I had also been advised that it was in the same category as racial slurs. Probably it is, but with some contextual variation.

Dolorosa's advice below is what I will try to follow – since I'm not Roma or Traveller, best to avoid.

Aaaanyway, I impolitely failed to thank you for sharing the reviews. The Lindqvist book sounds important and I should read it. Just a few days ago, I was reading about the completion of the Colonial Frontier Massacres digital map project.

If the UK education system accounted for all I know of history, I would never have had an inkling such events took place.