Yeah I get the reasoning why its offensive but the game isnt directly using the racial side of the word
Like how gay use to mean happy. Re-Logic isnt racist, and they item in general isnt suppose to be used for that kinda message, the gypsy robe is using a name that isnt connected with the offensive version.
I don't know. It seems fairly connected to the Romani people to me. The term "gay" wasn't associated with homosexuality in the past. The tern "g*psy" has always been associated with the Romani throughout history; it was created by outsiders because of the misconception that the Romani were from Egypt. And today it brings up a lot of painful history for them, particularly when used by non-Romani.
I'd also like to reassure you that I'm not trying to suggest that Re-Logic or anyone on the team is racist. It's mainly an issue of society at large having some misconceptions.
It’s just called Gypsy robe because it’s in the style of the traditional Gypsy.
That may well have been the intent, but know that this "traditional style" is in most cases a romanticized fabrication with little basis in history. The Hollywood version whitewashes out a lot of the persecution and the reasons they had to live the way they did, instead depicting them as "carefree spirits". The truth is far less romantic.
The reason Romani historically wore colorful clothing and travelled around in wagons is because they were so persecuted that nobody would allow them to stay anyplace for long – if they overstayed their welcome they'd probably be run out of town within the week by an angry mob. They dressed the way they did because they had to scrounge whatever discarded articles of clothing they could find, because they were so poor. And they reason that many now associate them with fortunetelling and musicianship (particularly fiddling) is because those were some of the few avenues available to them to make money; they were effectively barred from respectable employment.
In the end, the item is just a brown and purple robe with an "exotic" aesthetic. So it doesn't really have much relation to any specific style of clothing worn by the Romani – other than that which exists in the popular imagination.
The way I see it "Gypsy" doesn't have to mean anything racist; I double-checked this by googling the exact meaning of the word.
It's very important to see in what context a word is used, and in Terraria "Gypsy" has nothing to do with a racist slur. If there was an NPC called "Gypsy" and if it was clear that this NPC is basically a thief, sure, there would be a problem there. But we're talking about a set of clothes here.
What I find much more troublesome is some people trying to find racism where there's no racism. This behaviour does more damage than good and people should stop this.
I agree that the term, in this case, is certainly being used without any animus or ill will. However, the word is also tied to a long history of oppression in Europe. For the Romani, it has existing baggage that transcends intent.
I also agree that the hypothetical NPC you describe would be the far worse of the two instances. However, I don't think the current item is necessarily free of stereotype and misconception, even though it's definitely the lesser of two evils. (The "thieves and kidnappers" stereotype has historically been far more harmful to the Romani than the "carefree magical people" stereotype, although I must stress that I don't think that makes the second stereotype desirable by any means.)
Finally, I'd just like to say that I am glad this has so far remained a respectable discussion. The last time this topic was brought up on these forums years ago, it degenerated into a slugfest that had to be locked by the moderators. I'm glad to see that this has not happened so far. (Hopefully I didn't just jinx it.)