Offensive Language?

So, does the use of the word 'mong' offend you? Or is it just Ricky Gervais who causes offence? It's difficult to tell which in the current 'debate' over the comic's use of the term on Twitter as a term of mild, 'friendly' abuse. Gervais' contention is that the word - which has, in the past, been used as a derogatory term for people with Downs Syndrome - has changed meaning, rather like 'gay' has, to a less offensive usage. I must admit, that I hadn't heard the term 'mong' until last year, and then it was being employed in the same manner as Gervais uses it now, so he might well have a point. However, whilst he is quite right that popular usage can change the meaning of words over time, I have to say that 'gay', for instance, was never used as a derogatory term for anything, as far as I'm aware. Clearly, Gervais has set out to cause controversy and he's certainly succeeded.

Perhaps the main lesson to be learned from this is that maybe Gervais was right in his initial assessment and abandonment of Twitter. As I recall, one of the things he disliked was its use by celebrities to talk to each other in public. I wholeheartedly agree with him on this one. Celebrities are one of the most irritating things about Twitter. In fact, they're one of the most irritating things about the web generally. As a rule of thumb, you can always tell when a neighbourhood is going downhill when the celebrities move in - it's the same with web applications. Once those publicity hungry bastards start using something like Twitter, it becomes far less interesting, as they reduce it to yet another tool for massaging their egos. They rarely have anything worthwhile or interesting to say and most certainly aren't interested in actually communicating with anyone but their showbiz friends. Just use your phones for your inane conversations, like everyone else! The only thing worse than a celebrity infestation are marketers - they'll really destroy any networking application or community with their tired sales patter and snake oil sales pitches. Mongs.