This is a petition requesting that the Merriam Webster Dictionary acknowledge and list in its definition of the word “Gypsy” that it is an ethnic slur.
The word has two main historical connotations for the Roma, (a diaspora people of East Indian origin,) that are commonly branded with the title: 1) Falsely attributing their origin as Egyptian and 2) Referencing theft in a racially-biased way--AKA “to Gyp,” which is exactly akin to such other discriminatory terms as “Jew down” and (Native) “Indian giver.”
The common usage of an ethnic slur, rather than using the correct term that the ethnic group calls themselves, leads to stereotyping both on a personal level and in the mass media. However, when the dictionary refuses to list that it is a slur, this is used by racists to defend their terminology. The lack of acknowledgment that this is an ethnic slur also further propegates the usage of it by people who are well-meaning, and yet uninformed.
We, the following, hope sincerely that Merriam Webster will grant the Roma people the basic human dignity and compassion to give its readers the information necessary to prevent this word being used as a means to denigrate an Asian ethnic minority that has a worldwide population today of millions.
