[genuineresponse]

[flagged]

[NostraDavid]

> Surprised to see a slur on the front page of HN.

Only if you're American.

[genuineresponse]

Because other countries aren't surprised to see slurs?

[emmelaich]

My understanding is that it's considered a slur by some when used to refer to the Romani people. According to Wikipedia, "Some Roma use and embrace this term"

As it's used here to just mean nomadic or itinerant it seems ok.

[genuineresponse]

I'm LGBTQ. I know LOTS of folks in my communities who use and embrace the term f*gs. But that doesn't make it ok for others to use it.

Slurs are complicated, but the goal of my post was specifically not to discuss this slur specifically. It's fine if you want to start that conversation, I wanted to talk more generally.

[cholantesh]

I think you should follow the citations behind that sentence. 2/3 are swift dismissals from outsiders - one from a dictionary and another from the UK parliament (and this is especially vague). The latter is from a Roma advocacy group and it seems pretty emphatic: "Amongst most Romani communities this is an offensive racial slur. It derives from the word "Egyptian" due to the misconception that Roma arriving in Great Britain originated in Egypt."

[IAmBroom]

Some black people use and embrace the "n-word". Weak sauce for using it generically.