The Gypsy "Problem"...assimilation vs. inclusion

You know, language is a slippery thing sometimes....

We are bombarded with so many words, so much information these days
that images, ideas and information begin to blur together.
We are jumping to conclusions before we have even quite heard the stories.
As an old friend once cautioned me, "we are jumping to confusions".

On the recent trip to Bulgaria and Serbia, I had to wonder about two of these
'blurry' concepts, in particular...
On one hand, as I looked upon the post communism/new capitalism era
I suddenly heard myself...and was dismayed at my mistake.
I had thought 'capitalism' and not 'democracy'.  

Isn't 'democracy' what we pride ourselves on?
Wasn't 'democracy' the original and stated goal?
How had 'democracy' come to denote 'capitalism'...and rampant
western-style capitalism at that?

In a far departure from the ideals of democracy, there has occurred a blurring
of these concepts....perhaps even a 'bait and switch'.
Unfettered capitalism seems to have replaced the democratic experience.
The terms are now used interchangeably and casually to the great harm of societies everywhere.
They have become nearly synonymous. 

Having been granted the democratic freedom of autonomy and the rights of individuals
to pursue their own course in life, we find growing numbers of greedy people and corporations
taking over the landscape.
Instead of a noble and uplifting result,  what we wound up with was the right to amass
as much money and power at the expense of as many as possible.
Rats clambering up the ladder to success.
We are not building a more just and equal society on either end of the ladder
at this stage of the game.
It is an exclusionary and elitist system that harms the good of all.

Democracy has not delivered on its promises because capitalism has replaced it.
People were seduced onto the path of competition, selfishness and greed.
It is clearly not working... Those in post-communist societies suffer still...more so.

The other concepts that have become unfortunately intermingled in people's minds
are that of 'assimilation' and "inclusion".
The context of my observations has particularly to do with the Roma people,
but it concerns all minority people in almost every conceivable context.

I believe that no person or society or government can work without a good underlying
philosophy.  Fix that and most of the rest will take care of itself.
Without a sound and sane philosophy, there is simply chaos and base tendencies run amok.
Of course, this always serves the opportunists well.... Think about it...

The Decade of the Roma is well underway.  Begun in 2005 in Sofia, Bulgaria,
it calls for the inclusion of the Roma in every level of society.
Many fine words have been spoken, programs initiated, meetings held.
So much rhetoric but so little tangible progress.  Lovely window dressing.
Much money has exchanged hands on behalf of the Roma, but I see that little of it reaches them.
Instead, it continues to circulate within the tight circles of the privileged.

But again, we have the problem of language...
Where does inclusion start?     In the minds and hearts of the excluders.
Who does "inclusion" appeal to?    Those that "exclude"... of course!
But somehow the argument is turned on its head and, once again,
the burden falls not on the "excluders," but on the Roma who are now expected to "assimilate". 

Again the terms are bandied about loosely...one or the other will do, it seems...
It's all the same...or is it?

 If you stop to consider for a moment, it is quite clear that these are very different paths.

"Inclusion" assumes the right of every individual and group to co-exist in an equal and fair way.
Sharing the goods, services and opportunities... and not only that...but sharing the responsibilities,
as well.
It is common sense simple... and it is the only tool for healing society's troubles.

Whereas "assimilation" calls for the blending in or obliteration of the society or individual
as the price to be paid in order to participate in society as a so-called "equal".
This a an antagonistic approach that functions to keep people in unequal relationship to one another.
It cannot work.  It goes against nature.

There is a further aspect to be discussed in my next post....  Trip to Serbia

The Gypsy "Problem"...assimilation's impact on you

In my last post, I considered the attitudes regarding assimilation of the Roma
as the solution to the so-called Gypsy problem. 
I found that most of the rhetoric and effort is geared toward assimilation...
fitting in, erasing differences, leaving Roma values and culture behind
and adopting those of the dominant culture.

This does not only apply to the Roma people, but to those who are Gypsy in spirit.

It is not easy to carve out a life or livelihood when you find yourself at odds
with the prevailing culture. 
You set aside your art or music, your freedoms and innate rhythms, your very uniqueness
to conform to a culture that encourages alienation from others and self. 
Your color, your wild nature, your reaching for joy are all too much
for the uncreative and mechanistic culture that surrounds you.
  
You rein in your Love for Life and for People to match yourself to those around you.
You know it is wrong every step of the way but you are caught up in the flood for awhile.
You adopt fear, set aside generosity and innate goodness, and wipe away your open smile
to conform to a cold society.
It can be experienced as a kind of death to self to stifle your best and truest impulses
in order to survive...


You literally take your life in your hands if you dance sideways of the system to fashion
a life out of the deep and half-hidden desires and sensibilities you hold within.
Many times you run counter to family, spouses, friends, and authorities of all kinds
as you begin to assert yourself. 
You run up against hurdle after hurdle until you are almost too weary to fight on. 
We incur so much pain and self doubt along the way.
Much of our life is lived underground...we live as small and secret selves,  hidden Gypsies.

We have already learned to reject ourselves...to hold prejudice on an inner level.

The work begins there ultimately...on the inside...as you discover and acknowledge
all that you are.  To make a little room for that self...a safe and respectful place where
it can be protected and cultivated again on its often interrupted path through life.
It becomes a kind of spiritual quest for self and for God who gives continued nudges
as well as strength for the journey. 
A colorful mosaic emerges... as messy, crazily beautiful and exuberant as life itself.

Do what you are able to do for now, but know that you will one day need to come
out of hiding and declare who you are...if you are lucky.
That is Life's gift to you ...to free you from self-limiting ideas...self-limiting lives...
other-limiting lives.

That is also your gift to others...  to be who you are without reservation or apology.
To bring who you are out into the open...and to make that possible for others, too.
To forge a new and better culture day by day...

Consider it a creative challenge...don't sit around complaining about your plight.
Use your innate intelligence, wit and humor to out-strategize the system.
But find legitimate ways to express who you are, even if who you are changes daily.

Don't stop until you find the cleverest, most ethical, most lovingly human ways
to show the prevailing culture that they are misguided in regard to you and to life itself.

Don't become a leech out of anger and self righteousness  as many have done,
but find the most artful and compelling ways to frame your innate beauty, character
and gifts.

Don't struggle...simply take what you have right now...for it is enough...and Outshine.

As always, be a Good Gypsy....Be a Smart Gypsy while you're at it!