Clichéd images of the north have historically revolved around whippets and flat caps — but now a judge has added swearing to the list of stereotypes.
Overseeing a tribunal in Manchester, Judge Jetinder Shergill has backed a claim from a delivery driver who was sacked for describing a female colleague as a “f***ing mong” during an argument about her weight.
As rude as the comment was, the so-called f-word had become commonplace “in the public sphere” — and that was particularly the case in the north of England. “Mong” is a derogatory term for someone with a learning disability, especially related to Down’s syndrome, and is also used as a synonym for “idiot”.
Nice to see that the mongs that read the times had the word explained to them
I think calling someone “a mong’ is very rude. We were much more refined in my family. We used to call them “loppy kids”.
Far be it from me to comment about anything like that oop North. Judge Jetinder might be a very close friend of Lord Alli, given his views on women. And we all know what happens if you annoy his Lordship…
Spastics or Spazzes, surely?
Window lickers?
Riders of “the Special bus”?
Ottokring said:
“I think calling someone “a mong’ is very rude. We were much more refined in my family. We used to call them “loppy kids”.”
It was ‘joeys’ in my youth, because we’d been told to stop calling people mongs or spazzies.
In American – “ride the short bus to school”. I’ve seen, in English “On the Variety Club bus to the seaside”.
“Spastic hoof” was favoured at university. At school we were much too polite to go beyond “dimwit” or “you pill”.
Another slightly true cliche about the north is you can tell which side of which town people are from by the way they pronounce the ****** in f******.
Manchester may be in the North on the western side of the country, but it is on the same latitude as Hull, and not much further North than Leicester. The real North is on the eastern side of the country, and is also the traditional home of whippets and flat caps (see Andy Capp), while Manchester is the home of Scouse hating, Oasis clones, swaggering around in puffa jackets, shouting, “Y’all right there, kid”.
As someone being called a mong, re-read the second half of the last sentence.
Penseivat
JG @ 9.21, Timmy @ 9.33, Dagenham had / has a school for children with ‘special needs’ – Bentry. Those who used the dedicated bus were known as “Bentry Bombers”.
You’re making me wonder whether ‘mong’ is any relation to the Aussie word ‘nong’?
A few years ago I attended a conference in a Further Education College, where the principal listed her proudest achievements. One of them was to rename the “Special Needs Unit” in order to destigmatise the learners there, and integrate them into college life. It was now “The Acorn Centre”.
Over coffee, one of her staff told me that the rest of the students has adopted “You fuckin’ acorn!” as a generalised term of abuse for the slow-witted.
Maybe mong is a compliment as it is referring to the greatest of mongs, Genghis Khan?
As those American school buses are yellow, can you say as one of the “short buses” approaches, “here comes the Golden Horde”?
@ RichardT
Yes, Joeys as in Joey Deacon (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joey_Deacon).
An earlish example of the cringeworthy Wokism of the BBC. Let’s “educate” the youth on what disability means by making them the laughing stock of the playground.
Pity the Left didn’t learn actual lessons from being twats.
I was told that the troops in the Falklands, when the war was done, called the islanders ‘Bennies’, after a character, Benny, in Crossroads who was Downs syndrome. Word came down that this was to stop. Shortly after, an officer (my cousin) heard them being referred to as what sounded something like ‘Stiews’. What does that mean? he asked. “They’re still Bennies”.
From a Service point of view, back in the 1980s British soldiers in the Falklands were told to stop referring to the inhabitants of the Falklands as “Bennies” (after a slow-witted character from “Crossroads” who shared a fondness for a knitted hat, with many of the islanders).
So, they obediently did. Instead, the Islanders were nicknamed “Stills”.
“Stills?”
“They’re still Bennies, aren’t they?”
It’s not a word I’d use.
I remember when at primary school, friends of the Deputy Head brought a Mongol child to visit. The whole class stood as they were brought in. A girl near me said: “It’s a Mongol!” Never having seen such a person or heard the word, I asked: “What’s a Mongol?”
I was spotted and immediately given a severe bollocking in the office. I tried to explain that I didn’t know what a Mongol was and was trying to find out, but wasn’t listened to: the cretinous woman simply projected her embarrassment onto me. I was astounded at the injustice. All the cretin had had to do was explain to me what a Mongol was but that this wasn’t a polite word, and polite people didn’t draw attention to it. Then I’d have been taught, by a schoolteacher, and known.
As you may imagine, this event left a lasting impression. This is how adult inadequacy and failure scars children. In general, my lasting impression of most teachers I have encountered is of deeply inadequate, unreflective people.
Norman – she sounds like a spacker.
In other retard news, remember Weather Mong? Now she’s got a paid gig supporting colour revolutions:
Greta Thunberg joins rally against Georgia’s government
Swedish activist denounces contested parliamentary vote as “an outrageous development, an authoritarian development.”
My advice to the Georgian government is to arrest and execute her along with all the other foreign agents trying to overturn their elections.
There was a footballer at Chelsea called Nigel Spackman, whose name prompted much unseemly mirth.
