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Ricky Gervais is in hot water with the disabled community after a series of recent tweets in which he used the word "mongs," which critics say is a derogatory term aimed at people with Down syndrome. Gervais defended himself on Twitter, writing:

"Just to clarify for uptight people stuck in the past. The word means Down's Syndrome about as much as the word gay means happy. I never use the word mong to mean anything to do with Down's Syndrome."

Gervais was defiant in his unwillingness to buckle to "the humorless PC brigade," saying "the modern use of the word mong means 'dopey' or 'ignorant.' It's even in modern slang and urban dictionaries."

The first entry on urbandictionary.com defines "mong" as "lacking in physical and cerebral ability. General retardation. Generally: a total spastic." Subsequent definitions explain that "mong" is short for "mongoloid," the anachronistic (and offensive) term for someone with Down syndrome, but also state that the word is "commonly used to describe the state of one's lack of common sense," which would seem to back up Gervais' claim. But Gervais also posted a series of pictures of "mong-faces," which didn't really help his cause.

Gervais' reputation has suffered lately. His borderline mean-spirited jokes at the Golden Globes led to a backlash. In an episode of Extras, a Down syndrome boy was referred to as a "mongoloid," and during a U.K. stand-up appearance last year, he called singer Susan Boyle a "mong." Then, backpedaling to save face, Gervais sent a letter to the Down Syndrome Association, denying that he meant to be derogatory, though he had said, "Well, she's a mong, isn't she? She looks like a mong, doesn't she?"

Political correctness and oversensitivity can become overbearing, and especially frustrating for a comedian trying to ply his or her trade. People like Lenny Bruce and George Carlin were trailblazers when it came to attempting to break down restrictions on free speech, and we see the controversy alive and well today. We still have to try and discern intent, whether someone is being cruel and insensitive, trying to get attention and make a name for themselves, or genuinely trying to get a discussion going with benign motives. But Gervais, unfortunately, seems to find humor in individuals with a forty-seventh chromosome, and his track record is not reflecting well on his reputation.

 

Commentarium (35 Comments)

Oct 19 11 - 1:20pm
moops

Technically, the words "idiot" and "moron" used to be specific medical classifications of mental disability. Is calling someone an idiot degrading to people suffering from mental retardation?

Oct 19 11 - 2:56pm
profrobert

I don't think so because those terms passed from medical usage long ago. A better analogy is "retard" as an epithet, which is offensive to some people. The problem is that as medicine/social work tries to find a way to describe those with intellectual impairment, the term will immediately be seized upon in some way and converted to an epithet. Some comedian (George Carlin? I want to attribute every insight into language to him) made the point that five minutes after the term "retarded" became the medically accepted term, some kid in a schoolyard called another kid a "tardo." It's a losing battle.

All that said, "Mongs," which I'd never heard before (I would have intepreted Gervais's tweet as a typo for "tweetmongers," meaning a purveyor of tweets, like "fishmonger" means fish seller), is doubly offensive to both the "differently abled" (jeez, I know) and to Asians. Gervais used to be a gently funny guy; it's like since he lost the weight he's become a jerk and a bully.

Oct 20 11 - 10:29am
NY

"Gervais used to be a gently funny guy; it's like since he lost the weight he's become a jerk and a bully."

I don't think you know much about Gervais' career. He's arguably most famous for playing a character who was a mildly bigoted, un-P.C. sociopath. The bottom line is, whether people find him funny or not, a sense of humor does not have to have a sense of civility. Gervais is not a "family-oriented" (or pick your white-washed synonym of choice) comedian. Don't like it, don't listen.

Oct 20 11 - 3:01pm
profrobert

I assume you mean his character from The Office? I took that to be making fun of that kind of person, just like Carroll O'Connor was a liberal who played the bigoted Archie Bunker to ridicule him.

I see a distinction between a lack of civility -- I have no problem with comedians uncivilly attacking targets with sarcasm, satire or vulgarity -- and using bigoted speech as part of how they actually express themselves, as opposed to playing a character who does so.

Oct 26 11 - 12:02am
chuck

I honestly don't think Gervais' humor has changed at all. The only real change is people's perception of him. The only answer that makes sense to me is people were happy to laugh at a shlubby comic making jokes at people's expense but when a non-shlub does it, people see it as mean-spirited.

Oct 19 11 - 1:30pm
fishstix

Do people with Downs Syndrome give a shit?

