To wish that the new Inbetweeners movie didn't use the word 'retarded' twice.

[stillenacht1]

Ok okI have a pretty puerile sense of humour but I also have a severely autistic son. I went to see it today and cringed when I heard it twice. I just thought that maybe the scriptwriters could have left that out- it was totally unnecessary and added nothing to the rants of the characters.

They were all on 'the last leg' last week.

There was a sketch, where Jay called one of the presenters a 'leg wanker'. Mocking his disability.

He, the character, is a knob. Knobs say retard too.

I get why it personally affects you. But what is the alternative? All media portrays only lovely people who are not anti anything in anyway?

Ooops looks like I am too low down on the comedy scale for mumsnet. Ah fuck it I'm off to bed. With a life like mine laughs are in short supply, I'll take them where I can but obviously mumsnet disagrees.

It's very funny because they are such arses - they say the most stupid, ridiculous things ever.

They are the very worst example of an idiotic 18 year old, their language reflects that.

I hate the word (obviously)

"Not anti anything"

Anti disabled????

Do me a favour!!

See it really annoys me how people find offensive language and 'jokes' funny until it affects someone they know. They will laugh along at certain offensive aspects which suit but when something is said that affects them personally they are up in arms. Reminds me of the couple who went to see Frankie Boyle, clearly happy to laugh at the offensive muck he had churned out before until he started mocking kids with Down syndrome (which their child had) then suddenly he was the most disgusting specimen alive (which he is I agree but is never dream of feeding his success by going to see him)

I know the R word is not acceptable, but as somebody who was severely R at school, so the official term was, I much prefer this to being called thick, stupid, moron or imbecile like I was so often called.
I think many such words are unacceptable today because they were used to taunt people in the past.
I was taunted with the R word, but taking the taunting away it is a far better word as a label than thick and stupid. Doesn't it mean slow? I can see where the label would be wrong if it defined somebody who had other difficulties, where is my thinking wrong?
What word do I use instead, because I would like to know.
I have dyslexia and dyspraxia but they don't describe how slow my development was and how difficult school work was because I was so slow.

I find their stupidity funny not their language. I have a NT DS who is 15- I know a lot of teenage boys but it's not their language which is funny it's their awkwardness and individual characters.

Must go to bed.

So you were annoyed at the couple with a child with Down syndrome who went to see Frankie Boyle who then went onto insult people who have Down syndrome? You are annoyed at the couple?

What do you want me to say, OP? They are fictional arseholes. Do me a favour!?

stillenacht1 i get how you feel.
I live in the sn world. (and wish bad things one the vile FB)

More than they are still used to taunt people.

any celeb using the word in jest or being ironic - boyle, gervais etc...keeps it alive...just let it die out.

i have to say it is lovely when your kids are too old for shit like this.

I'd like more people to rise up and say no to the use of this word in every area of the media.

I agree but who do you go too about it?

Surely the downs syndrome ass could be more vocal about it, mencap etc?

you hear nothing from them/

agree there.
but in weird way when watching this, I felt the lads just looked stupid.

cos they are

I would not watch it again, even under torture.

I'm just glad my son is so disabled he doesn't have a clue what it means..

I have a friend who is a disability activist Nicola Clark who has campaigned about all of this and has had discussions with Gervais.

The show isn't written by thoughtless, witless teenagers though is it? Somewhere along the way the writers thought "using the word retard here will get a laugh".

There are countless ways of portraying inept teenagers in a comic way without them having to use a word which has become common parlance as an insult.

But, but. It's not an acceptable word, for anyone I know, I have never heard it used since school. So two decades ago. It might be different for other people, but generally it's not deemed acceptable now.

It's being used in the film to demonstrate the stupid, crass, immature and ill-educated.

You seem to think people might copy it as a badge of cool or something. Teenage boys might but that's it, and they'll still know better than to use it out with their own gang of stupidness.

That's exactly what I am getting at Bialy- I did say about the scriptwriters in my op

Yes annoyed. As they were happy enough to laugh at any other minority that FB decided to mock and get paid obscene amounts of money for. The whole cherry picking what is offensive and fair game to laugh at depending on your own personal situation doesn't sit right with me.
Mocking gay people those with disabilities people from minority ethnic groups is not funny to me because it's offensive. Not because I happen to know someone from those groups

Must be so hard to hear OP I do sympathise. I get what you mean about the vulnerability aspect making it worse.

The Inbetweeners are twats. I'm part of their target audience, have been since it began, and they've always been twats. They're the sort of people you aspire not to be - most people I've spoken to and seen reactions to it feel the same.

I have a friend who is a disability activist Nicola Clark who has campaigned about all of this and has had discussions with Gervais.

really does she have suggestions on who should be speaking out about it in the media? what did gervais say>