My Austrian missus was good at picking up idioms and would look at some piece of kack handed DIY that I had attempted and declare that ” It looked all mongy.”
I once had a colleague who answered his ‘phone by saying “Pratt speaking”. My daughter once had a boss called Mycock. The lads in the office loved asking any visiting female, “Have you come to see Mycock?”
@Boganboy. I always thought ‘mong’ was an Australian insult short for ‘mongrel’.
One of my favs from the 80’s was “Div”
From Urban Dictionary:
Originates from prison slang in the UK. A job often given to the lowest inmates was to put cardboard dividers into boxes. Someone given this job was a ‘divider’ or a ‘div’. Now used as an insult to those who display stupidity.
Addolff: I’ve often wondered where that came from. Never enough to… you know, look it up, obviously, but thanks.
There’s something profoundly English in a court ruling on an insult prompting a long and detailed discussion on offensive words.
If the intent was to try and suppress offensive terms I think its turned out a real own goal.
The article in the Terriblegraph was so hyphenated as to destroy all meaning. It was only reading here that the story acquired any content. Thanks all!
Aah Mong. The Torygraph went for M*** and I couldnt think of anything to fit.
From Mongoloid – being of normal western extraction but having facial features more often associated with Mongol heritage. Generally associated with developmental issues such as Downs.
People who use the word mong as an insult are evil scum. No wonder bullies and thugs win in life when the nasty judges allow so called men to verbally abuse women.
I hate Judge Shergill. He is making evil win. People like him are what makes bullies win in this country.
Mong the Morseless, from Flush Gordon?
Is that more or less scoring on the ‘outrage’ scale compared to Ming, Minge or Minger?
Mong is also a racist term to describe Mongolians and a disabist term to define learning disabilities people.
Judge Shergill Is what makes this country crap for good people.
What next will he allow men to beat up women? I hate Judge Shergill. He is the protector of bullies. Nasty guy.
Arnald/Real Man/Hitler – People who use the word mong as an insult are evil scum.
What if I use it as an adjective?
People who use the word mong as an insult are bullies. The judge shows the law protects bullies above good people.
People who use the word mong as an insult are bullies.
So? What are you going to do about it? 🙂
That’s right, nothing.
For some time, military folk have spoken in hushed tones of His Highness, the Emperor Mong the Merciless, who provides the finest, wisest advice.
“Relax, your mate will never find out, she’s gagging for you and you don’t want to disappoint her.”
“It’s only a fart, don’t worry.”
“Don’t bother tightening your bootlaces, you’re nearly there…”
“Only a week past its best-before date? What’s the problem? Just wash it down with enough lager…”
‘Don’t bother setting your alarm. Someone else is bound to get up before you.’
‘Have another pint, don’t worry, they won’t leave without you.’
And then he departs in a puff of purple smoke, and a swirl of his silver cape, with a mocking “MWAHahahahah….”
TtC @ 2.50, that reminds me of ‘Wang the Perverted’ from a well know 1970’s porno flick…….(which I have a VHS copy of btw……).
Steve. I did do something you warper. I complained about it. What am I supposed to do other than that wave my magic wand?
I have written emails to the judicary, and mps and complained about it. What the f*** are you expecting me to do about it. I am not a terrorist or President of the f***ing world.
@ Martin
The school that I attended from 6 to 13 had an ethos of opposing bullying (largely derived from the Headmaster who was a Christian (not just a “Christian” in census returns) but accepted and enforced by the boys themselves. It meant that some of us actually stood up and faced down the bullies/would-be bullies, absorbing blows if necessary, including a squad who frequently went down to the bus stop to protect the smallest boys and girls from the class war thugs from the local Secondary Modern school, most of whom were bigger and older than us.
The law did NOTHING to protect them from bullies: so it was down to us.
IMHO to insult people with Down’s Syndrome who cannot answer back is despicable; to insult someone who hasn’t got it by calling them a “mong” and can answer back is not comparable and the Judge is correct.
@ Martin
How many punches did you take?
John77 how the hell can a normal woman fight back against a normal man?
That is tolerating bullying.
And calling someone mong is evil bullying. And using the term mong as an insult is like people who call people the N or P word.
If someone use the term mong as an insult they are bullying. The judge was not right.
There are lots of reasons someone cannot fight back against a bully.
1. The bully is bigger.
2. The bully is in a gang.
3. The bully is a man and most woman could not beat up a man.
4. The bully is a woman, and men cannot fight back against woman.
5. The bully has a position of influence.
6. The victim is disabled or shy.
7. The victim is not the type of person who reacts instinctively to insults. There might be a crowd around , and they do not want to cause a scene.
In my view bullies who use the term m*** should be punished and fired.
In reality it is normally a bully’s culture, where the bully is supported as a legend and character and the victim of seen as humourless or deserving to be bullied. As we see with the bully Steve.
And now even the law is on the side of the person calling a woman a M***.
Trill warning, troll warning!
