Libtard

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Language

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v \- t \- e

“”Anyone who uses the word "Libtard" has already demonstrated their level of intelligence, and it's nothing to write home about.

—The Christian Left[1]

A very intelligent comment from “Libturds Suck”.

Libtard is a ham-fisted portmanteau of the words "liberal" and "retard".[2]

It is used as a snarl word to refer to a person who identifies as a liberal and/or supports liberal causes. Or, more aptly put—to anyone not sufficiently conservative, as measured by fans of Fox News personalities or far right AM radio hosts.[note 1]

The unironic use of the term "libtard" as an insult is generally confined to trolls, political internet bots, and immature and ignorant people with a high opinion of their own intelligence. While attempting to use intellectual disability as an insult, they're proving themselves much less interesting or insightful than your average person with an intellectual disability. (Who do you think would make a better conversation partner, a rude and raging conservative or a regular person with Down syndrome?)

Those who use it seem unaware that instead of insulting their intended targets, they're mostly just alienating people with intellectual disabilities and those who care about them, in the same way they would by using the word "retard" on its own.[3][4] Of course, the far right has a long history of treating disabled people like dirt, so they're unlikely to care.[5]

The term is best used in conjunction with an unfunny meme, dubious infographic or fake news article.[note 2]

In August 2017, the term was the main response Paul Joseph Watson had to offer[6] when his laughably ignorant speculation that militant antifascist George Orwell would hate Antifa was corrected.[7]

## See also[edit]

* Red-baiting
* Psychological projection
* Ableism
* Tribalism

## Notes[edit]

1. ↑ The corresponding neologism "conservatard" is nowhere near as widely used, despite being a somewhat smoother portmanteau due to the "t" in "conservative". Perhaps this means the left at least dislikes overt ableism.
2. ↑ Mix and match for best results!

## References[edit]

1. ↑ "The Christian Left - Facebook". Facebook. 07/02/2015. `{{cite news}}`: Check date values in: `|date=` (help)
2. ↑ Urban Dictionary: libtard
3. ↑ Huppke, Rex (29 December 2016). "Column: Here's an offensive word we should retire right now". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
4. ↑ Duyvis, Corinne and Kayla Whaley. Disability in Kidlit: Introduction to Disability Terminology. Disabilityinkidlit.com, July 8, 2016.
5. ↑ Powell, Robin. Steve Bannon Is Not Only Anti-Semitic, Racist, And Misogynistic — He Is Ableist. Medium.
6. ↑ Oppenheim, Maya (1 September 2017). "Far-right commentator gets 'schooled' by historian over George Orwell and Antifa". Independent. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
7. ↑ Moran, Lee (2 September 2017). "Twitter Users School Infowars Editor Over Claim That 'Orwell Rolls In His Grave' At Antifa". Huffington Post. Retrieved 10 October 2017.