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Madonna booed in Bucharest

MADONNA EXPLAINS GYPSY COMMENTS




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Madonna has said she was “compelled” to comment on the discrimination of Romany Gypsies while on stage in Romania, despite being booed by fans. The 51-year-old was jeered by the audience in Bucharest after saying the discrimination “made me feel very sad”.


Publicist Liz Rosenberg said Madonna made the comments after being made aware of the prejudice towards Romany people in eastern Europe. The star uses a group of Roma musicians on her Sticky and Sweet tour. Madonna paused during her two-hour show to say: “It has been brought to my attention, that there is a lot of discrimination against Romanies and Gypsies in general in Eastern Europe – it made me feel very sad.” “We don’t believe in discrimination, we believe in freedom and equal rights for everyone.”


The star then received more boos when she mentioned prejudice against homosexuals and others.
Rosenberg said Madonna had told her there were cheers as well as jeers from the 60,000-strong crowd.


“Madonna has been touring with a phenomenal troupe of Roma musicians who made her aware of the discrimination toward them in several countries so she felt compelled to make a brief statement,” she added. Concert goer Ionut Dinu, 23, said: “I jeered her because it seemed false what she was telling us. What business does she have telling us these things?”


Romania has the largest number of Roma in eastern Europe. Nearly half of Europe’s estimated 12 million Roma claimed to have suffered an act of discrimination over the past 12 months, according to a recent report by the EU Fundamental Rights Agency. The agency says Roma face “overt discrimination” in housing, health care and education.


source: BBC


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It's amazing to me how someone trying to do the right thing even though "it's not her place" and "she doesn't know what she is talking about" can be so controversial. Then again, it is Madonna, and even when her heart is in the right place she tends to get raked over the coals.
 
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Jona said:
It's amazing to me how someone trying to do the right thing even though "it's not her place" and "she doesn't know what she is talking about" can be so controversial. Then again, it is Madonna, and even when her heart is in the right place she tends to get raked over the coals regardless.
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Anytime a singer goes beyond 'I want you, I need you, I love you' it's controverersial. When you talk about social issues or politics there's inevitably always going to be a large group of people that don't share your opinion. Remember how the Dixie Chicks were treated after their little comment about Bush and the war in Iraq. But as the arts (and that includes music) are supposed to reflect what's going on in society I'm all for artists speaking out and making songs about issues other than love and sex.
 
out of ALL the things she could've said about Romania "such a beautiful country" or nice welcoming people or this or that, she comes up with that and makes us look like a bunch of racists. of course you don't like it when you welcome somebody into your home and they tell you how to act in your own home, it's like a slap in the face
shall we start with all the things that are wrong with America, her homeland? we can go on forever if you want to take it this way
by the way it's not the 1st time madonna got booed for making political/social remarks iduring her concerts...so typical for americans to have this attitude "we know better" just shut the fuck up
Madonna the-world-savior did not accomplish her mission this time, instead she was persecuted. :smilerolleyes: I send her my hearfelt compassion.
 
ShadowMaster said:
it's been established in 1970's and that is recent compared to the "gypsi" name. now ... i don't want you to think i got something with them but i don't like being mistaked to them based on the abreviation of my country's name. and i met a lot of gypsies who insisted being called gypsi. i never saw this word as a racist word... it;s like you're racist calling me white ... :) it's not the name and the race that creates hatred but actions themselves... and when there are many people of a certain group that do that ..then the group gets labeled ... it's what it is i didn't invented this and i can't make people change their views

yet i don't agree with this letting go trend regarding race .. i'm proud of my race and i'm sure you are proud of it too. and it's really beautiful to see people of different races.. different traditions and stuff.
but i am bothered when i see naked little children in the street... and it does bother me if i give money to a beggar that gets in his car right after i move on... and stuff like that ...
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Sorry for still feeding this, but again, the word "gyspy" doesn't exist in our Romanes vocabulary - when we ask someone if they are a gypsy we say "Rom san?" (are you a gyspy?) and that has been there since way beyond the 70's. the word gypsy is the english (and probably in some other languages too) word for what we are - Rom. So again, you can go back to my grand grand grand parents and they would introduce themselves as "Rom"/"Romani" - again stressing on that we've used it way before the 70's...

