The term "Mong"
Discussion
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Don't know but I have been known to make up insulting terms or words (well that was the intention, some times you just get looked at like you were some sort of adolescent kangaroo) when the recipient is a bit too far up the food chain for a full on outburst or when there are young ears about!"Mong" was not used originally to insult people with Downs, Down being the name of the Doctor who did the early research on it. Mong is an abbreviation of Mongolian and was used as people said that people with Downs facial features were similar to folk from Mongolia, hence "Mongoloid".
It isn't ever used as a medical term nowadays and hasn't been for a long time, because of a possible link it is probably best avoided in case it offends but it is quite a good word, in that I mean it sounds satisfying and people know what it means, i.e. a stupid person, very few I would imagine would actually think you are suggesting someone has, or is like someone with Downs, I cant imagine many people feel the need to insult anyone with Downs. I never remember ever calling anyone a Mong on that basis, there was a guy at school called Craig whos nickname was Mong.
We did know one lad with Downs when we were kids, he was older and bigger but liked to hang about with us, I mention this only as its the one instance of relating the word Mong to someone with Downs, he was bigger than us and a bit physical, used to scare us a little, he used a BMX bike with no brakes ( not sure why his parents thought a disabled teenager on a bike with no brakes was a good idea ?), his brother was a bit of a t
t, "too cool for school" and he too the BMX and peeled half the makers decal off the frame, turning it from a "Mongoose", into a "Mong", we knew what it meant but we never called him a Mong, nobody else did, just called him Greg, to be fair, he didnt give a toss, he was just into going and getting as many sweets as possible and riding his bike, with the latter, he was a bit of a liability.
Joey Deacon had severe Cerebral Palsy, but normal intelligence, despite what kids thought, it is pretty terrible that kids impersonating a disabled man and calling each other Joey's is now fondly remembered as part of our cultural heritage, but things don't always pan out as expected, certainly not as the BBC expected, how naive, or brave ?
It isn't ever used as a medical term nowadays and hasn't been for a long time, because of a possible link it is probably best avoided in case it offends but it is quite a good word, in that I mean it sounds satisfying and people know what it means, i.e. a stupid person, very few I would imagine would actually think you are suggesting someone has, or is like someone with Downs, I cant imagine many people feel the need to insult anyone with Downs. I never remember ever calling anyone a Mong on that basis, there was a guy at school called Craig whos nickname was Mong.
We did know one lad with Downs when we were kids, he was older and bigger but liked to hang about with us, I mention this only as its the one instance of relating the word Mong to someone with Downs, he was bigger than us and a bit physical, used to scare us a little, he used a BMX bike with no brakes ( not sure why his parents thought a disabled teenager on a bike with no brakes was a good idea ?), his brother was a bit of a t
t, "too cool for school" and he too the BMX and peeled half the makers decal off the frame, turning it from a "Mongoose", into a "Mong", we knew what it meant but we never called him a Mong, nobody else did, just called him Greg, to be fair, he didnt give a toss, he was just into going and getting as many sweets as possible and riding his bike, with the latter, he was a bit of a liability.Joey Deacon had severe Cerebral Palsy, but normal intelligence, despite what kids thought, it is pretty terrible that kids impersonating a disabled man and calling each other Joey's is now fondly remembered as part of our cultural heritage, but things don't always pan out as expected, certainly not as the BBC expected, how naive, or brave ?
No, not really. Everyone is offended by everything these days. You can't say anything without somebody somewhere being outraged by what is going on. It's only a word.
Given that today a commercial airliner may have been potentially shot down by a bunch of idiots playing at war games and all the other terrible things that go on I don't think being called nasty names is all that bad.
Given that today a commercial airliner may have been potentially shot down by a bunch of idiots playing at war games and all the other terrible things that go on I don't think being called nasty names is all that bad.
wildcat45 said:
Am I the only one on here who does find it grossly offensive?
.....
I can not believe that the people here on PH really hate Downs sufferers......
What makes you think that individuals with DS suffer from it? The following is from the Down's Syndrome Association's website:.....
I can not believe that the people here on PH really hate Downs sufferers......
