Minister Miruță apologizes for the expression “like a gypsy with a tent”: “Thank you for pulling me by the sleeve when I am wrong!”
Economy Minister Radu Miruță (USR) apologized, through a post on Facebook, for using the expression “I don't move like a gypsy with a tent” in a televised intervention. The apology comes after the minister was harshly criticized by the sociologist Gelu Duminică, as well as by the NGO Roma for Democracy who asked that Miruță not be appointed Minister of Defense, as USR decided.
“I sincerely apologize to all those who felt offended. I will not repeat the expression, because it is already known and, unfortunately, far too often used. In addition, I am convinced that it will reach all corners of social networks, without my help. But precisely because it has an offensive charge, I do not want to contribute to its normalization, especially from my public position,” wrote Radu Miruță on Facebook.
Minister, asked about his home: “I don't move like a gypsy with a tent” / “In a civilized world, such a statement leads to dismissal”, explains a sociologist
“I am not and have never been a racist”
Miruță states that he realized he had used inappropriate language immediately after using the phrase, but realized that a “clear apology” was needed.
“Those who know me know that I am not and have never been a racist, that I have very good and respectful relationships with people from all communities, including the one that that expression mislabels. But for those who know me only from a distance, I want to be clear: offending a person or a community is not part of who I am, nor of my values,” continued Radu Miruță.
The minister wanted to thank the sociologist Gelu Duminică for the explanations related to the origin of the expression and the traumatic experiences of the Roma in Romania that led to the appearance of the expression.
“Thank you, Gelu Duminică, for giving me an additional perspective, which further strengthened my conviction that language matters and that we must be more careful. All of us. Sorry and thank you for pulling me by the sleeve when I'm wrong!”, concluded Miruță.
On Thursday, in an intervention at Prima News, where he spoke about the income he collects, the Minister of Economy and Interim Minister of National Defense, Radu Miruță (USR), used “a discriminatory expression, which would have nothing to look for in any civilized dialogue in the modern world”, explains, in a dialogue with HotNews, the sociologist Gelu Duminică.
The minister was asked if he receives two salaries, as a parliamentarian and as a minister, and he confirmed: “Of course, I also receive from the Parliament, that I am also a member of the Parliament. You receive a salary as a parliamentarian and as a minister, that's the law,” Miruţă explained to Prima News.
Asked in the same show about the fact that the Parliament pays for his accommodation, USR Minister Radu Miruță said “I stayed where I was staying before. I am not moving, like the gypsy with the tent. I am staying where I stayed, in an apartment in the Iuliu Maniu area, in sector 6 and I am very comfortable there”, said the USR Minister.
The reaction of the Roma for Democracy organization to Radu Miruță's statements. “It normalizes discrimination precisely from the position of power”
Where does the expression come from?
Contacted by Hotnews, the sociologist Gelu Duminică says that the minister's reply is so rooted in our culture that he does not believe that the politician realized what he said.
“They are the judgments and prejudices we have. Many times we don't even understand them anymore and we don't even realize them anymore. It is logical that it is a discriminatory expression, which would have nothing to look for in any civilized dialogue in the modern world. I am convinced that Mr. Miruță did not even realize it, it is so deeply rooted. In sociological theory this is called unconscious prejudice. Like it or not, we all have them”, says the expert.
“For Mr. Miruță to also understand, from my analyses, which I have been doing for years on proverbs and sayings, this expression comes from slavery. The Roma were slaves, being divided into two types: sedentary and nomadic. The sedentary were those who worked around the household and those who worked the land. The nomadic were mainly craftsmen. Among the artisans were goldsmiths, silversmiths, and boys. Boys meant those who worked to search for gold on the riverbeds, the river bath, that's where the name comes from.
The nomadism of the Roma in the Romanian space, namely “moving like a gypsy with a tent”, was forced by the owner. The services offered by the Roma craftsman, from goldsmith to blacksmith, from boilermaker to boy, were extremely important for the medieval development of Romania. In other words, they all needed to glue their cauldrons, they all needed a blacksmith in the village to make their tools. And then those people were condemned in a perpetual movement to support the economic development of the region”, says the expert.