And sorry for sounding like an asshole:)
 
snowhite said:
out of ALL the things she could've said about Romania "such a beautiful country" or nice welcoming people or this or that, she comes up with that and makes us look like a bunch of racists. of course you don't like it when you welcome somebody into your home and they tell you how to act in your own home, it's like a slap in the face
shall we start with all the things that are wrong with America, her homeland? we can go on forever if you want to take it this way
by the way it's not the 1st time madonna got booed for making political/social remarks iduring her concerts...so typical for americans to have this attitude "we know better" just shut the fuck up
Madonna the-world-savior did not accomplish her mission this time, instead she was persecuted. :smilerolleyes: I send her my hearfelt compassion.
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I'll never understand this dark and compassionate-less point of view. That's just hateful.

How can anyone argue that all peoples should be given equal rights and not be discriminated against? It's mind boggling! :scratch:
 
M’S GYPSY GROUP ’SADDENED’ BY BUCHAREST JEERS




BUCHAREST — Gypsy music group Kolpakov Trio who are supporting Madonna on a world tour expressed sadness Friday after fans heckled the singer at a Romania concert as she criticised discrimination of gypsies.


“We were saddened,” band member Vadim Kolpakov told reporters in Bucharest, where the group played with Madonna on Wednesday.


“We want to tell Romania and eastern Europe that everyone has rights, gypsies like everyone else.”


Several thousand concert goers, out of an audience of 60,000, booed Madonna at the gig when she declared herself “very sad” because of the “discrimination against Romas and gypsies in general in eastern Europe”.


The Kolpakov Trio said they had not seen such a reaction in any other concerts during Madonna’s “Sticky and Sweet” tour.


The band, originally from Russia, are accompanying Madonna during the whole tour.


Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hvGYDOmO2Kye6aLHKspGVRROrl3Q
 
I hate that this article is gonna make Romanians looked bad because some, not all, of the fans booed her. It's not like Romania is the only country with their own issues. I think those people had a right to boo her because they felt like she was disrespectful and giving them a lecture on their country, when her own country has serious issues with discrimination(I'm in the USA too). I also feel that Madonna probably felt driven to speak because she is against discrimination of people and wanted to get people to think on it. Personally, I find it disrespectful and elitist when people try to give me advice on something when they haven't experienced it first hand or know both sides even if the advice is genuine/helpful.

P.S. I still love Madonna and understand why she did it, but she had to expect the booing.
 
Nighty said:
Sorry for still feeding this, but again, the word "gyspy" doesn't exist in our Romanes vocabulary - when we ask someone if they are a gypsy we say "Rom san?" (are you a gyspy?) and that has been there since way beyond the 70's. the word gypsy is the english (and probably in some other languages too) word for what we are - Rom. So again, you can go back to my grand grand grand parents and they would introduce themselves as "Rom"/"Romani" - again stressing on that we've used it way before the 70's...

And sorry for sounding like an asshole:)
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you don't sound like an asshole, i understand you point of view but keep in mind that what i wrote is not some fancy philosophy about some people i never met. i speak from my own experience with them and trust me all the gypsies i met and got somehow along with asked me to tell them gypsy (the romanian word for it of course ) but since you keep bringing it tell me one thing ...rom you say? well as far as i know they used to be called dom ...not rom ... rom is a word that i find insulting for me as a romanian just as you feel insulted when i tell you gypsi. here at least they use to write it with double "r".
 
Hey, i don't wanna get into politics discussions but, in the past few years Romanians have always been provoked, on this rasism matter,on different levels and Madonna just doesn't know what she's talking about. She's just a pawn to promote this "rasism matter" in Romania. She's been given the ideea that in Eastern Europe it's discrimination problem,and she just took it like that,she didn't even do a research,or ask if this "discrimination problem" even exists.

Guess what,Gypsies have free pass in education at any level meaning they don't have to pass examens on Highschool,or College,universeties. But WE,ROMANIANS Have to pass every exam.They have already booked free spots in ANY EDUCATION LEVELS.

