[n4r9]

That's true although "Roma" is a more sensitive (and accurate) description. The linked article is still a bit weird, as RLS does not appear to be Roma or even a vagabond/itinerant figure. He just travelled a lot.

[antonymoose]

I believe Roma is a very continental European (German?) term. I’ve only ever heard it in the context of “Sinti und Roma.” In any case it A) refers to a specific subset of the broader “Gypsy” sects and B) is virtually unknown in America.

In the US there are “Gypsy” and “Irish Travellers,” with the latter being a specific subset like Roma, and even then I’ve only heard the term used regionally, e.g. in Augusta, SC where a population lives.

[genuineresponse]

The communities I'm in in America avoid the use of the term precisely because it's an exonym. Around here people use Roma or Traveller.

Granted my sample size is O(100), but that's not nothing either. Although I tend to roll in more progressive circles.