Italy And The Daily Mail’s War On Gypsies
OVER in Italy, Roberto Maroni, the country’s interior minister, plans to fingerprint all Romany children.
It’s a repugnant idea, but one the Mail wants its readers to think about and place in context.
“Is this proof Italy does need to crack down on gypsy immigrants?” asks the paper’s headline.
Readers see a picture of a pickpocket dipping into a victim’s bag. He is “probably a Roma”. Another picture of a young Artful Dodger at work and the Mail says that he and this other are “almost certainly the offspring of Roma gypsies”.
Anorak processes the pictures with its Comfi-Purge kit and taking into account the head measurements, the angle of gait and skin tones, identifies them as two half-black, Jewish dwarves with Islamic tendencies…
Posted: 1st, July 2008 | In: Immigration, Tabloids Comments (16) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
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September 13th, 2008 at 11:26 am
Karen Says:
“You always have to remember that their race doesn’t have anything to do with the stealing ..”
Quite so. It is just that people who insist on continuing a lifestyle very different from those of the society they have chosen to join often are seen to predate on that very society. Whether they are true Roma, or the Southern Irish ‘travellers’ in the UK, they seem to live by rules which the rest of us call crime. Stealing robbery, burglary, deception, and so on. And since none of them seem to have what we would call a ‘proper’ job, but all appear to survive quite well, the public draw inferences.
July 18th, 2008 at 1:58 am
The Global Fourth Reich loves to play peasant against peasant. The Fourth Reich pretends to be right, center and left when and where it suits them They know their end is near and they are desperate before they are all publically tried in packed stadiums on global sattelite tv everywhere. The gig is up!! Merry Meet & Merry Solstice Thunar!!!z
[edit -dr]
July 10th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Get serious, gypsies are the real problem in Italy? Real problem there if you ask me is Italy’s politics … they accepted gypsies for some time(and not only gypsies, a lot of immigrants from Italy are working “on the black market”, without proper documents, insurance and the list can continue) … everything was fine ’til people starting demanding their rights, all of a suddon there’s a gypsie problem, they are the worst criminals (some is true, but get real, there are far more dangerous criminals in Italy then pickpocketer’s … gypsies or any other nationality, doesn’t really matter). In my opinion they are using gypsies, since a lot of them are thieves, do scare every the immigrants, they wanna set an example to people that “things can go bad” if u demand too much
PS: I’m from Romania, we have plenty of gypsies as well, but they never caused so many problems, and what Italy is doin’ now clearly looks like a nazi movement (with fingerprinting gypsies)
July 5th, 2008 at 5:57 am
Terry
I wasn’t saying coppers were bent - I was saying that if they were a DNA database wouldn’t make them any worse.
I was agreeing with you.
July 2nd, 2008 at 4:07 am
Sorry I meant the 4 Somalians who beat my son are a disgrace as human beings. Not Somalians in general. Just in case my comment was missunderstood.
July 2nd, 2008 at 3:55 am
Karen
Coppers are bent and just out to fit you up. Oh please not that old turkey.
My 20 year old son coming home late at night from a Naval training corps at Manchester University was kidnapped on the street by four men. beaten and pushed into the foot well of a car and forced at knife point to give his pin numbers. He was then dumped bound in a field 20 miles away with his hands tied behind his back. He is traumatised to this day. Fortunately they were stupid enough to use a cash machine in a garage and the license number was caught on the surveillance camera. I suppose the fact they were Somalian illegal immigrants and not white thugs from Leeds means we should cut them some slack!!! Fortunately the judge didn’t see it that way gave them seven years in Strangeways with a deportation order when they came out. No I am not saying all Somalians are thieves and robbers I am saying they are a disgrace as human beings and should be treated as such with no special treatment.