This is happening here,in ROMANIA! So Madonna talks s**t! :)
 
ShadowMaster said:
you don't sound like an asshole, i understand you point of view but keep in mind that what i wrote is not some fancy philosophy about some people i never met. i speak from my own experience with them and trust me all the gypsies i met and got somehow along with asked me to tell them gypsy (the romanian word for it of course ) but since you keep bringing it tell me one thing ...rom you say? well as far as i know they used to be called dom ...not rom ... rom is a word that i find insulting for me as a romanian just as you feel insulted when i tell you gypsi. here at least they use to write it with double "r".
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Listen, I understand your viewpoint, but I have never in my whole life heard the expression "dom" (the way you spell "rom" with a double "RR" might be right, we gypsys have never had a written down dictionary so there is no way in hell we know a correct spelling on any of our words). I'm really sincerly sorry if the word drags you as a romanian down, that's not the idea with the word, I'm just saying that we have always been called "rom" (again, you might be right on the double "rr" thing). You know, you're communicating with a gypsy right now, as u read this and I'm trying to give you as accurate info about my kind as possible. And again, I've never found the word "gypsy" offensive, it's what I am for god's sake:) I'm just saying that here in Sweden, the media started using the word "romani" 5-6 years ago and decided that the term "gypsy" is offensive. I sincerly have no idea how that happend, but that's the way it looks over here. I even went as far discussing this thread with my grandfather the other day, specially about the word "rom" and where it originates from - he has no idea, he only knows that it's been there since way beyond his time..


On another note thou, why do I have this strange feeling that I'm the only gypsy on this forum..
 
Nighty listen .. i've made my point, i'm sure we'll never agree on it and it's easy to see why.... let's just put an end to this ... this is no place to discuss racial philosophy ... madonna should have shut up! it was none of her bussiness ... that's the main thing.
i'm no fan of madonna, i'm a fan of Michael Jackson. nothing else matters ... ok?

and one more thing. ..i don't care if you're gypsy...you can be an alien if you ask me ...and so could i.... all i care about is that you love Mike the same as i do...this is what unites us both... it's really up to us if we can make a better place starting from the one thing we got. after all this is what's all about ...
 
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I'm glad I refrained from commenting since I was quite naive on the subject until I read through the many informative posts in this thread.

It appears Madonna felt sympathetic towards her bandmates' concerns and therefore had good intentions with her remarks but her naivete on the subject caused her to inadvertently, I'm sure, offend her audience's sensiblities, if the posts by Romanians on this thread are any indication. Hopefully, with an apology and further dialogue, a new understanding can be reached.

ShadowMaster said:
if one is white and says he's proud of that it's wrong ....what? how come?
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You do have a point there. The African-American scholar Shelby Steele wrote that "Racial identity is simply forbidden to whites in America [and presumably the UK, France, etc.]....Black children today are hammered with the idea of racial identity and pride, yet racial pride in whites constitutes a grave evil. Say 'I'm white and I'm proud,' and you are a Nazi."

Shelby argues that European and American history make white pride dangerous:

"No group in recent history has more aggressively seized power in the name of its racial superiority than Western whites. This race illustrated for all time—through colonialism, slavery, white racism, Nazism—the extraordinary human evil that follows when great power is joined to an atavistic sense of superiority and destiny. This is why today's whites, the world over, cannot openly have a racial identity."

"White guilt--the need to win enough moral authority around race to prove that one is not a racist--is the price whites today pay for this history. Political correctness is a language that enables whites to show by wildly exaggerated courtesy that they are not racist; diversity does this for institutions. But white guilt's greatest taboo is the one that Howard Dean violated--assigning whites a racial identity out of which they can pursue power as whites."

Hopefully, everyone can feel proud without the need to, as Steele put it "assert the inherent superiority of one's group over others, exclude others as inferiors, and invoke an enemy to fight in the name of one's superiority."

http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110004295
 
I didn't really want to post here,because I get the feeling that what my fellow Romanians said is not really taken into consideration,given the fact that Madonna,the all-knowing-star,tried to make a point and the Romanians,the "idiots" (as some other "friendly" fan said in a previous post), booed her at the concert...but here it goes.

