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The Chairman Is Slurring?
from 
Unattributed
Frank Sinatra circa 1958
The other day I found a clip of a VTuber talking about expanding beyond their typical music taste. In this case they had heard a small snippet of a song by Frank Sinatra somewhere, and decided to check it out. The song? It's Nice To Go Trav'ling from the Come Fly With Album. The clip took a turn that I found a bit surprising.
The VTuber stated that they really liked the song… It was basically a silly piece of music, one they even had a thought of covering. Until they heard one verse, a verse that changed everything. Why? Well, as they stated, Frank said a slur word. And he didn't just say it once, he said it three times!
Frank Sinatra uttering a slur? In a song? A song on a record from a major recording label? A recording from 1958? I couldn't believe what I was hearing, and I had to understand what has going on. So I looked up the song lyrics, and what I encountered was quite a bit more complicated than I would have initially thought.
The lyric in question is:
It's quite the life to play gypsy And roam as gypsies will roam It's quite the life to play gypsy But your heart starts singin' when your homeward wingin' 'cross the foam
This wasn't my first time encountering the interpretation of this term for the Romani people as a slur. But, as with many situations there is more to this than one might expect, or at least I expected from the context.
On The Surface
If you search the web for the phrase “is [redacted] word a slur”, you will likely find articles like Why It’s Time to Stop Saying “Gypsy”, which claim:
To answer your question about this frequently Googled term, the short answer is yes, absolutely. The word is as a racial slur against the Roma people, the PC term for gypsy.
Reading this article, I was immediately put on alert. Anytime someone decides to take an absolute position, it seems more likely they will have reached a conclusion that is, at best, dismissive of part of the information that is available.
The Etymology
This was where I took a look at the word from an etymological standpoint. Why? Because our language has history. Contextual use of language based in history is frequently ignored when people take a stand, especially an absolute stand.
Enter Grammarphobia with the article: Is ‘Gypsy’ a slur?. This article very clearly documents that the origins of the word were used in a pejorative manner:
The earliest form of the word in English, which the Oxford English Dictionary dates to the 1530s, was “Gipcyan,” an abbreviated version of “Egyptian.” […] And many early appearances of “Gypsy” in English were highly pejorative because, as OED citations show, these itinerant foreigners were often viewed with contempt and mistrust, suspected of crimes, and driven away.
But, then there are some turns and twists in the story:
In later use, Oxford adds, “gypsy” (by this time lowercased) was used playfully rather than contemptuously for a woman, “and applied esp. to a brunette.” All those uses have died out.
But since then “gypsy” (also spelled “gipsy”) has acquired several more meanings, none of them pejorative. Most date from around the mid-20th century, [...]
And it's these meanings that many of us are more familiar, and are likely the origin of the verse in the Frank Sinatra song:
1) Someone who’s free-spirited or doesn’t live in one place for long.
2) A person with a career or way of life that’s itinerant or unconventional, especially a part-time or temporary college faculty member or a performer in the chorus line of a theatrical production.
So, there it is, the likely reason the song contains (the Sammy Cahn penned) lyric that is interpreted as containing slurs. These definitions are the likely reason Frank Sinatra sang them: they were understood as meaning carefree and free-spirited.
I think it's safe to say the conclusion that Grammarphobia states, was likely the prevailing thought in the 1950s-1960s:
Our conclusions are that that “Gypsy” (with a capital “G”) is offensive to some people, and should be used with caution if at all. It should be avoided entirely if any ethnic connection is implied; instead, the words “Roma” or “Romani” should be used. Meanwhile, the non-ethnic uses of “gypsy” (with a lowercase “g”) should not be condemned.
Final Twist
So, if I were to take Grammarphobia's conclusion that should be the end of the discussion, right? Not exactly, there was still another piece of context to consider. And, it's the context that the VTuber was most likely having the strongest reaction to when they condemned Frank for using a slur.
The VTuber in question is British, and their understanding of the Romani people is likely very different from the majority of people in North America. We have long prided ourselves on being open and welcoming to immigrants and itinerant peoples (despite what our current government would have you believe).
