To reiterate what Guest 999 posted at 30 Aug 11 - 06:38 PM

Gypsies and Travellers fall into four main groups – Gypsies, Irish Travellers, New Travellers and the Roma community. Some are ethnic groups, recognised by the Race Relations Act.
Gypsies have been recognised as a specific ethnic minority since 1988 for the purposes of the Race Relations Amendment Act.
Irish Travellers are a distinct and separate group and recognised as such since 2000 for the purposes of the Race Relations Amendment Act.
Who are Travellers?

From a recent article attempting to understand why racism against these ethnic groups is still 'acceptable' while any use of racist language and attacks on black or Jewish people would presumably be immediately deleted from any decent forum -

"Prejudice against gypsies and travellers is more complex to explain. Anti-gypsy racism is very deep rooted.
It is a form of racism, that is a systematic prejudice and discrimination against a distinct group of people.
It is partly that gypsies, Romany and non-Romany, have remained "unassimilated" for centuries, in those countries where they live. That is partly because of the prejudice they have faced.

Though the gypsies were victims of the extermination programme of the Nazis, this reality has never been adequately discussed in western societies. Anti-gypsy racism therefore remains a norm, a "respectable" racism.

Anti-gypsy racism is also partly the political creation of recent years.

In 1994 the Tories repealed the obligation of local councils to provide sites for travellers. It is now estimated that Britain is short of about 3,500 sites for the 300,000-odd strong Romany and travelling population (most of whom live permanently in one place). Travellers have been forced to move across the country and sometimes camp illegally."

The intentional and continual use of derogatory terms for any ethnic group is, without doubt, racist - it is despicable and not what I would expect to remain undeleted on a blues and folk forum.
As for terming someone a 'racist' - if they choose deliberately to use offensive slurs against any ethnic group then - 'if it quacks like a duck….'