AIBU to find this term offensive

[wakeupandsmellthecoffee]

A colleague at work in reference to someone sitting down relaxing in a chair said "he's monging out"she was surprised when I said I was offended by the term and that it was disabilist.
What is your definitions of the term mong.

I'm 50 and the term Mongol was in common use for Down's syndrome when I was growing up. I have only heard the phrase 'monging out' on MN, though. I would immediately think it was disablist.

The insults of choice in the playground when I was young was 'flid' which I didn't realise meant thalidomide victim until I was a teenager and 'spaz.' Horrible words.

The first time I heard 'mong' used as an insult was 15 years ago on a bus with my friend and her DD with Downs when some charming old woman said, 'Ugh, keep that mong away from me.'

I don't think it was a thread I was on then. Why can't trolls get a new hobby?

It's offensive whether it was meant to be or not.

Are people really 'offended' by this? I understand people being offended by the use of a derogatory term for the purpose of insulting or demeaning, but being offended by a word that means 'relaxing' that happens to have its source in a word from which it evolved a generation before? Are people that fragile?

Flash, nobody with a relative or friend with Down's syndrome would ever be happy to 'let it be.' Surely you understand how offensive it would be?

Are people that fragile?

yes the people who are being targeted by this....yep the most vulnerable. the ones you are ripping the piss out off....they are fragile so what kind of person would do it?

I can't imagine how anyone can justify its use. It's nothing to do with being "fragile".

Flash, if you look at urban dictionary you will see how utterly wrong and offensive it is.

I'm not for a minute denying that using the word mongoloid to describe someone with down's is offensive.... Words change their meaning though.

So, flash, monging out to mean behaving in a dazed and dopey way isn't offensive to people with Down's syndrome, when that's where the phrase came from?

Have some decency, recognise that even if you didn't know it's origins, now it's been explained why it's such a vile expression you understand that it's wrong to defend it's continued use. Fair enough if you didn't know, but now you do.

My great aunt had a syndrome (I never found out what) and people back in the day would just refer to her as the mongol. There's no way I'd let the use of the term pass unchallenged. It is a derogatory term for people with a disability.

thank you to the bloody decent people on here

yes the people who are being targeted by this.

No one is being targeted by someone innocently using the word 'monging' as a synonym for relaxing when there's no hint, implied or otherwise, by the person using it that the word has anything to do with Downs.

Its difficult because a lot of younger people dont know where the term came from because someone with DS is simply someone with DS. So if someone under the age of 30 said it, I would tell them where it came from and advise them not to use it again, but I wouldnt be pissed off with them.

If someone old enough to know its origins said it, then yes I would be pissed off and think less of them.

Flashbang that's bollocks I'm afraid. I assume you're one of those people who believe "gay" has now changed too and it's fine to say rubbish things are gay.
Also I rarely hear monging out, it's usually "being a mong", "you're a mongo" - both clearly meant to insult the person by saying you're acting in a stupid way, hence obviously insulting the people who actually have the condition you are using in this way.

Ellen I understand what you're saying - originally (and for a long time) mong was the term for someone with Down's Syndrome. And yes, the new definition of chilling out did evolve from that previous derogatory use. (OED, Collins)
But Down's Syndrome has replaced mong/mongoloid/mongol for so long now, I suspect that many of those who use mong will never have known Down's referred to as anything but Down's. They won't know the older term and its derivation.

Absolutely, there's no need to be judgy about a person using it without knowing what it means. I used to use cretin as an insult. Now I don't.

I absolutely would judge someone who I had told what it meant but chose to use it anyway.

oh they know
my son was bullied . they knew what words would hurt. don't pretend that young people don't know... they do. and dont think words don't hurt cos they do.
every one on here accepts that the N word is offensive....yet diablist .....excuse excuse.

flash I posted earlier that I hadn't known the origin of the word until adulthood, I had no idea it was offensive. Accidentally using a word is ok, since I've found out what it means I haven't used it all. Why would you want to keep defending it?

It's a word that might upset people. There are lots of other word to use. So don't use that one. Sorted.

So carry on using it, flash. Even though you know how offensive it is to people with disabilities. It can be useful to have a detector for people like you.

Flashbangandgone fuck off(yep lets see if MNHQ are actually here) cos the trolls are taking over