The Lie of the “Gipsy Crime”

Abstract

This article deals with the racist use of the term “gypsy crime” rooted in the racial theory of Nazism, presupposing collective responsibility and blame for acts of crime. It analyses how the vernacular language adopted this expression from criminalistics and criminological practice and how it was twisted by mainstream communication media to instigate hatred in Hungary from the Kádár era through today. This article warns of the scapegoating process, as well as of the threat of a civil war fuelled by hatred, since there is no such thing as national or ethnic sin. Crime is due to the combination of personal attributes and social, community influence, not without personal responsibility.