This is not to say that we are in any way perfect. There are plenty of examples of distressing things that have happened to immigrants in this country (no example is louder than the imprisonment of Japanese Americans during World War II). There is no debate on this topic. However, on the whole, we have a better track record compared to many countries.
The Romani in Europe, however, have had to endure what appears to have been a ceaseless stream of racism, and distrust. One of the worst cases was the Romani Holocaust (aka Porajmos) by Germany in World War II. But, there are systemic biases and racism that remain throughout Europe to this day.
While there are efforts underway to try to establish the Romani in Europe, there is a very long path ahead for tensions to be reduced. I would likely say that it is going to take several more generations.
Which is where this VTuber comes back in to the picture. They are part of a generation that is being more sensitive to these issues. And for that they are to be applauded. Seeing that this particular song would likely be seen as being incredibly insensitive to the Romani, they are right to take a pass on it.
Although, maybe there's a way to change the verse to remove the stigma? Perhaps this would work?
It's quite the life to play carefree And roam as nomads will roam It's quite the life to be at ease But your heart starts singin' when your homeward wingin' 'cross the foam
Category: #Essay Tags: #music, #vtuber, #history, #romani, #sinatra,
The goat carcass anecdote
from 
The happy place
When I was a kid, my neighbour and I found a goat carcass in the forest.
It’d been picked clean revealing the white skull which we brought back home to my grandmother
We wanted to show it to her
Apparently it was one of her dead goats she’d pulled into the forest herself,
And we’d pulled it back, (partially)
Probably it couldn’t be buried properly in the frozen grounds, and there was no room in the freezer
She really loved her goats.
I didn’t think about it being one of her goats, it was just a skull with horns and teeth
I don’t remember how she reacted when she saw it or why we did it, but I remember the pungent stench of death on my mittens
They threw them away
UK: RAPE GANG ENQUIRY
from broken thoughts
The UK is currently up in arms over the rape gang enquiry – 250,000+ women and girls as young as 11 have been systemically raped by mostly Pakistani Muslim gangs. What can I say? As a white British man with kids and rather conservative views, you might be surprised to hear my reaction is not deport, deport, deport...
I have strong alignment with what JD Vance recently said on The Diary of a CEO which is, fast immigration is never a good thing. Not enough time to assimilate, adapt, build relations, supply jobs, supply care etc. Correct immigration takes time and especially needs time to adjust for the culture shift. Now I'm not exactly pro immigration, as I said, I'm quite conservative, but I can't stand the narrative that every Muslim is partaking in some nation wide raping – especially when the enquiry clearly highlights the British support and health services equally to blame!
I do believe the 'Pakistani' factor is at play more over the 'Muslim' factor. I have met many Muslims and I think every single one was nothing but pleasant with me. More so than the English. So much so that when I came to faith in a higher power, I first turned to Islam because of how well the Muslims treated me day-to-day. I did however become Christian for reasons I can tell another day. The point is, I don't think Muslims are this plague of raping monsters which some media personalities seem to suggest.
I will admit that I think our nation has lost it's identity. Call it consequences of the middle east wars or the woke agenda but, it is safe to say that England has lost it's identity and it feels Muslim communities are filling that identity. I don't think Muslims are “taking over” but I do think their sense of community is becoming so vast that English people feel threatened. Every nation should have an identity and if it is lost then something will replace it.
Regardless, the people who partook in these crimes and especially the ones in power who knew but did nothing need to face the full swing of the law – my hopes on that matter are minimal to be truthful.
EpicMonday 25: Bin ich so, wie ich bin – oder so, wie ich sein will?
from 
EpicMind
Freundinnen & Freunde der Weisheit! Diese Woche etwas verspätet, die Hitze fordert ihren Tribut. Diese Woche befassen wir uns mit unserer Persönlichkeit und wie stark wir sie formen können.
Viele Menschen wünschen sich, gelassener, gewissenhafter oder kontaktfreudiger zu sein. Die psychologische Forschung zeigt: Unsere Persönlichkeit ist formbar – aber nur bis zu einem gewissen Grad. Zwar bestimmen genetische Anlagen zu einem grossen Teil, wie wir ticken. Doch auch unser Umfeld, unsere Erfahrungen und bewusste Entscheidungen prägen mit, wer wir sind – und wer wir werden können.
