LARPs and Gypsies

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I'm going to preface this by saying that in the realm of Alliance, I've only really been exposed to the players in Oregon and Seattle, and {most} of the players in those two chapters who chose to play the Alliance Gypsy race treat it with respect while still playing within the race packet.

That being said.

Like the writer of the Reddit post, I have Romany in my family tree a generation or so back. My immediate family stepped away from the Romany traditions for various reasons, and it's only recently that I've discovered the heritage and what that means. But, as a thinking feeling human being, it does bother me to see any race portrayed inappropriately, which is what I feel the Reddit post is speaking to.

So, if I had my druthers, I would hope any LARP wishing to include the Romany as a race would first look at dropping the Gypsy moniker and research the race their building to be respectful and not simply tropy {tropie?}. I would hope the same for the players.
 
The fact that there is an in-game fantasy race based on stereotypes of a (really horribly treated and subject of attempted genocides) real-world ethnicity has long bothered me. Not to mention all the issues with the word "gypsy". I continue to hold out hope that Alliance will correct this relic of its old ignorance, but past threads discussing this topic have gotten heated and then locked, so who knows.
 
Kind of interesting that WE are on that list. I won't be inflammatory, but this could become problematic over time if not addressed.
 
I just sent a letter to someone who I respect on the matter of the casual use the stereotypes of the Rroma and the use of the word "Gypsy" which included a bunch of references. I'll include part of that letter here and then expand and try to adapt the thoughts to the Alliance materials.

The Rroma are an extremely persecuted race and antiziganism is common throughout the world today. They are not a fantasy race but rather a very real ethnic group with upwards of 10–12 million people living in Europe alone ( http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-12977975 ) for whom "Racially motivated crime is an everyday experience" ( http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/apr/23/eu-roma-racism-discrimination ). They are denied equal access to education ( http://web.archive.org/web/20070614...nority/reports/roma_education/report/vol1.pdf ) in moves that resemble of what happened (and sometimes still happens) to the Native populations of North America.

The Rroma are “routinely demonised and dehumanised." When a young Rroma woman was kidnapped, gang raped, tortured, and killed in Dublin City, Ireland there was virtually no outcry ( http://www.irishexaminer.com/irelan...-shot-and-dumped-but-no-one-cares-187340.html ; "Kidnapped, gang raped, tortured, shot and dumped, but no one cares" ).

To quote http://gypsyappropriations.blogspot.com/2010/04/problem-with-word-gypsy.html :

The general population has two different definitions, depending on what area of the world they live in... in Europe, Romani people are generally thought of as thieves, vagabonds, scum. We are a "lower race", and as tempting as it is to blame that on Hitler and his campaign to kill us all in the Holocaust, the truth is that the persecution of Romani people goes way farther back.

In America, however, the word "gypsy" is a cliche'. It is over (and improperly) used to describe a lifestyle rather than an actual race. 'Gypsy' is also a popular pet name. I would need more fingers and toes to count the people I've met who have (or have had) a cat or dog called 'Gypsy'. Our culture is exoticized, romanticized, and completely misrepresented.​

Further Links:
When we talk about the "Gypsies" in the context of Alliance LARP, it is the last link that I think has one of the most salient quotes:

Although most people seem to think that the romanticized version of the “gypsy lifestyle” should be flattering, I’m afraid most Romani people do not see it that way. This misrepresentation and romanticization of our culture is called ‘exotification’ and it is highly offensive. Though the belief among gadje (non-Romani) is that we should be flattered by these stereotypes, it is not up to outsiders to decide what racial slurs are and are not “harmless”.​

Now, when we look at the Alliance LARP system, I think whether they are played respectfully quickly becomes an irrelevant point. Equivalent to debating whether someone playing blackface on stage is providing a "respectful" portrayal. It's one thing to take inspiration from something in a respectful manner, and another thing entirely to play a race termed "gypsy." It is one thing to be inspired by another culture and another to play something that is derived from a caricature—even if you make the caricature more respectful than the original, unless you yourself are Rroma, such is very very difficult to do without exacerbating the very problems you are trying to alleviate.

For example, ARB 1.2 pg 44 says:

Accordingly, it is incumbent on all players to try to portray gypsies in a way that is not offensive to their real-world counterparts.​

Nevermind that it uses an ethnic slur that many consider to be highly offensive in the sentence that says that they should be portrayed in a non-offensive way. Players trying to alleviate this in their portrayals is good and I don't want this to seem like I am coming down on the people playing them in the general case, it is just that the system as a whole has created and endorsed this caricature.

