1 Nov
2015
1 Nov
'15
10:41 p.m.
When this discussion started I decided to actually use honky instead
of gypsy the next time I called. I would of course explain to the
dancers this extremely important and delicate issue that is now
confronting the contra dance community. Why not get a chuckle from
the floor? I appreciate the suggestion of red neck but I think honky
flows better. See the end of this email for calling examples.
Several people have thanked me off list for what I said because they
don't want to be seen as insensitive. Basically we think there's way
too much mental effort and concern based on 1 person's complaint.
That I'm actually taking time at all on this topic is a bad
reflection on my judgment.
Ron, I really want to know: since you started dancing have you
thought badly of the Romani people because of the use of the word
gypsy? Is there any caller or dancer out there who has thought badly
about Romani people because of this call?
At the time that I wrote my last email, I also wrote the following
but decided not to send it because I didn't want to be seen as
insensitive. Here it is. Maybe you'll get a chuckle.
As a caller I've often used self-defecating humor to get dancers to
relax. It shows that we callers are human and can make mistakes
etc. It also takes the focus off of them and on to me.
With that said I was thinking that we, the white majority in the US,
might consider pointing the finger at ourselves in a joking way.
This might show minorities that we to can take a joke and perhaps
communicate that, in some situations, it's important not to take
things too seriously.
Let's do away with the call gypsy and replace it with honky. Here
are some examples:
"Honky your partner"
or
"Honky 'round your neighbor"
or
"ladies honky once and a half"
If a Romani person ever complains to you tell them this: naming a
move after an ethnic group is one of the highest honors of our dance
community. The only other people to be so honored are the Dosidoes.
Tom
1 Nov
1 Nov
10:53 p.m.
New subject: [Callers] Gypsy / "Redneck"/honky
Tom,
I find it humorous that we both had the same thought experiment. I read
"honky" as less offensive than "redneck", but that may be subjective
and/or
semantic.
To be very plain:
The image we conjure up of a "gypsy" is a stereotype. "Gypsy" for
many
invokes images of coin hip scarves and veils and brightly painted caravans.
Mysterious women. Homeless vagrants who are selling snake oil. Fire eaters.
Sellers of junk.
Even if we removed the negative ones, and "gypsy" made us just think of
"sexy mysterious woman", isn't that just objectifying women? Or sexualizing
a race of people? Is that any different than talking about which race has
bigger or smaller penises? Or saying that Asian women are "exotic" and
black men are "savage"?
So yeah, the more I've thought about this over the last few days - and the
last year or so ago, since I first suggested "spiral" - I've been realizing
that "gypsy" is a problem. Maybe it's not, at least in America, the slur
that it is in parts of Europe. But it's still a stereotype loaded word.
...
Why now?
The other objection is "very few are complaining, why not wait til more
people are complaining?"
Well, we can wait until it's a big problem, or we can acknowledge the
direction things are going, and head it off before it becomes less of an
accepted word. Would I rather be too PC, or like my grandma, who I had to
remind that "negro" is not an appropriate word anymore in the 2000s? I'd
rather error on the side of PC, in this particular case.
For me, the tipping point, as I explained in my previous e-mail, has been
first and second hand accounts of people of actual Romani heritage having
issues. Yes, some do and some don't - but that's precisely the point I was
communicating when I came up with the "redneck" thought experiment. Some
wear "redneck" with honor. But definitely, *definitely* "redneck" is
also
used as a slur to disparage people who are seen as inferior.
Best regards,
Ron
On Sun, Nov 1, 2015 at 5:41 PM, Tom Hinds <twhinds(a)earthlink.net> wrote:
When this discussion started I decided to actually use
honky instead of
gypsy the next time I called. I would of course explain to the dancers
this extremely important and delicate issue that is now confronting the
contra dance community. Why not get a chuckle from the floor? I
appreciate the suggestion of red neck but I think honky flows better. See
the end of this email for calling examples.