It is very easy to give moral-lessons regarding an issue,when you don't really have to deal with it.It is easy to "give instructions" when you don't have to give a practical example,mostly when you actually don't give a damn about the things you are trying to impose on somebody else.The western civilizations don't practice what they are preaching!And the best example to that is the way Romanians are treated in Italy,BECAUSE of the harmful and illegal things that gypsis did in the last years.It really affects the image of our country and people,without it beeing our fault!Romanians are treated bad,they are offended,bood and even killed in Italy because the public mass belives that Romanians have done horrible things - when in fact the gypsis are the ones that did.Now,is this not racism?!

Ok,let's go beyond that...even if the Italians knew the difference between Romanians and gypsys,the "racism-problem" would still be there...The Italian authorities have destroyed the gypsis tents outside of Rome,the police took them out of the streets and sent them in Romania,and banned them to come back in Italy for a period of time.The public perception is clearly very bad,they are feared and not wanted.Well....why are they not trying to integrate them?Why not offer them homes,jobs and the possibility of going to schools there?!Why discriminate them?WHY?! See,now here in my country we have done all of these things: we gave them homes,jobs and the possibility of going to school and university,and yet we still are the ones that discriminate...
It's easy to say "Oh,in eastern-Europe,gypsys are discriminated!!" - well,there,the Italians faced the same problems as we do here,in my country,and they were not happy about it,nor where they friendly,tolerant and willing to integrate them into their society...

The bottom line is Madonna didn't have a clue about what she was talking about.She should have researched more about the matter,before coming here and trying to "make points"...
 
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Either Madonna is a hypocrite or she learned her lesson from the Bucharest incident. In Israel she said nothing about the conflict with the Palestinians:

Last update - 09:59 02/09/2009
Madonna in Tel Aviv: Israel is the energy center of the world

Madonna brought her mix of provocative music and spirituality to the Holy Land with a concert Tuesday in front of 50,000 fans who have endured a 16-year wait since the pop icon's last gig in Israel.

The pop icon wraps up her worldwide Sticky & Sweet tour this week with two concerts in a country with which she claims to share a special bond.

Madonna took the stage about a half hour late Tuesday night, opening with her 2008 single, Candy Shop and moving through a tightly choreographed performance that included a series of colorful costumes - beginning with a skimpy, black body suit with fishnet stockings and knee-high boots - and range of hits, new and old.

"I shouldn't have stayed so long away," she told the adoring crowd midway through the show, as she broke away from the script to express her affection for the country.

"Every time I come here, I get so supercharged with energy," she said. "I truly believe that Israel is the energy center of the world. And I also believe that if we can all live together in harmony in this place, then we can live in peace all over the world."

During a rousing finale of Give it 2 Me, Madonna draped an Israeli flag around herself and paraded around the stage.

Towards the middle of her performance Tuesday, Madonna changed into a short red skirt and leather jacket to sing Get into the Groove. Shortly afterwards, a Michael Jackson impersonator took center stage and was cheered by Madonna and the team of dancers.

The 51-year-old entertainer claims a special bond with Israel.

Madonna last performed in Israel in 1993 but came on private pilgrimages in 2004 and 2007 along with other Kabbalah devotees.
She's been dabbling in Kabbalah, a form of Jewish mysticism, for more than a decade and has taken on a Hebrew name, Esther.

Madonna's first performance on Tuesday in Tel Aviv's Hayarkon Park is taking place in front of more than 50,000 people.

Israeli radio stations played Madonna songs through the day on Tuesday. On Israel's Army Radio, a DJ interrupted a song briefly to quip that tonight, Aunt Esther is playing at Hayarkon Park.

Late Monday, the pop diva dined with Israel's parliamentary opposition leader, Tzipi Livni, at Madonna's request, Livni spokesman Gil Messing said.

Livni was very impressed with Madonna and found her to be a very interesting person, said Messing, adding that the two decided to keep the content of their conversation private. Livni plans to attend one of Madonna's concerts, he said.

Madonna is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Jerusalem residence on Friday.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1111654.html
 
How come people are calling it racism? I always thought racism was discrimination against a race... not a certain group (e.g. gypsies).
 
LukeNo.1MJFan! said:
How come people are calling it racism? I always thought racism was discrimination against a race... not a certain group (e.g. gypsies).
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True, but then again, any form of discrimination is not really moraly right.. Even if we're a race or a group..
 
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