gypsy.
If there's anything gypsies need, it's persecuting and shooting. Needs to happen soon before I kill one of them for kicking a football at my 1.5 year old son. (again)
Being a gypsy is a choice, it's not a race or religion. They don't conform because they can't. They are socially obnoxious and awkward as hell. They surf on the money of the state or that of others hard earned money as they steal if they don't get money from the government.
Open your eyes Al, it ISN'T a false stereotype.
There are two types of stereotyping, one that is false and has just stuck over the years as some kind of joke. Then there is the one that sticks because it is true.
I'm with blueflame here. Gypsies can go **** themselves. Nothing but a huge pain in the ass. And you are not the only one being threatened with knife by them.
Language evolves, I think your comment is slightly retarded, and to suggest I wouldn't use other racist or offensive terms in the way I use pikey is a little bit gay.
Just because all you ever saw and experienced was negative, doesn't mean you should think of a whole race/group as "they are all the same". That is what causes stereotypes and helps them survive.
Ghostelites, i hope you don't take this personal, but the reason in your case is probably your dad working as a police officer and telling you all the bad things he does experience. Do you think they would call him to arrest the few good ones out there? No wonder he sees only the negative.
I have a perfect example for this from a friend at work...
His brother works as a police officer and has to deal with a lot of illegal immigrants. There's a house in the town where his station is located, known to be full of african-american immigrants and they always make problems (drug dealing, stealing, etc). He's the one who has to deal with them on a daily basis.
There is many african-american people living in this country who live honest lives, have real jobs and work for their money, never do anything against the law, etc. Yet, the brother of my friend doesn't see this anymore... all he can see is the dudes he has to go and arrest/lecture every day because of crimes they commit. So that's all he's telling his brother about too.
As a result of this, my friend is one of the biggest racists towards african-american people i know. After all, all they do is deal drugs and steal things, right?
Just because something is true for an area, district, town, whatever... you can't apply it to a whole race/group and doom them all.
Guess why you have so many bad gypsies in your country? Because they treat them ****ing nicely! So why not go there and profit from the situation? This is the same all over the world... easy profit and easy laws will attract bad people and criminals more than honest and righteous people. So what you get is mostly criminals and ****s.
We have certain races here in switzerland who are regarded as criminals too by the majority of swiss people. Same problem, they have it too easy to come here and have a nice life as a criminal. So that's all we see. What we don't see is the few good ones who come here too, and the many good ones that never come here and try to live a good and honest life in their own countries, or somewhere else where comitting crimes is not the most easy and comfortable way to make quick profit (and therefor a huge attraction to all people seeing this as an option in their lives... and you'll find people like that in all races).
Sorry to further derail this topic. But you two are perfect examples of not looking further than your eyes can see. You are the people who help stereotypes exist in our world... thank you very much, and have a good day!
EDIT: And if there's some real bad crime here where some guy goes bonkers and starts shooting at people, it's usually a swiss guy. Or when i have a small problem at home, need a new fuse or light bulp for the appartment, forget my clothes in the washing machine for a day... it's not a swiss person living in the same house who will help me out with a spare fuse or hang up my clothes to dry... it's the family coming from the country that everybody labels as "criminals that are here only to steal and profit from our rich country". But yeah, those are so easy to forget when they only represent 0.5% of their race in this country.
Haha, then probably almost everyone in my country are probably the biggest racists in your eyes, because if someone is greedy in some way, for example:
1st guy: can you give me your car, I need it for 1 day
2nd guy: no
1st: why you are so jewish?
A lot of people uses this expression here, I know a guy who is half-jew and he just laughts about that.