Jude Seal's Notebook

Content Warning: Racism, Violence, Murder, Genocide.   This is the story of Johann Wilhelm ‘Rukeli’ Trollmann.  You’ve probably never heard of him.  He was a famous Sinti Romani boxer in the 1920s.  The reason that, particularly in the English speaking world, he is not particularly well known is because of the events described in this post.  Part of the goal in writing this is to draw more attention both to Trollmann himself, and also to the suffering undergone by the Roma including the Sinti during the genocide carried about by the Nazis and their allies.  It is a story of pain, suffering, and defiance, and both the story and the man deserve to be remembered. Johann Wilhelm 'Rukeli' Trollmann as an amateur boxer in 1928 Johann Trollmann was born on 27 December 1907, at Wilsche near Gifhorn in what was then the German Empire.   In the 1920s he rose to fame as a skilled boxer, known for his technique, hand speed, and movement.   He was ...

We are at tipping point in a years-long struggle against racism.  Protests have sprung up all over the world, stemming from events in the USA.  This post is not intended to provide commentary on these events – there are many people far better placed to provide such comment – but rather to highlight something which I think is not completely understood regarding the etymology of a particular word, which can in context be considered a racial slur.  It has been in my mind to write this post for some time – stemming from conversations at the IMC in Leeds in 2019.  I decided to finish it off due to a recent conversation with a student with a similar background to me which revolved around the misunderstanding and misrepresentation of minority cultures.  Gibberish.   It’s a term that’s often thrown around in discussion and criticism.   A critic may condemn a writer’s prose style as ‘bordering on gibberish’.   A politician may call their opponent’s...