Some years ago I noted there might arrive a time when our nations’ elderly would someday pay for the privilege of being victimized by the criminal groups who call themselves gypsies.  This observation was made when several self-appointed Romani leaders were trying to obtain federal money to support various programs aimed at helping disadvantaged Rom.  Absent any explanation of who these disadvantaged people were, their numbers, or the specifics of their plight, the scam was exposed and brought to an abrupt end.  Had these con artists succeeded, then the tax dollars of our nations’ elderly population would have been used to support the very groups who see fit to make them their victims of choice. 

Although the players have changed, the same scam is once again in play.  During September of 2002, Carbondale University, (Illinois) hosted a symposium on what they see as the plight of the Romani people.  This event was backed by Senator Paul Simon of Illinois, and a keynote address was delivered by former Illinois Attorney General Ramsey Clark.  Presenting the Romani side of this symposium were Romani activists, Ian Hancock of Texas University and Ronald Lee, a self-proclaimed Rom from Canada, and author of the book Goddam Gypsy.  Excluded from active participation during this symposium was anyone who might challenge the dogmatic views of these self-appointed Romani leaders. 

Based on what I have since learned about this carefully orchestrated event, it appears that Hancock and Lee are once again trying to convince government officials that Gypsies are facing horrible persecution and acts of discrimination here in the United States, and that these wrongs must be brought to an immediate halt.  What atrocities you ask?  Well, according to Hancock and Lee, America has laws on the books that target Gypsies.  In reality, they are talking about antiquated local ordinances aimed at the transient merchants who were consistently engaged in fraudulent activities and thefts.  That some of these ordinances had Gypsies in mind when they were created is probably true, but how such constitutes an atrocity that can be cured with taxpayer’ dollars remains a mystery. 

Another proof offered by Hancock and Lee is that the police have created special units that investigate Gypsies who are believed to be involved in various “petty crime activities.”  Please note that these activists, who never once interviewed a victim of such crimes, have declared all Gypsy-related crimes as petty.  As for the robberies, homicides, black market operations, burglaries, fencing operations, and other assorted felonies, they are merely the work of a few individuals who give all Gypsies a bad name.  According to the activists, the real problem involves racist  law enforcement officers who routinely violate the Romani people’s civil rights.

Should any of this strike you as being too bizarre, or too dim-witted to actually convince anyone that there exists some type of effort to persecute America’s Romani population (whose numbers are unknown), then you would be wrong.  With increased predictability, the activists are gaining support from various academicians and politicians.  Such officials tend to ignore, or are ignorant of, the facts that disprove the illogical claims being tendered by activists who have been exposed as liars, and who openly admit their attempts to rewrite history.

Law enforcement’s approach to Gypsy criminal groups is very simple.  They are treated the same as any other con artists or criminal groups.  They are not being denied civil rights, constitutional protections, or any other rights that come with US citizenship.  If the activists are sincere in their alleged desire to gain positive recognition for the Romani people, then they would have much to gain by assisting rather than hindering law enforcement during their efforts.  Conversely, if they only wish to better themselves, and make lots of money in the process, then their present tactics might one day succeed.

 

Ian Hancock
Gypsy Name:
O Yanko Redzosko

Hancock on the Romani population:
The Struggle for the Control of Identity, from the RPP Reporter, Vol. 1, No. 1, May 1998

“[W}hen it came to estimating how many of us there were globally, those considerations didn't matter if it made us appear to be a more numerous.”

Hancock on rewriting history: 

“In order for things to change, the Gypsy Image must be deconstructed, and a more accurate one put in its place - in the bureaucratic structures as well as in the textbooks.”

 

   Quote from Ronald Lee:
   (Lee, Ronald, Goddam Gypsy, Bobbs-Merrill     Co, Inc., New York, 1972) 

“Socially, Gypsies remain totally aloof from the world around them.  They use what is useful in it---telephones, refrigerators, automobiles and tape recorders---but they reject what does not suit them; nationalism, politics, religion, racism, status symbols.  They take no part in political movements, citizens’ organizations, and protest groups.  They change their name as often as their houses.”

Here's a recent excerpt from a post sent by Lee to his fellow activists. This comment was made shortly after the symposium in Illinois, wherein Mr. Lee, etal, attempted to promote the US persecution myth:

"Roma in the US and Canada are not suffering pogroms, persecution and poverty and most see no need to create organizations as in Europe. They are also isolated, have not suffered the Holocaust, communism and now the so-called democracies. They do not have educated Roma and intellectuals that exist in Europe.  There are Romani activists in the US and in Canada but here in Canada our focus is on the constantly-arriving Romani refugees and their settlement and immigration problems, fighting deportations, etc.. "