to be a bit in love with Ricky Gervais?!

[potsyandco]

Watching Making of Derek. I love Derek. It's caring, heartfelt, poignant and funny.

Ricky Gervais is funny, clever and caring (yes, I really do think that!) and not bad looking (even more shocking, I know!)

So, AIBU? I presume I'm alone in this one...

:)

Mong was the insult du jour in the lates '80s/'90s. I used to use it along with spaz.

Then I learned what they meant and I stopped.

I agree he knew what it was. At the time I was thinking "Just hold your hands up and apologise fgs."

The thing is there is a difference between me being offended by something and me being offended by something because it is disabilist and hurtful towards a section of society that often can't defend themselves. And yes, before anyone point it out, I am offended on behalf of someone else, I am offended on behalf of my learning disabled son. And the reason I am offended is because I fear for him when he is older, I fear a day when some big kids shout 'mong' at him or make a 'spaz' face or make jokes about his drooling, in the way that Ricky Gervaise's fans did on his twitter feed.

I think that maybe these words were more popular in the early 80s especially after Joey Deacon was on BP.

Well yes Binks, and 'bitch' can mean a female dog, but I wouldn't be too happy if someone called me one, what is your point?

Google mong, this is the first entry.

Yep, you have every right to be offended, Hazey. I agree.

My point is words can mean more than one thing.

Hate hate hate Ricky Gervais

I always thought that when he played David Brent in the Office he wasn't actually acting. He was being himself - a complete twat and a rather unpleasant person.

Although he'd probably say it was some post modern ironic take on life and it shows what a wonderful actor he is in a double bluff kind of way.

He's a tosser.

Right, so because you cannot seem to distinguish RL from a role played by an actor in tv land - RG is a 'tosser'. Excellent. Presumably then you hate 'baddies' in soap operas too - as they are obviously just playing themselves.

How do you cope with films? Have you sought help for your problem?

My mum always said that RG was just playing himself when he was doing David Brent

Was DB a "bad" person though? I can't actually remember. I know he was crass and very cringey but was he a nasty character? I thought he was supposed to be endearing in a very odd way?

countrykitten - I did it for my benefit, not his.

Idiot and cretin have not been used as hate words about disabled people for decades. The associations have been broken, I think. However, mong, retard and spaz are very much current as disablist hate words. You cannot change associations of a word just by decreeing that the associations have been changed. Especially when they haven't.

Words can mean more than one thing, but not when the second thing is a direct association of the first. Mong does not mean 'leaning disabled person' and 'foolish person', it means 'foolish person who is as useless as a learning disabled person' likewise gay meaning shit - they aren't two distinct meanings to the word, gay as shit means 'shit like gay things/people are shit'
Y'see?

Countrykitten - you have (deliberately or otherwise) missed my point completely.

My point was that a lot of people raved about him in the office and what a great character he was playing because David Brent was a complete arsehole. My point is that he wasn't acting. He is a complete arsehole and David Brent is very much the real Ricky Gervais.

Apparently Gervais used to say the following

'On his 2009 stand-up tour he would say each night of Susan Boyle, ?When she first came on the telly, I went, ?Is that a mong???

www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-2162566/Ricky-Gervais-Dwarves-disabled--God-Is-taboo-him.html

I used to like him in 'The Office' but I have now gone off him.
I have not watched Derek for fear of Gervais being insulting, but reading some posts here, it is possible that I am wrong about that.

Marmalade - I agree with your mum!

The man has plucked eyebrows. 'Nuff said.

Y A B U.

TippiShagpile since I have never met the man I can't say whether he is like David Brent or not. I assume that you have met him, know him well and bow to your greater knowledge on this matter.

Not.

GoonDoOne loads of women have plucked eyebrows too - what is your point?

No I don't see. People don't say gay as a negative because they necessarily hate gay people. People don't say idiot because they hate people with a low IQ. People don't say lunatic because they hate people with mental health problems. People don't say dotard because they hate old people.

And much as it would be preferable for no one to use the word mong, once they've categorically explained to you that they don't hate disabled people... Well that's kinda the end of it. You can call him an idiot for using it but you can't keep insisting that he hates disabled people. He doesn't.

Same thing isn't it? You would be best off not calling anyone that on Twitter because it's likely to go down like a cup of cold sick. But people do call each other that affectionately in certain circumstances. For example during 2001 by Dr Dre. Shades of grey. Try writing to Dr Dre and tell him that he's totally a big racist on Snoop Dogg.