Martin, it takes a real man to stand up to bullies. You’re out of luck.
Martin Hurtbotttom – In reality it is normally a bully’s culture, where the bully is supported as a legend and character and the victim of seen as humourless or deserving to be bullied. As we see with the bully Steve.
True, you deserve it. My only regret is that you weren’t at my school. 🙂
In my view bullies who use the term m*** should be punished and fired.
You think that because you are weak.
John77 – I miss all the impromptu fights we used to get in the 80’s. It was a magical time.
The Chuckle Brothers once came up against the evil Ping the Pitiless.
It was aside splitting episode.
« how the hell can a normal woman fight back against a normal man?
That is tolerating bullying. »
Better write to the Olympics people as well then because it turns out that the Algerian lady boxing champ has testicles.
@ Martin 4.27
You are an offensive liar: I have NEVER tolerated bullying. Kindly refrain from projecting your moral failures onto me.
When I was stopping bullying I was not (usually or often) the person being bullied.
As to your deliberately misleading question, ask Muhammed Ali’s daughter – incidentally I was very rarely as large as the bully, so any girl with the same tolerance for pain and the same power-weight ratio could have done the same (ut we never asked the girls to join in).
@ Martin 4.41
1. As I have said the bullies were almost always bigger than I.
2. As I have said previously on this blog I learned to fight the hard way when the local miners told their sons to beat me up because I was English and middle-class, several onto one, so I KNOW you are wrong
3. if the victim is a woman that is evil
4, Also evil but insignificant because your 3 assumes that she cannot noticeably hurt him
5. A good punch on the nose will help unless *everybody else* is a scaredy-cat like you
6. That is where the anti-bullying groups should step in (and sometimes do)
7. is a load of meaningless wibble
Well Tim is a bully. No question about it. He tries to suppress people by calling them twats, cunts, tosspots, fuckwits, etc.
But this is just projection by him. Everybody knows what Tim is and you do not need to write it down.
Steve. :.
You make deeply offensive comments supportive of bullying because you are evil.
You have talked about killing woman you disagree with.
YOU ARE NOT NORMAL IN ANY WAY.
YOU ARE A.DEEPLY DISTURBED WARPED AND TWISTED PSYCHOPATH.
LISTEN TO ME!
YOU BELONG IN A TOP SECURITY MENTAL HOSPITAL. END OF STORY.
And anyone who supports you is a cowardly creep. You are an enemy of Christ.
John77 You do tolerate bullying..You said a horrible man should be tolerated to call a woman a f***ng m***.
Then you start insulting me for pointing that out.
We have some creep called Steve talking about killing a young woman and you get angry at me. WHAT?
Steve YOU ARE MAD. GO TO A PSYCHIATRIC WARD AND EXPLAIN YOUR DEEPLY DISTURBED MINDSET. YOU ARE DEEPLY WORRYING. AND I AM THANKFUL I DID NOT GO TO THE SAME SCHOOL AS YOU. YOU C***.
oooohhh…. “he” is shouting already…. *popcorn time* 😀
So our ratbag has come back to entertain us!!!
‘@Boganboy. I always thought ‘mong’ was an Australian insult short for ‘mongrel’.’
True indeed, Old Glyn!! But I’d forgotten that!!!
Martin,
You are an offensive liar.
You have not answered my question “How many punches did *you* take?” It is thus obvious that you do not know that the only honourable answer is “I do not know: I didn’t count at least hundreds, probably thousands” (for me that would be …at least thousands …)
I did not and do not tolerate bullying
I said that the judge is correct that the insult is not against the law – if insulting someone was against the law then one of your ” progressive” judges would jail you for insulting me
@ “Me”
I’m perfectly happy to call people twats, cunts, tosspots, fuckwits, etc. None of these states are immutable; we’ve all been twats, cunts, tosspots, fuckwits, etc. and at some point and can stop being so. It’s not bullying: being told you’re a twat, cunt, tosspot, fuckwit etc. when you are actually behaving as one is doing a public service.
Having Down’s Syndrome is immutable. The poor fuckers can’t help it. I hope they enjoy their lives; as a parent I’m deeply grateful my child doesn’t have it. That’s about all I can say, really, other than that cretins are cretins, after all.
Martin said:
“I hate Judge Shergill”
Now, that’s really unhealthy, hating people. Especially people you don’t know. You ought to do a bit of reevaluation of your attitudes there; perhaps try talking to experts about your emotions?
” how the hell can a normal woman fight back against a normal man”
Bigot, a woman can fight any man she pleases and wipe the floor with him! You’ll be telling us there’s biological differences between Xe and Xer next.
@ Jim
Also a normal man doesn’t fight a woman in the first place
I don’t know about ming the merciless, but I think I can see Mong the mirthless in a few post here!
Like all these things, I’m prepared to bet that there’s some important context that is being carefully omitted.
What, I would like to know, drove this chap to use this particular epithet? Randomly and without cause describing someone as a “f***ing m*ng” will get you into trouble with even the most hidebound of HR departments.
So what actually happened?