08/06/2018

 

Mike J. Carroll

Murphy Village USA

North Augusta, S.C. 29860

mikej.carrollauthor@gmail.com

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National Geographic

1145 17th Street N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036-4688
202-857-7000

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For your consideration;

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Two Distinctive Ethnic Minorities, or Just Gypsies?

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By Mike J. Carroll, Irish Traveller

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National Geographic purposefully lumped two distinct ethnic minorities; Irish Travellers and Roma, into one group by referring to them collectively as Gypsies. The term gypsy has a disparaging and pejorative undertone in American culture and numerous other cultures around the world. History offers countless examples of atrocities committed against gypsies. The Nazi regime referred to gypsies as “racially inferior” to rationalize the mass executions of innocent men, women, and children. Stereotyping has been used throughout history to justify genocide and promote disdain and mistrust for those who are different from the majority. Founded in January 1888, the National Geographic has had a significant impact on American society and the world community. It claims its “core purpose has been to further the knowledge and awareness of our world;” but at what cost? 

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The National Geographic like numerous other mass media outlets has used sensationalism to increase readership and viewership. An example of this is the reality series “American Gypsies” produced for its cable television outlet. Its first episode, entitled; “Rivals at War” impress on the viewer the mentality of the mob and its relentless lust for power and never-ending greed. Episodes, entitled; “Sex, Lies, and Audiotape, Love for Sale, Ritual Slaughter,” and “Shotgun Wedding” creates visions of deceit, prostitution, murder, and underage or forced marriages in the minds of the viewing audience. A series constructed on broad stereotypes for the singular purpose of chasing television ratings through the distortion of age-old cultures. Accuracy is damned: the narrative twisted to produce a carefully choreographed depiction of what it means to be “Gypsy” in America.

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Irish Travellers, like Roma, are accused of living on the fringes of society in a cult-like existence through self-imposed segregation. Two distinct centuries-old cultures intertwined by those who fear what they do not understand. Often referred to as a gang, group, or secretive people who are nothing more than con artists and criminals whose only intent is to preserve their immoral traditions. An ethnic minority whose lifestyle is in direct contradiction of the foundations of shared humanity and the majority population. The promotion of bigotry, discrimination, and prejudice leads to intolerance, racism, and xenophobia. A tactic used not to promote understanding, but for financial gain. The disparagement of the marginalized for the benefit of the majority reminds us how little humans have progressed over the past one-hundred-and-sixty-years. Since a period in history when Africans were nothing more than animals on southern plantations picking cotton for the enrichment of their masters. Unleash the hounds the Master would shout when his property escaped the chains of slavery. Not unlike the demands of the racist who see Irish Travellers not as individuals but as a scourge in need of eradication, the imprisonment of an ethnic minority.  

“American Gypsies” was a reality series produced by National Geographic that used explicit bias to elicit pejorative attitudes and beliefs in the viewer. The dramatization of age-old customs to depict an ethnic minority engaging in immoral activities. I find it problematic that a company that prides itself as being the “world’s leading multimedia destination for the best stories in science, exploration, and adventure” would lower its journalistic standards to that of a weekly tabloid, a rumor mill originated and circulated solely for profit. A network that claims to have an “unrivaled sense of purpose and mission” that is evident “by the fact that nearly 30%” of its profits “go to funding real scientists, explorers, and conservationist.” Its audience is left to wonder how much of that 30% went into the production of “American Gypsies.”

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Respectively Submitted,

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Mike J. Carroll, Irish Traveller