Is Joey Essex really dumb or is it an act

It’s an act. if you are in doubt look up the youtube clip of him on celebrity juice where he ‘thinks’ Jesus’s mother is called ‘Zesus’

it’s actually very funny, but no one is that stupid, are they?

I thought the correct term is mute now, not dumb.

But surely they are offended by the term due to its association with stupid and offensive use.
And if never had been used as such would not now be deemed offensive in its correct use, much like the word spastic,
And the changing of the name of the spastic society.

Not really no.

From nad.org :

Deaf and Dumb — A relic from the medieval English era, this is the granddaddy of all negative labels pinned on deaf and hard of hearing people. The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, pronounced us “deaf and dumb,” because he felt that deaf people were incapable of being taught, of learning, and of reasoned thinking. To his way of thinking, if a person could not use his/her voice in the same way as hearing people, then there was no way that this person could develop cognitive abilities. (Source: Deaf Heritage, by Jack Gannon, 1980)

In later years, “dumb” came to mean “silent.” This definition still persists, because that is how people see deaf people. The term is offensive to deaf and hard of hearing people for a number of reasons. One, deaf and hard of hearing people are by no means “silent” at all. They use sign language, lip-reading, vocalizations, and so on to communicate. Communication is not reserved for hearing people alone, and using one’s voice is not the only way to communicate. Two, “dumb” also has a second meaning: stupid. Deaf and hard of hearing people have encountered plenty of people who subscribe to the philosophy that if you cannot use your voice well, you don’t have much else “upstairs,” and have nothing going for you. Obviously, this is incorrect, ill-informed, and false. Deaf and hard of hearing people have repeatedly proved that they have much to contribute to the society at large.

I’ve no idea who Joey Essex is but he sounds like a cretin so I’ll go with option 1.

I thought the correct term is mute now, not dumb.

No not mute either. How about just deaf or hard of hearing, given that just about every deaf person has the ability to speak. They may not chose to because they haven’t learnt or they fear about how they sound.

by whom?

Well the Deaf Association for one asks, I’d listen to them myself.

No not mute either. How about just deaf or hard of hearing,

so there aren’t people who cannot speak? (genuine question)
As I knew deaf people could speak I’d kind of assumed dumb/mute was a condition of it’s own.
So it’s all Aristotle’s fault?

back OT I have the misfortune of having heard of him, gotta be an act, he’s successfully sold himself as a brand.
I guess the other less appealing options are he’s just a performing monkey wheeled out by very clever marketing chaps OR the general public and media really do love stupid people and throw money at them.

He’s more intelligent than most of us here.
He gets paid crazy amount of money to travel the world,go on amazing adventures and do a stint on tv now and again. Is there anyone here who wouldn’t want that?
All he has to do is act a bit stupid and he’s quids in.
I wouldn’t mind his life (ok, not all of it but I’m sure you get what I mean).

A friend two doors down from where I grew ups parents were both deaf.
His mother profoundly deaf from birth and father wore hearing aids with very limited hearing.

He described his mum at the time (we were small children in the seventies) as deaf and dumb and his dad as deaf.
I could have a conversation with his dad as he could lip read and although his speech was impaired not to the point I could not understand him.

His mother always used sign language aswell as vocalising but due to my very limited signing and me not being able to understand her speech more often than being able to my friend would always act as an interpreter.

So I would associate the term deaf and dumb as that, being profoundly deaf with speech I would find very hard to understand.
And is not a term I have thought much about since.

Does this mean I can no longer listen to Tommy by The Who? 😯

Funny that I’ve got a very similar story too Chip but doesn’t make it Ok to use, I’ve not heard the term used since the 70s and the last person I heard use it was my Grannie.

As I knew deaf people could speak I’d kind of assumed dumb/mute was a condition of it’s own.

Aphasic.

it’s actually very funny, but no one is that stupid, are they?

I’m reminded of Bill Bailey in his Qualmpeddler show, when he talks about his utter astonishment at (Big Bruvva finalist and moddul) Chantelle Houghton.

She was widely quoted as saying “[Alex] was laughing at me earlier because I thought the Sun and the Moon were the same thing.”

“Turns out, they’re not!”

Have some more offence offended people…

Ref the original question I put JE in the camp of thick but smart enough to exploit it. I find that vaguely entertaining whereas I didn’t with Jade Goody who seemed more exploited that exploiting.

Did you see Joey on that ski jump program? I reckon we were seeing his true personality there because a lot of it seemed to be fairly ad-hoc.

From that I’d guess he’s not very bright but bright enough to understand that playing it up earns him money.

A bit like Donald Trump.

I would not use it either. But I would not correct someone for using it either if they were using it without malice in the correct (outdated) usage of the term as it’s not my place and i would not be offended in such circumstances.

I did not associate the use of the word dumb in that context to mean either a lack of mental capacity or to be mute. And would have no idea of how someone without experience would interpret the term.

So are we allowed to use dumb or not for someone acting idiotic? I’m rather confused. I don’t think I’ve ever used it in the context of deaf and dumb. I’ve always thought of its primary meaning being idiotic/stupid which would be rather rude calling someone deaf and stupid.

I would not use it either. But I would not correct someone for using it either if they were using it without malice in the correct (outdated) usage of the term as it’s not my place and i would not be offended in such circumstances.

What if the person told you not to use the word Dumb as it’s offensive to ‘Deaf and Dumb people’ when clearly it’s them using the more offensive term?

What if the person told you not to use the word Dumb as it’s offensive to ‘Deaf and Dumb people’ when clearly it’s them using the more offensive term?

I would presume that person was desperately trying to be offended, but in their haste to score “internet points” got it totally wrong 🙂

A bit like what’s happened here.

Does he remind anyone else of Archer?

Joey Essex

Archer

Of course I knew what he meant – I just don’t think using words in a way that is offensive to people with a disability is acceptable

In the spirit of scoring Internet points…

I would say you are far more likely to offend a deaf person by describing them as “having a disability” than you would be by using the word “dumb” to describe stupidity.

A lot of deaf people don’t like the “disability” label at all.

What if the person told you not to use the word Dumb as it’s offensive to ‘Deaf and Dumb people’ when clearly it’s them using the more offensive term?

I try to not find offence where none is meant even if I find the language could be seen by some as offensive.
It is the sentiment and intent that count not the words themselves.
It could be they are showing there age (using outdated terms) or just plain ignorance on the subject.

But they clearly meant no offence even if you thought their language was offensive as they were concerned with someone else offending the very same people.

Just a lot of people being unnecessarily offended on other peoples behalf.

Just a lot of people being unnecessarily offended on other peoples behalf.

I don’t think anyone is, we’re just pointing out his misunderstanding so he doesn’t offend anyone. You know it’s a pretty good thing to do in society even if you don’t think it’s your place.

But what if he is offended by you pointing out him previously being offended by the use of the word dumb was in fact a misunderstanding on his part.

Now he has been offended twice, poor bastard.

Just incase he accidently offends a deaf person. The very people he was trying to protect from offence in the first place.

You’re really struggling now Chip.

I know what I mean. 😀

I must be too dumb.

Or maybe you just are of a different point of view.

Tell you what.

I’d bet a major internal organ that you wouldn’t catch Joey Essex arguing the toss on the Internet about the definition of the word “dumb” and whether it’s offensive or not.

Makes you wonder who’s the dumbest, really.

He’s probably got better things to do, the lucky git.

Makes you wonder who’s the dumbest, really.

I think it was the one that isn’t Jim Carey, but not sure it was ever explicitly confirmed 😉

Surely his name isn’t really ‘Essex’….?