Psychologinnen und Psychologen unterscheiden dabei fünf zentrale Persönlichkeitsmerkmale: emotionale Stabilität, Extraversion, Offenheit, Gewissenhaftigkeit und soziale Verträglichkeit. Diese „Big Five“ sind keine festen Kategorien, sondern Kontinua – man kann also durchaus an einer Eigenschaft arbeiten, ohne sich grundlegend zu verändern. Studien belegen, dass gezielte Übungen wie Tagespläne, kleine Mutproben oder sogenannte Wenn-Dann-Pläne (z. B. „Wenn ich auf der Party allein bin, spreche ich jemanden an“) dabei helfen können, gewünschte Eigenschaften zu stärken. Voraussetzung ist jedoch: Die Veränderung muss aus einem inneren Antrieb heraus erfolgen – nicht aus gesellschaftlichem Druck.
Besonders gut lassen sich Eigenschaften wie Extraversion oder Gewissenhaftigkeit beeinflussen. Andere wie Offenheit oder Verträglichkeit sind tiefer verankert – oft durch kulturelle oder familiäre Prägungen – und lassen sich nur schwer und meist nur mit Unterstützung verändern. Entscheidend ist dabei weniger der Wunsch nach einem Idealbild als vielmehr die Frage: Was tut mir gut? In welchen Situationen möchte ich mich anders verhalten – und warum?
Letztlich geht es nicht darum, sich neu zu erfinden, sondern sich besser kennenzulernen. Persönlichkeit verändert sich nicht über Nacht, sondern schrittweise – ähnlich wie ein Muskel, der durch Training wächst. Und sie verändert sich nachhaltiger, wenn Entwicklung und Selbstakzeptanz Hand in Hand gehen. Wer sich unter permanentem Optimierungsdruck verbiegt, läuft Gefahr, sich selbst zu verlieren. Veränderung braucht deshalb mehr als Methoden – sie braucht Mass und Sinn.
Denkanstoss zum Wochenbeginn
„Alle Unruhe im Menschen entspringt aus der Phantasie.“ – Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)
ProductivityPorn-Tipp der Woche: Klare Strukturen für Meetings
Meetings sind oft Zeitfresser. Setze klare Agenden, halte sie so kurz wie möglich und stelle sicher, dass am Ende jeder weiss, was zu tun ist.
Aus dem Archiv: Vier Worte und ein Notizbuch – für einen besseren Schlaf
Wer kennt das nicht: Es ist drei Uhr morgens, draussen ist alles still – nur im eigenen Kopf herrscht Hochbetrieb. Gedanken kreisen, Aufgabenlisten wachsen, verpasste Chancen und ungeklärte Fragen drängen sich auf. An Schlaf ist kaum noch zu denken. Solche Nächte sind keine Seltenheit – sie gehören für viele Menschen zum Alltag. Doch muss man diesem inneren Film wirklich tatenlos zusehen?
Vielen Dank, dass Du Dir die Zeit genommen hast, diesen Newsletter zu lesen. Ich hoffe, die Inhalte konnten Dich inspirieren und Dir wertvolle Impulse für Dein (digitales) Leben geben. Bleib neugierig und hinterfrage, was Dir begegnet!
EpicMind – Weisheiten für das digitale Leben „EpicMind“ (kurz für „Epicurean Mindset“) ist mein Blog und Newsletter, der sich den Themen Lernen, Produktivität, Selbstmanagement und Technologie widmet – alles gewürzt mit einer Prise Philosophie.
Disclaimer Teile dieses Texts wurden mit Deepl Write (Korrektorat und Lektorat) überarbeitet. Für die Recherche in den erwähnten Werken/Quellen und in meinen Notizen wurde NotebookLM von Google verwendet. Das Artikel-Bild wurde mit ChatGPT erstellt und anschliessend nachbearbeitet.
Topic #Newsletter