Several people have thanked me off list for what I said because they don't
want to be seen as insensitive. Basically we think there's way too much
mental effort and concern based on 1 person's complaint. That I'm actually
taking time at all on this topic is a bad reflection on my judgment.
Ron, I really want to know: since you started dancing have you thought
badly of the Romani people because of the use of the word gypsy? Is there
any caller or dancer out there who has thought badly about Romani people
because of this call?
At the time that I wrote my last email, I also wrote the following but
decided not to send it because I didn't want to be seen as insensitive.
Here it is. Maybe you'll get a chuckle.
As a caller I've often used self-defecating humor to get dancers to
relax. It shows that we callers are human and can make mistakes etc. It
also takes the focus off of them and on to me.
With that said I was thinking that we, the white majority in the US, might
consider pointing the finger at ourselves in a joking way. This might
show minorities that we to can take a joke and perhaps communicate that, in
some situations, it's important not to take things too seriously.
Let's do away with the call gypsy and replace it with honky. Here are
some examples:
"Honky your partner"
or
"Honky 'round your neighbor"
or
"ladies honky once and a half"
If a Romani person ever complains to you tell them this: naming a move
after an ethnic group is one of the highest honors of our dance community.
The only other people to be so honored are the Dosidoes.
Tom
11:47 p.m.
New subject: [Callers] Gypsy / "Redneck"/honky
Tom, my estimation of you has risen even higher!
On Nov 1, 2015, at 5:41 PM, Tom Hinds via Callers
<callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
When this discussion started I decided to actually use honky instead of gypsy the next
time I called. I would of course explain to the dancers this extremely important and
delicate issue that is now confronting the contra dance community. Why not get a chuckle
from the floor? I appreciate the suggestion of red neck but I think honky flows better.
See the end of this email for calling examples.
Several people have thanked me off list for what I said because they don't want to be
seen as insensitive. Basically we think there's way too much mental effort and
concern based on 1 person's complaint. That I'm actually taking time at all on
this topic is a bad reflection on my judgment.
Ron, I really want to know: since you started dancing have you thought badly of the
Romani people because of the use of the word gypsy? Is there any caller or dancer out
there who has thought badly about Romani people because of this call?
At the time that I wrote my last email, I also wrote the following but decided not to
send it because I didn't want to be seen as insensitive. Here it is. Maybe
you'll get a chuckle.
As a caller I've often used self-defecating humor to get dancers to relax. It shows
that we callers are human and can make mistakes etc. It also takes the focus off of them
and on to me.
With that said I was thinking that we, the white majority in the US, might consider
pointing the finger at ourselves in a joking way. This might show minorities that we to
can take a joke and perhaps communicate that, in some situations, it's important not
to take things too seriously.
Let's do away with the call gypsy and replace it with honky. Here are some
examples:
"Honky your partner"
or
"Honky 'round your neighbor"
or
"ladies honky once and a half"
If a Romani person ever complains to you tell them this: naming a move after an ethnic
group is one of the highest honors of our dance community. The only other people to be so
honored are the Dosidoes.
Tom
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
2 Nov
2 Nov
12:36 a.m.
New subject: [Callers] Gypsy / "Redneck"/honky
Tom
Did you mean "self-deprecating" instead of "self-defecating"? Or did
you
really mean to sh*t on yourself?
Or is this an American usage I'm unaware of?
(Sorry, couldn't resist.)
Jeremy
From: Callers [mailto:callers-bounces@lists.sharedweight.net] On Behalf Of
Tom Hinds via Callers
Sent: 01 November 2015 22:41
To: Ron Blechner
Cc: callers
Subject: Re: [Callers] Gypsy / "Redneck"/honky
<snip>
As a caller I've often used self-defecating humor to get dancers to relax.
It shows that we callers are human and can make mistakes etc. It also takes
the focus off of them and on to me.
3338
days inactive
3339
days old
import1@lists2.sharedweight.net
3 comments
4 participants
participants (4)
-
Jeremy Gmail via Callers -
Lindsay Morris via Callers
-
Ron Blechner via Callers
-
Tom Hinds via Callers