From the national packet:

There are many websites and books available with a wealth of information about the romani culture, language and customs, but players need not learn any of these things in order to play Gypsies and they should certainly not let such real-life concerns get in the away of telling a good story.​

So players need not learn anything about the real-world culture that they are taking their name from and should focus on "telling a good story" which will undoubtedly include many (harmful) stereotypes and myths about real world Rroma. There are also many other elements that are clearly based on stereotypes even built into the base packet. Going back to the aforementioned article "Always Romani, But Never a Gypsy":

“There’s no such thing as a ‘King of the Gypsies,’” I scoff angrily. “It’s a myth -- a big fat myth for non-Roma.” And it is, despite his ensuing protestations to the opposite. What a “King of the Gypsies” traditionally was, was an elected official who handled interactions with those outside the race. As our society has always been free of monarchies, the phrases of “Gypsy Kings, Queens, Princes, or Princesses” are, among Roma themselves, just all-out jokes. Just another one of the many tools we’ve used as a means to protect ourselves over the centuries from genocide, mutilation, slavery, and prejudice.​

Yet from the Alliance rulebook (ARB 1.2 pg 43):

Many gypsy tribes may coexist in the same area, each being ruled by its own Bandoleer or “Prince/Princess.” There is a Gypsy King or Queen but quite often this figure is far removed from normal gypsy life and has no great influence over the local tribes.
​
Even "happy" portrayals—"In our game, a Gypsy is generally rakish, outgoing, irrepressible, friendly, smart, quick-witted, loyal and free-spirited"—feed into the exotification and are frequently based on stereotypes with darker roots.

As the first reddit article that jpariury mentioned: there are definitely ways to do respectful representations (though they themselves can be problematic even when done well, the issue is incredibly complicated). It's just nearly impossibly difficult when this is your starting point for a person who is not Rroma to do a respectful portrayal, no matter how hard they try. No matter how the individual manages it, there are people who are not nearly as well educated all around and they still go back to a set of sources that freely and readily use the word "gypsy" (derived from the word "Egyptians") to describe them and that (in the national packet) emphasize a lack of the need to work to understand the sources on which the race is based in favor of "a good story."
 
I think I'll keep my thoughts on this simple.

It's fairly common for authors of creative fiction to draw upon real-life experiences, existing myths, folklore and legend to base their stories and world within.

However, Alliance shouldn't have instituted the Gypsy and Barbarian races into our system. Existing peoples are being stereotyped by our game. We don't want to talk about it, or admit it, but it's true.

We are part of the problem.
 
Wait.... is there an actual group of barbarians roaming around somewhere being denigrated? What culture or ethnicity of modern people is being disparaged?


So, I think a lot of people will maybe touch on the "Hey, Gypsy is a racist term, and, for all the fun you're having, you're failing at portraying what an actual Romani is!" and stop there - rabble rabble, rage rage. If you go through the various comments, I think you'll see his complaint to be a bit more nuanced than that.

He doesn't really have an issue with the trope of "happy go-lucky rakish wandering folk". He's pretty in favor of keeping it. His issue is with people using a racial slur as the name for the trope, and people using the real name (and language) of an actual people as the frame of reference. Having big-eared, big-nosed greedy moneytraders is fine, in his view, just call them Ferengi, not Kikes or Jews speaking Hebrew. You can have swarthy-skinned honor-bound warriors with long mustaches, just call them Klingons and make them speak a made-up language; don't call them Huns or Mongols and tell your players to learn about those cultures in order to properly play the race. His position is that the archtypes are fine - the cultural appropriation, notsomuch.

I think it's a fairly reasonable position, though I think it might need to go just a touch further. As with the Ferengi and Klingons, while the trope influences are pretty heavily evident, there are a number of distinct departures that lend them to being their own thing. The Ferengi "Rules of Acquisition" and "Great Material Continuum" codify many of the trope aspects and turns it into its own thing. I think that if the concept of the race were to be maintained, it would good to move away from the cultural appropriation - take two or three aspects of the trope and really run with them instead.
 
There is no reason for us to perpetuate even being a suggestion of part of the problem when it's so easy, so very easy both creatively and administratively, for Alliance and its players to do the right thing here with this fantasy race.

Trace Moriarty
 
Greetings Players,
Alliance was built with the intent to allow -all- players with all backgrounds to be welcomed at our game. Without going into too much detail, previous threads have been heard, and there will be changes to the Gypsy packet that does include changing the name. It is National's request that we ask for your patience, as these movements do take time, and will be completed in the near future. Given how we are attempting to roll out changes, please be courteous and do not ask further questions at this time.

Regards,
Alison Buntemeyer
Alliance Chairman
 
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