DSA said:
Down's syndrome is not a disease. People with Down's syndrome are not ill and do not "suffer" from the condition
http://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk/about-us/key-facts-and-faqs.htmlMy daughter has DS and does not suffer from it at all. She is a perfectly healthy and happy girl who attends mainstream school and plays with the other kids. The educational gap is widening so she is likely to have to move out of mainstream next year but that is solely down to the gap between her and her peers and the logistics of managing that in the classroom.
Oh and as I said on the other thread that discussed this a week or so back, no it's not offensive. The biggest problem we have and she will continue to have for the rest of her life is other peoples ignorance.
Edited by stemll on Thursday 17th July 22:47
wildcat45 said:
Glad to hear it.
However sadly I know a lad who does. Health issues. I won't go into details here because I don't know enough about his situation.
I take your point though.
No he suffers from other health issues, as does our son, he was born with a bowel problem that needed fixing when he was 6 days old, then followed by a 2 month stay in hospital for a twisted bowel. He suffers from the odd cold now and again..... You can't suffer from Down Syndrome end ofHowever sadly I know a lad who does. Health issues. I won't go into details here because I don't know enough about his situation.
I take your point though.
Not that I want to discuss this guy's ailments but I feel you deserve a response.
He has heart, breathing and early dementia issues which I understand (have been told by his family) are connected to DS. This is what I have been told so it could all be rubbish.
The guy is getting on for 50.
I would say he is suffering a bit. It hasn't always been that way.
He has heart, breathing and early dementia issues which I understand (have been told by his family) are connected to DS. This is what I have been told so it could all be rubbish.
The guy is getting on for 50.
I would say he is suffering a bit. It hasn't always been that way.
Oh and I agree with the ignorance bit.
We had a great system at a school I went to. It was 1980, so probably crude by today's standards.
It was a primary school with a great big annexe dedicated to kids with various learning disabilities though I think back then it was still called mental handicap. The kids abilities varied tremendously, and the great thing was it was all part of the school, so we did stuff together all the time.
No ignorance. Just acceptance.
I think that's why I was offended by "Mong" because I saw it as referring to kids I knew and who I played with, sung with swam with.
We had a great system at a school I went to. It was 1980, so probably crude by today's standards.
It was a primary school with a great big annexe dedicated to kids with various learning disabilities though I think back then it was still called mental handicap. The kids abilities varied tremendously, and the great thing was it was all part of the school, so we did stuff together all the time.
No ignorance. Just acceptance.
I think that's why I was offended by "Mong" because I saw it as referring to kids I knew and who I played with, sung with swam with.
9mm said:
Can someone who is offended please explain what that means please?
For me, it's all about witnessing an act which I feel causes unnecessary and unwarranted psychological distress to the recipient/victim of the attack. The giver of the insult may hide behind the defence that they don't understand what the insult means, but nevertheless the use of it is an attack on an individual intended to demean, belittle, or reduce the feelings of self-worth of recipient of the ridicule. This is hardly ever done in a true spirit of fun, it's done to place the recipient in a position of social disadvantage as compared to the deliverer of the insult. Why do it? To make the victim feel good about themselves, or to make the deliverer feel secure in their social group?
The casual use of ability-based insults helps to keep people marginalised and marked out as being less than 'normal' people. We have seen that people who have DS don't 'suffer' from it, neither necessarily do people with cerebral palsy or a host of other 'disabilities'. But the use of these types of insult perpetuate their state of victimhood, and it's done simply to reinforce the in-group self-worth of the attacker.
I know nothing about you, but there must be something in this world you care deeply about, be it a car or a pet or a pastime or something. How do you feel when a group of influential people start belittling it? Does this scene have any resonance with you?
You are stood in the pub with people you thought were your mates, and you say you are going target shooting this weekend. For the rest of the night, there's a constant stream of psycho-killer sniper jokes aimed at you. It's ok, it's funny, they don't mean anything by it. But 3 weeks later one of the guys is still going on about you training up to be a terrorist sniper. Every time you see him he makes a sniper scope reference. It pisses you off. You'd lamp him one, but he's a foot taller than you and built like a brick s
thouse, You are too scared to do anything about it, so you suffer in silence. It gnaws away at you, to the point where to get him to stop you pack up target shooting, the one thing you really loved doing. Of course, it won't work, he'll just find something else about you to have a go at, he's got the taste for it now.That's why I get offended. I don't think it's right that people can do that to you using the defence "it's only a bit of fun".
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