Reading to my kids last night.

[Gaspar]

I read to my kids every night for at least an hour.  I have a 5 year old and a 2 year old.  One of our favorite poetry books is Where the Sidewalk Ends.  My parents used to read it to me when I was young so it brings up fun memories.

Yesterday my daughter brought the 30th anniversary addition home from school.  It has 12 additional poems, so I was excited to read it.

We read the new ones then thumbed through to read some of our favorites.  One of my personal favorites is The Gypsy Are Coming.

The gypsies are coming, the old people say,
To buy little children and take them away
Fifty cents for fat ones
Twenty cents for lean ones
Fifteen cents for dirty ones
Thirty cents for clean ones
A nickel each for mean ones

The gypsies are coming, and maybe tonight
To buy little children and lock them up tight.
Eighty cents for husky ones
Quarter for the weak ones
Penny each for noisy ones
A dollar for the meek ones

Forty cents for happy ones
Eleven cents for sad ones
And, kiddies, when they come to buy,
It won't do any good to cry,
But—just between yourself and I—
They NEVER buy the bad ones!

Unfortunately in this age of political correctness this classic book has been changed.  The term Gypsies has been replaced with "Googies."

Ava asked me "What are googies daddy?" 

I told her "They work for the Gypsies."

[Conan71]

Wow, even Shell Silverstein isn't exempt from the PC police.  Sheesh.

What will we have to call Jews when that is determined to be derogatory?

Christ challenged?  Christ deniers?

[Gaspar]

Joogies?

I wonder if the gypsies are offended by being called googies?

[dbacks fan]

Googies?

A - A restaraunt from the 70's located in Phoenix

B - A form of architecture http://www.googieart.com/ , post modern/atomic art   and architecture http://www.spaceagecity.com/googie/

[nathanm]

What will we have to call Jews when that is determined to be derogatory?

Equating the term "gypsy" with "Jew" is about a dumb as censoring the word gypsy in poetry written almost a half century ago. One is a derogatory term for a certain group of nomadic Romanians, while the other is and has been the self-applied name of a group since time immemorial.

I agree we go overboard on the PC smile, but that doesn't mean we can't/shouldn't recognize things for what they are.

[Conan71]

Equating the term "gypsy" with "Jew" is about a dumb as censoring the word gypsy in poetry written almost a half century ago. One is a derogatory term for a certain group of nomadic Romanians, while the other is and has been the self-applied name of a group since time immemorial.

I agree we go overboard on the PC smile, but that doesn't mean we can't/shouldn't recognize things for what they are.

Someone left their humor cap in Arkansas, I guess.

"Jew" is also used as a perjorative.

[nathanm]

"Jew" is also used as a perjorative.

Similarly to how "Arkansan" can be used as a pejorative. Any word can be used as a pejorative term. Some have that meaning built in.

[heironymouspasparagus]

That's how we know the toothbrush was invented in Arkansas.....


Romani seems to be the PC useage in the UK for gypsies.

[carltonplace]

Now if someone would just clean up all of the "n" words out of Huck Finn...oh wait that's already happening.

[Conan71]

Now if someone would just clean up all of the "n" words out of Huck Finn...oh wait that's already happening.

Would it be revisionist to demand Ho, B!tch, and Whitey be taken out of gangsta rap?  That's not too PC 

[heironymouspasparagus]

That would not be revisionist - it has no history, tradition, or class.  And it won't be done anyway.

[Gaspar]

Someone left their humor cap in Arkansas, I guess.

"Jew" is also used as a perjorative.

Jews don't really give a smile what you call them.  5,000 years of persecution has taught them that words mean little.

As my grandmother used to say, "Ignore them, some day you will sign their paycheck."