Help Us Stop Romany Cultural Appropriation!

There are lot in the public eye applauded as Gypsies who have not one drop of Gypsy blood flowing through thier veins.So easy to conjure up a false past claiming heritage from another country. a

STOP IT! GYPSY IS LABELIST AND RACIST. LETS NOT REFER ROMA/ROMANI PEOPLE GYPSY ALRIGHT.

Kushti pral, with you all the way. Kom ta bokt

I agree with Robert Lovell's position in defence of his culture. New Zealand

I totally agree with the petition, my family own and run the Gordon Boswell Romany Museum in Spalding UK, our heritage, culture and traditions should not be forgotten but they should not be used for commercial gain by people just wanting to cash in the way of life. You are born a Romany you cannot just become one by your lifestyle choices.

'Gypsy' is an ethnic slur, please find another name for your festival.

I am from Romany Descent. I fully support Robert Lovell with this complaint.

Insulting to the World wide Romany Gypsy community. Hippies who have no race and culture

Only true Romany people can be called Gypsy , this is our cultural heritage, our people are the last bastion of acceptable racism , why do authorities allow others to use our name then when things go wrong blame us. As for the copyright photographs I will check and if I find any of my family photographs being used I will begin legal precedings. I thank you in anticipation of an agreeable outcome as soon as possible. Terry Bibby (London United Kingdom)

I fully support this petition from my perspective as a Kale - Welsh Romany - and I urge others who share our race and cultural identity to do the same by signing this petition. Thank you, Mr Lovell, you are doing what is right and fair for the survival of our culture..

This is a disgrace - stealing other people's cultural identity. It must stop.

The Romani people are Europe's largest ethnic minority and racism against us is so prevalent as to necessitate intervention by the European Commission (National Roma Integration Stragegies, 2014). Our identities directly delimit our access to education, work opportunities and social inclusion. Donning our identity for financial reward spits in the face of men and women forced into poverty for an identity they cannot remove with their outfit.

Use your own leave ours to us

One hundred percent behind this complaint. I find it no less offensive than black facing.

I know the family whose photo has been used for advertising the fair, they did not give their permission for it to be used for this. I don’t know who they got permission from to use it. I don’t know if any of the fair people are of Romani heritage, if not they should not be depicting themselves as such. The public would probably assume they are of Romani heritage using the photos they have and the name of the fair. People need to stop romanticising the Romani race, it was and still is hard to be Romani. In many countries Romani are still persecuted.

Stop using the word, culture and image as a commodity. This only perpetuates myth and misunderstanding of Roma.

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The same thing is happening here in Scotland, so it's not surprising. Markers of identity are being manipulated to create divisiveness among the Gypsy Traveller population, while the right to self-determination is completely ignored. At the same time, an element of cultural metempsychosis is taking place: everyone is choring the identity of Gypsy Travellers -- ostensibly, they want to emulate us and appropriate our culture for their own gains.

This cultural appropriation of our culture needs to be made illegal

It's hard to believe they can do this, if they were blacking up there would be hell to pay. but gypsies are fair game.