Owning the libs

"Owning the libs" (or variations on this phrase) names a rhetorical device that transgresses political correctness and emphasizes culture war issues to provoke a reaction in others, similar to trolling. It has become a common trope among conservatives in the United States to mock American liberals and mobilize its base.

Terminology

The phrase "own the libs" comes from a slang usage of the word "own", meaning "to dominate," "to defeat," or, "to humiliate." Variant phrases such as "triggering the libs" and "melting snowflakes" are also used to refer to the strategy. The phrase was coined and popularized by critics of the strategy, including politician Nikki Haley, who increased the prominence of the phrase in a 2018 speech in which she criticized the strategy as unpersuasive. It was also used by some who practice the strategy, such as former Fox News host Dan Bongino. The phrase dates back to at least 2015.

The "trigger" variants of the phrase come from the concept of trauma triggers and "trigger warnings" intended to avoid them. In his 2019 book Triggered, Donald Trump Jr. says that the purpose of triggering liberals is to oppose political correctness. The strategy is associated with confrontational political slogans such as "fuck your feelings" and "make liberals cry again."

History

Beginning in the 1980s, conservative talk radio hosts such as Rush Limbaugh eschewed the intellectualism of earlier conservatives like William F. Buckley, instead using a more aggressive and confrontational rhetorical style that frequently employed ad hominems, taunting and hyperbole to attack liberal ideas.