# Why do people think they sound smart when they misspell "liberal" as "librul"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 15, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-they-sound-smart-when-they-misspell-liberal-as-librul/603034 "2011-11-15T18:20:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Snow\_Pea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Snow\_Pea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snow_Pea)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-they-sound-smart-when-they-misspell-liberal-as-librul/603034/1 "2011-11-15T18:20:12Z")
Inspired by this thread: [Libruls are scared of Herman Cain! - Politics & Elections - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=630378) I don’t get it. It just looks childish. Do liberals also do this kind of thing? I really don’t pay much attention to political bickering on the internet, this “librul” thing just seems to be all over the web lately. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-they-sound-smart-when-they-misspell-liberal-as-librul/603034/2 "2011-11-15T18:24:27Z")
> [@Snow\_Pea](#): > > Inspired by this thread: [Libruls are scared of Herman Cain! - Politics & Elections - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=630378) > > I don’t get it. It just looks childish. > > Do liberals also do this kind of thing? I really don’t pay much attention to political bickering on the internet, this “librul” thing just seems to be all over the web lately. The OP of the thread you linked to isn’t a conservative misspelling “liberal,” but rather, a liberal misspelling “liberal” as a way to make fun of conservatives. ---
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-they-sound-smart-when-they-misspell-liberal-as-librul/603034/3 "2011-11-15T18:24:37Z")
Yes, we do, but I loathe it. “Faux News” (or its infinitely more retarded counterpart: “Faux Noise”) for Fox News and “buybull” for bible. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-they-sound-smart-when-they-misspell-liberal-as-librul/603034/4 "2011-11-15T18:32:41Z")
Then “gubmint” must drive you bonkers also. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-they-sound-smart-when-they-misspell-liberal-as-librul/603034/5 "2011-11-15T18:37:42Z")
> [@Lazlo](#): > > Yes, we do, but I loathe it. “Faux News” (or its infinitely more retarded counterpart: “Faux Noise”) for Fox News and “buybull” for bible. I always wonder if the people doing this realize that “Faux” does not rhyme with “Fox.” I can’t decide if it makes them stupider if they do or if they don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Snow\_Pea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Snow\_Pea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snow_Pea)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-they-sound-smart-when-they-misspell-liberal-as-librul/603034/6 "2011-11-15T18:42:29Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > I always wonder if the people doing this realize that “Faux” does not rhyme with “Fox.” I can’t decide if it makes them stupider if they do or if they don’t. Doesn’t “faux” rhyme with “go”? And no, “gubmint” doesn’t bother me, that seems like a relic from the Great Depression or something, prob WAS the way some folks pronounced it. ---
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-they-sound-smart-when-they-misspell-liberal-as-librul/603034/7 "2011-11-15T18:48:42Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Then “gubmint” must drive you bonkers also. Not as much, but yeah, it irks me a bit. ETA: Snow Pea, yep. It rhymes with go. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-they-sound-smart-when-they-misspell-liberal-as-librul/603034/8 "2011-11-15T18:52:43Z")
It’s really awesome when people use the term “[merkin](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=merkin)” to mean “American.” At least prepend it with an apostrophe or something, guys! ---
**Author:** ![Snow\_Pea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Snow\_Pea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snow_Pea)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-they-sound-smart-when-they-misspell-liberal-as-librul/603034/9 "2011-11-15T18:55:53Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > It’s really awesome when people use the term “[merkin](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=merkin)” to mean “American.” At least prepend it with an apostrophe or something, guys! My understand is that is a direct insult at ex-president Bush, since that’s the way he pronounced it. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-they-sound-smart-when-they-misspell-liberal-as-librul/603034/10 "2011-11-15T19:12:21Z")
I thought it was a counter to calling George W. Bush “dubya”. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-they-sound-smart-when-they-misspell-liberal-as-librul/603034/11 "2011-11-15T19:21:46Z")
I’ve seen “libruls” use “pubbies”. It’s hard to say which is the stupider. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-they-sound-smart-when-they-misspell-liberal-as-librul/603034/12 "2011-11-15T19:29:33Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > The OP of the thread you linked to isn’t a conservative misspelling “liberal,” but rather, a liberal misspelling “liberal” as a way to make fun of conservatives. I’m making fun of conservatives, true, but I ain’t no damned liberal. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-they-sound-smart-when-they-misspell-liberal-as-librul/603034/13 "2011-11-15T19:33:34Z")
> [@Snow\_Pea](#): > > Do liberals also do this kind of thing? This has come up before – its been noted that renaming the “Tea Party Republicans”, who have ostensibly named themselves for a watershed event in the United States founding, as “teabaggers”, a well-known slang term for a sexual fetish for oral-scrotal contact could be considered equally childish. Or it could be just referencing tea bag, to simply weaken the impact. And therefore harmless satire. Or the Tea Party Republican movement could be, “so bad” as to be deserving of ridicule. Or it could be the standard meme – “It’s not evil when _ **my side** _ does it.” Republican presidential contender Rick Santorum probably wishes he wasn’t the recipient of the first ever Google-bomb, care of Dan Savage. Again, so evil as to be deserving or, its not wrong when my side does it applies here as well. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-they-sound-smart-when-they-misspell-liberal-as-librul/603034/14 "2011-11-15T19:34:33Z")
I tend to ignore people that do things like that. They may have a decent argument in there somewhere but once you start saying things like queen Pelosi, Odumba or the like I quit reading. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-they-sound-smart-when-they-misspell-liberal-as-librul/603034/15 "2011-11-15T19:38:31Z")
> [@Arkcon](#): > > renaming the “Tea Party Republicans”, who have ostensibly named themselves for a watershed event in the United States founding, as “teabaggers” Whatever the motives behind using that term, it is not **RE** naming them. They called themselves that first. That’s part of the humor in it: not everyone who called THEMSELVES a teabagger were aware of the secondary meaning of the term. ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-they-sound-smart-when-they-misspell-liberal-as-librul/603034/16 "2011-11-15T19:44:28Z")
A lot of folks on another message board I once frequented would refer to Republicans as “Repugnikans”; occasionally even “RepugniKKKans”. :eyeroll: ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-they-sound-smart-when-they-misspell-liberal-as-librul/603034/17 "2011-11-15T19:47:13Z")
Or Rethugnicans. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-they-sound-smart-when-they-misspell-liberal-as-librul/603034/18 "2011-11-15T19:58:07Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Whatever the motives behind using that term, it is not **RE** naming them. They called themselves that first. That’s part of the humor in it: not everyone who called THEMSELVES a teabagger were aware of the secondary meaning of the term. Really? I never knew. I did know the Dubya embraced the name, he liked the informality of a nickname. Besides, what could he really do? ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-they-sound-smart-when-they-misspell-liberal-as-librul/603034/19 "2011-11-15T20:10:02Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > I always wonder if the people doing this realize that “Faux” does not rhyme with “Fox.” I can’t decide if it makes them stupider if they do or if they don’t. Of course they realize it. That’s why you never hear anyone say it–it’s always written, since the similarities are visually playing off of the two words, not doing so aurally. Ha–you said stupider. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Earthworm\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f07891/32.png) [@Earthworm\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthworm_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-think-they-sound-smart-when-they-misspell-liberal-as-librul/603034/20 "2011-11-15T21:20:08Z")
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