we also have a gypsie problem here(netherlands) but seriously nobody really cares except for a few people who live in the same neighborhoods as them.
Well, not caring about an issue and leaving those effected alone, doesn't really mean that you don't have a problem, doesn't it?
and wasnt there a time that italians and other immigrants where hated?
Correction: we are still a nation of immigrants (approx. 45.000 a year) and we are still discriminated, especially in Central\Northern Europe and the UK. I know from the few blogs I follow on Italians living abroad...so it's a fact. Sadly.
They only difference is that we don't play the "race card".
Come on man, are you serious re: Italian discrimination in Central EU/UK? I live in London - my parents are immigrants from Napoli and I have never experienced anything close to discrimination...my 17 year old cousin (born and raised in Napoli) is working in a restaurant in Copenhagen and he is having the best year of his life...). Maybe you have a few problems here and there but nothing comparable to how we were treated 100 years ago I think.
But the gypsy situation is hard to explain to people who simply aren't acquainted or familiar with it. It's very simple - today, in Europe, gypsies are absurdly over-represented in every area of crime. They often prefer not to work simply because it is just easier and more profitable to shift into crime. Of course, it's unfair for the young gypsies as this is the only life that is presented to them, but it makes it hard for Europeans to say 'Oh come on, they're really nice guys, it's their culture so leave them alone'.
For example, two months ago, my mother was in Paris travelling on the metro...her handbag was stolen by two gypsy (Bulgarian) kids; fortunately they were stopped by security, but it's just a reference point for why many people have negative views on gypsies.