Oct 19 11 - 1:37pm
nodoubt

i agree

Oct 19 11 - 2:41pm
Let's ask

Hooksexup's resident conservatroll. Hey, Riiiight/Anon/Greg/jr/real jr/comma/Observer...does the word mong offend you?

Oct 19 11 - 3:16pm
Nope

Dude, let it go.

Oct 20 11 - 2:14am
julian.

They do.

Oct 19 11 - 1:37pm
Sarah

I've never heard the word "mong" until now. Eh whatever

Oct 20 11 - 2:11am
julian.

It's an older term.

Oct 19 11 - 1:49pm
joo

oh my god they need to move on with their lives. it's just words. ON TWITTER.

Oct 19 11 - 2:00pm
S

They are all a bunch of "Mongs"!!! =p

Oct 19 11 - 2:19pm
nerkums

Are there any Twitter-using celebrities that haven't totally fucked themselves over? I guess we can see the importance of the job that their publicists and handlers do in keeping their mouths shut most of the time.

Oct 19 11 - 2:54pm
EnglishGuy

He really doesn't mean these jokes with bad intent, I think the Britishness to his general attitude may be misunderstood quite some bit by others. Here in England, the word 'Mong' - just as Gervais said - is used as a term for someone who's being stupid or silly and when he said that SuBo looked like a 'Mong', he really didn't mean someone with downs syndrome. A 'Mong' looking face is just like the face a clown would do, or you'd do if you were immitating a caveman - granted it may have originated from people with downs syndrome, but I can guarantee most people don't associate it with that when using the word. At all. He's a nice guy, and makes jokes by taking the piss out of people/things and pushing the limits...it's no deeper than that.

Oct 19 11 - 3:08pm
TJ

I'm a huge Gervais fan, but I think he may have crossed the line here.

Humor can be cruel, and that is nevertheless part of the fun -- but it should be weilded against the powerful, the hubristic, and the pretentious. Not the weakest, most vulnerable.

When he took a buzzsaw to Hollywood, I laughed out loud.

Whether he realized it or not, he was making vulnerable people the butt of his jokes. Not cool.

Oct 19 11 - 3:19pm
nope

You have to take into account the cultural and language differences between the US and England. Sod and fanny have two very different meanings in England.

Oct 19 11 - 7:25pm
So does

the word "cunt". No joke...

Oct 19 11 - 7:33pm
nope

No shit? What does that mean?

Oct 20 11 - 12:34am
nope

Guy, if we're going to be name buddies, can you stick with the capitalized version?

Thanks! You're a real pussy!

Oct 20 11 - 3:23am
Cunt

Is much more common and non-offensive outside of the US of A. Just a fact...

Oct 20 11 - 3:24am
Pussy

Hey, thanks! We can really take a pounding.

Oct 20 11 - 9:45am
@nope

Sorry. Wish granted. Yup

Oct 19 11 - 4:45pm
gervais fan

He's funny. I'll forgive him.

Oct 19 11 - 5:55pm
It's a mong life

Only a mong could have a problem with Ricky's use of the word mong here.

Oct 20 11 - 12:36am
nope

I don't know enough about the UK meaning of "mong" to really make a call, but comparing mocking Down's Syndrome people to mocking celebrities at the Golden Globes is completely ridiculous. You always go up in comedy -- you make fun of those with a higher position in life, wealth, fame, whatever. When you mock those worse-off than you, unless you are exceptionally good at it, you look like an asshole.

Oct 20 11 - 2:13am
julian.

Ricky Gervais is starting to get fucking annoying. Now he is resulting to being extremely rude and crossing lines just to cross lines to try to remain culturally relevant.

Oct 20 11 - 3:25am
Uhmmmm

Not sure you're the real Julian on that one.

Oct 20 11 - 8:22am
Julimong

He's even resorted to resulting? That means he's really jumped the shark, me old china.

Oct 20 11 - 10:50am
julian.

resorting* Yeah, it was me. I was kind of cranky last night.

Oct 20 11 - 2:47pm
cranky pants

Only wear me late at night after too many drinks!

Nov 20 11 - 4:51pm
Deacon

Shiver me timbers, them's some great informatoin.

Nov 21 11 - 1:51pm
zzwriwvrj

MMbQFC cmaomjoegjzz

Nov 24 11 - 1:03pm
ljoveijppu

luN1Wu ypmhvlpdhabz

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