Have to agree with you there.

Is it odd that someone her age doesn't know how offensive blackface is? I think it is.

Well, I now notice that I am sometimes being kept an eye on, but it isn't so blatant. In the past, before I experienced being treated like an undesirable, I probably didn't notice!

I think it does actually happen. It isn't so much about being "dressed down" as being a particular type of dressed down.

No problem. I have not had a great week. My writing is not as clear today as it should be.

Well, you raise an interesting point. The thing is, I don't see the US as tolerant when it comes to dealing with other cultures. What I see is that everyone is expected to conform to the law. And as far as I can tell, it actually works. As long as people do this, they're left alone.

You have a great point about the free-for-all in the US. There is a lot less scrutiny. And yes, I totally agree that the lack of interest has probably been good for the Roma in some respects—as far as being accepted, for example.

Well, as I have said, I do think there is an appalling amount of prejudice against the Roma. But at the same time, there is also an appalling degree of child poverty and abuse. My point, that I keep making over and over again here, is that the existence of prejudice doesn't mean that there aren't real and serious…

I'm familiar with the treatment of the Australian Aborigines, and I find it shocking and appalling. It is not the same at all as what we're talking about here and I think it is very irresponsible to imply it is.

Well, I do think you're overreacting at this point.

Yes, I am well aware, having lived in Switzerland. But the unpalatable truth is that there actually are many prejudices about the Roma and the life of children in the community that are uncomfortably close to the reality.

I do realize that you acknowledge the problems in the community and I didn't make that clear in my response because I am probably too fixated on the parade of excuse-making that others are making. So my apologies there.

I certainly believe it is possible that prejudice leads to unfair treatment in some cases. I don't know if procedure was followed in this particular case or not. As I said, there is unquestionably prejudice against the Roma.

Is there prejudice against Roma? Yes. But there is also a history of practices that are not great for children.

You describe my concerns much more eloquently than I am able to.

I totally agree with your assessment.

Thank you. Unfortunately, I find this article as skewed and gross as the articles that it criticizes. It seems pretty clear at this point that something very wrong is going on as far as why that girl is living with those people and why there are rumors of other kids being trafficked within the community.

No she didn't. She said nothing of the sort.

Are you referring to the advice she gave to the married woman? And to the woman who had sex with a drunk guy?

I understand where you're coming from. And I think that many of the people who are slamming Emily Yoffe are coming from the same place—of wanting to make a pre-emptive strike against those who might accuse women of being responsible for rape if they were drunk.