Did strong anti-Gypsy/Roma racism exist in the USA?

[John_Mace]

@China_Guy

I wonder if this is pretty localized? I grew up on the West Coast. I had of course heard of Gypsies, but never seen an actual Roma/Gypsy until I went to Budapest. And in Budapest they clearly stood out. Or at least a sub segment clearly stood out. It’s been 15 years but they were somewhat stereotypical of descriptions I had read about (smaller and looked like victims of generations of malnourishment, grubby) and made me want to watch out for my wallet. I remember it in a very odd way - check out that dodgy looking group, hmmm, wonder if those are gypsies, and colleagues confirmed they were. I hope this doesn’t come across as racist, but it was striking how sterotypes from literature were right there…

Irish Traveler was a term I learned on the Dope.

When I was a kid in the Boy Scouts on the east coast, we ended up near a group of Gypsies on one of or camping trips. We, as kids, were fascinated and wanted to interact as much as we could, but the adults would have nothing of that, and made sure we stayed clear of them for the entire weekend.