Quote:
Originally Posted by Ireland
But if it is that offensive to others then I must change it. I do not wish to cause issues.
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You shouldn't think that way. If you worry about every little thing you ever say that might offend someone somewhere, you might as well just take a vow of silence.
You haven't done anything racist here and you haven't demonstrated anything that might suggest you have racist beliefs. Quite the opposite: You've demonstrated compassion and interest, having researched the subject extensively, and it's clear that you care about the Romani people and have no intent to cause offense.
As I said, the Romani people themselves often happily label their own enterprises as "gypsy" because the word is part of their culture now. The current-day people you're going to hear be offended by it typically have no ties to Romani culture at all, but think that the word MUST be offensive because of its history, even if the people to whom it applies don't think it's offensive at all.
As a parallel example, the term that eventually became the English word "Christian" was originally used as an epithet to denigrate the early followers of Jesus, but those people too took the term for themselves and made it a part of their culture, and there is no longer any offense inherent in the word.
Meanwhile, if someone is TRYING to be offensive, they can do so without using any "offensive" words whatsoever. If I call you a "Canadian" (you are Canadian, right? If I remembered wrong, you can substitute "American") in the right tone of voice, that innocent word takes on a different meaning.