Quote of the Day

Traditional Gypsy life has mostly disappeared in Britain. But there was, and is, nothing inevitable about that. Mechanization- the machine-made plastic peg- is not really to blame. Rather, it is the work of lawmakers who have pandered to universal but unfounded fears. [...] Regulations on all sites, public or private, rule out nearly all occupations that guarantee Gypsies some independence. So there goes the trade in Christmas trees, scrap metal, horses, and cars, along with the traveling jobs of tree-lopping, tarmacking, and gate-making. Therefore, inevitably, everyone is on welfare. Very often, those who don't move on become, like American Indians on their reservations, Gypsies with problems.

-from Bury Me Standing by Isabel Fonseca