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Were gypsies discussed or feared in your youth?

I recall one day our 3rd grade teacher gave us a talk on "beware of gypsies." "They will steal your things. They will ask to come in for a drink of water and while you get the water, they will steal things from your home." (That is the speech I remember)

I thought it an odd thing to tell 3rd graders even back then. My mind pictured them in wagons (no one drove wagons at the time) and wearing colorful clothing and earrings. Time was early 1950s.

My husband says the talk in his home town was "They will steal your children."
He said gypsies would pass through Brady from time to time and the men would cut cedar trees.

Never heard about Gypsies as a kid..other than Gypsy Rose Lee.

I've said before my brother married a girl from Romania..she and her whole family refer to themselves as Gypsies.

If the word has a negative connotation..they must not be aware of it..they are proud to be Gypsies.

gypsies came through and camped by the river , early late 50s early 60s . Parents said to stay away from them . They cause a lot of problems in England from what I have heard .

I have always heard them referred to as pickpockets. And I think they are the ones who come by wanting to do home repairs (mainly apshalt), get your money and then disappear.

crocmommy wrote:I have always heard them referred to as pickpockets. And I think they are the ones who come by wanting to do home repairs (mainly apshalt), get your money and then disappear.

----------------------------------------------- yep , heard the same !!

crocmommy wrote:I have always heard them referred to as pickpockets. And I think they are the ones who come by wanting to do home repairs (mainly apshalt), get your money and then disappear.

I believe the people who are notorious for that are what are called Irish Travelers, or Traveling Folk in Britain. They are not true Gypsies at all. The only Gypsies I have ever seen in this country were working at carnivals.

crocmommy wrote:I have always heard them referred to as pickpockets. And I think they are the ones who come by wanting to do home repairs (mainly apshalt), get your money and then disappear.

What is their ethnicity?

GFB wrote:

crocmommy wrote:I have always heard them referred to as pickpockets. And I think they are the ones who come by wanting to do home repairs (mainly apshalt), get your money and then disappear.

What is their ethnicity?

According to Wikipedia and what I have read elsewhere, DNA tests show that they are just ordinary native Irish. (The Irish Travelers, I mean.)

I'm asking about Gypsies.

I've never heard of Irish travelers..and I'm of Irish ancestry.

I ask because that word "Gypsy" denotes nothing that I know of.

There is no such country..or religion.

So if you learned that Gypsies are dangerous..you were learning about a group of people from a certain country...or of a certain ethnicity..anyone know?

True Gypsies are a well-documented racial group who spread over much of Europe hundreds of years ago. Despite the name they seem to have come from India.

A substantial part of the population of southern Spain are Gypsies and they have historically had an uneasy relationship with the ethnic Spaniards, due much to their nomadic lifestyle and reputation for swindling outsiders. When I was there I was told that many Spanish Gypsies live legitimately from such things as truck farming and horse training and metalworking. When I spent a long time in Madrid back in 2001 the borders were dissolving and every week the streets would be filled with newly arrived Romanian Gypsies begging on street corners. These, in contrast to native Spanish Gypsies, wore colorful ethnic costumes and jewelry.

I was told that a Spanish Gypsy might steal the shirt off your back but he would absolutely never beg. They are found everywhere and it was hard for me to tell the difference between them and ordinary Spaniards but my landlady could tell from one's speech if she saw him being interviewed on the street on TV. One of my instructors was making an example of subconscious prejudice and asked me if I would feel different, as in fearing possible theft, if I saw a group of Spaniards eyeing my vehicle or if it was a bunch of Gypsies. I told her I couldn't tell the difference and that "you people" all looked alike to me. I don't think that endeared me to her.

At the time there was a lot of Basque ETA terrorism going on. Basques have always freely mixed with other Spaniards. Despite the bombings and such I never heard anyone express any prejudice against Basques as such, and I never heard that they even claimed there was any kind of social discrimination against them.

Kiamichi wrote:True Gypsies are a well-documented racial group who spread over much of Europe hundreds of years ago. Despite the name they seem to have come from India.

A substantial part of the population of southern Spain are Gypsies and they have historically had an uneasy relationship with the ethnic Spaniards, due much to their nomadic lifestyle and reputation for swindling outsiders. When I was there I was told that many Spanish Gypsies live legitimately from such things as truck farming and horse training and metalworking. When I spent a long time in Madrid back in 2001 the borders were dissolving and every week the streets would be filled with newly arrived Romanian Gypsies begging on street corners. These, in contrast to native Spanish Gypsies, wore colorful ethnic costumes and jewelry.

I was told that a Spanish Gypsy might steal the shirt off your back but he would absolutely never beg. They are found everywhere and it was hard for me to tell the difference between them and ordinary Spaniards but my landlady could tell from one's speech if she saw him being interviewed on the street on TV. One of my instructors was making an example of subconscious prejudice and asked me if I would feel different, as in fearing possible theft, if I saw a group of Spaniards eyeing my vehicle or if it was a bunch of Gypsies. I told her I couldn't tell the difference and that "you people" all looked alike to me. I don't think that endeared me to her.

At the time there was a lot of Basque ETA terrorism going on. Basques have always freely mixed with other Spaniards. Despite the bombings and such I never heard anyone express any prejudice against Basques as such, and I never heard that they even claimed there was any kind of social discrimination against them.

Well, that tells me SOMETHING..thanks.

No matter if they are Irish Traveller or Romny Gypsy, they are the scum of the Earth

GFB, do you recall the Cher song, "Gypsys[sic], Tramps and Thieves"?

Kiamichi wrote:

crocmommy wrote:I have always heard them referred to as pickpockets. And I think they are the ones who come by wanting to do home repairs (mainly apshalt), get your money and then disappear.

I believe the people who are notorious for that are what are called Irish Travelers, or Traveling Folk in Britain. They are not true Gypsies at all. The only Gypsies I have ever seen in this country were working at carnivals.

I agree; many people do refer to them as Gypsies, though. I had never heard the term "Irish Travelers" until about 25 years ago (and I'm Irish).

I was also told that nearly all, if not all, Spanish professional flamenco musicians and dancers are Gypsies.

I was gipped once.

Ft Worth had a couple of bunches of them when I was a kid, they took time out from their swindles and palm reading actives to fight amoung themselves and be on the local news. There was a bunch that ran a used car lot a few miles from where I lived. I think it was mostly a place to launder money because no one in the right mind would buy a car there, twice.

When we were in Russia, at one stop the guide warned us of gypsy beggars. As soon as our tour bus opened the doors about 6-8 women approached the bus asking for money. One woman gave us great laughter. She had a bundle that looked like a baby wrapped in a blanket--but when we got close to her, it was a dog wrapped up. LOL

At the Louvre in Paris, swarms of little children, said to be gypsy children, surrounded the tourists begging. We were cautioned that the ones behind the person would be picking pockets while the ones in front begged.

I first hear the term "Irsh Traveler" when we lived in South Carolina in 74-76. There, the term was shortened to "Traveler." Some of them made big news in FW several years ago. Story involved teenager who had wreck causing a death--lots of false documents etc.
The Travelers are as Crockmommy described--coming by homes to do repairs etc.

Only thing I remember about gypsies growing up out west was from movies or tv shows or books I read. First time anyone warned me about gypsies happened while visiting Italy, kids begging/pickpockets like librarylady described.

Never heard of "travelers" till moving back east to Texas and I think it was on the news concerning asphalt repair, they'd use old motor oil instead.

Well, my brother's Gypsy wife is a Nurse Practitioner.