I was very grateful for the efforts of those “bent” coppers who investigated my sons case. They were compassionate towards my traumatised son and thoroughly professional. Police forces are like insurance policies , you don’t want them and don’t want to pay for them but are very glad you have them when the need arises. I cannot speak for other countries but we in the west both here and in the UK have very little to fear from our police forces (unless you break the law of course) and it is not because they are saints or the lack of a DNA database. In the UK it is the separation of the judiciary and judges rules. In the US there is the written constitution safeguarding against abuses. In both countries there are strictly imposed rules of evidence and god help any “bent” copper found tampering with evidence. To be honest why would a copper risk his career, pension and a possible prison sentence just to “fit up” a perfect stranger.
On the subject of DNA being used to deny insurance. I live in the US and have to carry medical insurance. I can assure they don’t need anything as sophisticated as a DNA database to deny insurance. A simple medical can do that. I have to admit socialised medicine is something I miss dearly. Trust me never let the NHS go. You don’t know what you have got till its gone.
July 2nd, 2008 at 1:28 am
Terry
I think a DNA database would be great.
If a bent copper wants to fit you up he doesn’t need your DNA to do it.
The only trouble is insurance firms - if they start demanding access to your DNA and they deem you to have a genetic flaw it could get quite grim on the claims front.
July 2nd, 2008 at 1:26 am
coolandcalm
I wasn’t being mean to you.
Gypsies are Roma and are a race though and they were gassed by Hitler so we can’t be too complacent about listing grievances against them (as if no one else steals).
July 1st, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Karen… I never mentioned a race per se… I said gypsy mothers and kids in Rome. Very factual because they were gypsies and they were in Rome and they did try to mass mug me!
July 1st, 2008 at 7:26 pm
Karen - Agreed, I have to admit I am not comfortable with a particular ethnic minority being singled out in this way. But I still say the only people who have anything to fear are the wrong doers in this world regardless of race. If I had my way everybody would have to have his or her fingerprints on record. DNA wouldn’t be a bad idea either. For example rape would become a crime with a virtual 100% chance of conviction. Whats so bad about that. You could argue I suppose it would infringe our privacy but what would the authorities do with a vast database of bio-metric data other that be able to prove the presence of somebody at a crime scene. I cant think of anything else to be honest. Perhaps somebody could educate me.
July 1st, 2008 at 6:53 pm
You always have to remember that their race doesn’t have anything to do with the stealing (or else some countries would be crime free without needing a police force).
July 1st, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Well said coolandcalm. The same thing happened to me and Julie in a market place in Rome. We found ourselves surrounded by a family of about 6. While the mother distracted me and Julie with a small baby in arms I felt one of the other kids hand in my pocket while another kid was trying to open Julies handbag. I am not kidding it was like being surrounded by a swarm of human locusts. Fortunately some of the stall holders came up and drove them off. Just because somebody is ethinicaly different is not a licence to steal and assault people going quietly about their business. In terms of giving finger prints I am a Brit living in Florida. I have to give my finger prints every time I enter the country. Frankly if it keeps the country secure why should I or any other law abiding person care. The only people who really need to fear having their finger prints taken are criminals and terrorists regardless of race.
July 1st, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Hmmm babyjane. NOT really an accurate accusation to hurl at me!!
July 1st, 2008 at 5:18 pm
Re 1
A friend of ours was knocked down by a group of boys. They smashed his face. He told us the whole story over and over and over again, because it was such a terrible experience for him.
It was in the papers that we read that the boys were … let’s put it this way: not “Austrian”.
Our friend himself hadn’t mention that fact to us with a single word. He just didn’t care where the brutal fist that had landed in his face “came from”. I still sort of raise my hat to him for that.
I remembered that episode, when I read your racist remark, coolandcalm.
July 1st, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Have you seen where they live? No water, electricity and so on and although many of them have been in Italy for generations and are Italian citizens they are not issued documents and thus have no access to basic rights such as healthcare and education. When people are treated in this way especially in a wealthy country I’m no surprised if they resort to crime to survive.
July 1st, 2008 at 12:50 pm
I’m liberal-ish but if I could have inflicted harm on the gang of gypsy mothers and kids who surrounded me in Rome and tried to snatch my bag then I would have done.
I was saved only because other passers-by realised and were more vocal than me!!
Thieving little gits!