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[kaijyuu]

Also, you're forgetting that this was originally less about whether "gypsy" was inherently a slur, and more about whether or not it was being used as one. See: My analogy regarding Mexicans. "Mexican" isn't a slur, but you're still slurring them if you use it to refer to anyone who's an itinerant farm worker.

Ah, absolutely agreed then. My immediate family has a bad habit of that particular one (they love to stereotype).

[Max White]

In the context I was using the word, I was referring to one who is inclined to nomadic travel, as defined by that dictionary I linked.
Is that offensive?

[G-Flex]

In the context I was using the word, I was referring to one who is inclined to nomadic travel, as defined by that dictionary I linked.
Is that offensive?

Yes. For exactly the reason I described, and explained multiple times.

Also, I checked multiple dictionaries, and your link is the only one to have a single definition that isn't somehow connected to the ethnicity. That being said, arguing from a single cherry-picked dictionary definition is generally a bad idea anyway; life isn't so simple.

[Max White]

What? Mine mentions your race, it even has a link to their entry. I just picked that one because that was the first dictionary google provided, not cherry picked. Do any of yours refer to it as a slur though?

EDIT:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gypsy

( lowercase ) Informal . an independent, usually nonunion trucker, hauler, operator, etc.

[G-Flex]

... Are you paying any attention to what I'm saying? There's a difference between a word being a slur and a word being used as a slur. Virtually all dictionary definitions I can find relate it to the cultural/ethnic group, which is pretty antithetical to your claim that it can be used with no connection to that group implied or explicit.

Why can't you just admit that you've learned something and moved on? Is it really that hard to admit that you said something that was unknowingly insensitive? It's not like I'm going to chastise you for not knowing something.

[Max White]

But you have yet to give a dictionary where the word is defined as a slur. Just because it can be used to describe a race doesn't mean I am using it to describe a race, and just because it can be used to describe a race doesn't make it a slur.

Seriously, what does it even mean? The word 'Nigger' came up before as a term for black slave, and we can all agree that is a bad thing, but what does gypsy mean if it a slur?

[G-Flex]

But you have yet to give a dictionary where the word is defined as a slur. Just because it can be used to describe a race doesn't mean I am using it to describe a race, and just because it can be used to describe a race doesn't make it a slur.

I've already provided a counterexample to this logic. "Mexican" is not, per se, a slur. However, it can still be used as a slur. "Gypsy" is not necessarily, per se, a slur. It can still be used as a slur.

Can we please stop pretending that free internet dictionary definitions are the be-all/end-all of this, and start talking about what you actually said? Dictionaries are not authoritative, will disagree with each other, and are honestly not a substitute for actually discussing the word as used in this particular case. There's no reason to even involve them in this discussion. It's a total red herring. In a case like this, what is important are the meanings of the words used in a given case, how they are used in that case, the connotations associated with it, how people are likely to perceive it, and whether or not that usage is acceptable.

You were using "gypsy", a word which refers to an ethnic/cultural group, and which has some pretty negative connotations whether referring to that group or not, to refer to a lifestyle stereotypically associated with that group. I consider this to be slurring that group just as much as using the word "jewed" to mean "ripped off" even when not referring to actual Jews.

So sure, you're not using it to describe a race, you're just using it to describe a stereotypical portrayal of that race, using a word that (when used as such) has connotations involving being a wandering wastrel, a nomad, and criminal activity (esp. thievery). Hell, sometimes worse than that.

[Max White]

Hmm, use 'Mexican' as a slur, as an example.

[kaijyuu]

Pretty much anyone who says it in a condescending tone of voice? Bonus points for prepending "dirty" to it.

[G-Flex]

Hmm, use 'Mexican' as a slur, as an example.

Did you miss the two or three times I gave an example of how to do so? How often do you want me to repeat myself?

[Max White]

Apparently. If you could quote them that would also be good.

[G-Flex]

It's less than ten posts up. Your web browser has a search function, and this argument is frustrating enough without having to almost literally hold your hand through it. On default forum settings, it's on the same page, even.

[Max White]

I see your analogy, but no examples of you using it in a sentence. I asked for an example.

[RedKing]

FWIW, I'm with Max on this one. There are so few Romani in the US and Australia that there's no negative connotation (or even ethnic identity) associated with the term "gypsy".

I'd compare it with the common use of the term "Eskimo" by pretty much everyone who lives outside of Canada. Whereas Canadians find it offensive (because apparently the term is pejorative in one of the Inuit languages) and refer them to as "Inuit" or "First Nations". Is the rest of the world racist?

I think you guys are crucifying Max through your own cultural lens and not considering that maybe there was no malice intended, and that from his perspective, no malice was committed.

[Max White]

If this is crucifying, I can see why Jesus would go through with it, I am enjoying myself. It has been a while...