(Source: The Atlantic via Google Images)
(Warning: Strong languages ahead)
When there is a global pandemic ravaging around the world, it brought the very best and the worst kind of human behavior. Whether is selflessness, sense of caring or loving, or if you are a middle-aged white woman with a pixie bob cut with blonde highlights, who has a HUGE sense of entitlement, usually an anti-vaxxer, somehow a racist, and would like to speak to the manager, you must be what the Internet calls a "Karen". For me personally, I would be rolling on the floor laughing my ass off to death if I encounter this type of meme anywhere online, but some of them began to think that it's a sexist slur much worse than the one targeting the black people (a.k.a. the N word).
So, what is the origin of the Karen meme anyway? Depending on the source, it might be from a reddit user who wrote a lengthy post about his ex-wife (coincidentally named Karen) who allegedly took his children and later his house during a divorce proceeding, which in turn created a subreddit r/FuckYouKaren. Others would say it was coined from comedian Dane Cook's stand-up routine about that one friend that nobody likes, who only allowed inside the social circle only to be mercilessly hated and shunned.
So, what usually describes a "Karen" in the first place? The more common depiction of a Karen is usually a white woman in her 30s to 40s, usually divorced single mother who typically has two or more kids (all within her custody), sports a pixie-bob haircut with colorful highlights, dubbed "the speak to the manager haircut", and yes, a sense of entitlement that is bigger than the planet Jupiter. not every Karen is a racist, but some of them can be cruel with other races. And don't get me start on how ignorant these Karens might be. One of the most defining traits that every Karen has is their ability to use their privilege to talk down to other people, hence the "speak to the manager" trait. And with recent unrest, she is also more than happy to use someone's racial identity as a weapon to put herself on an advantage during a confrontation (more on that later on).
How can someone earn the nickname "Karen"? In a nutshell, a "Karen" is easily identified as being entitled to virtually and basically everything. Let's say you are waiting on a line inside a ramen house, when suddenly a white woman, roughly aged 39 years old cuts in front of you and demanded to be served first, claiming that she is in a hurry. The best thing to do is hold your fire and don't escalate it further. Meanwhile, the woman who cut the line is finally being served, but the server brought her the wrong food. At this stage, she would complain and demanding to speak to the manager. We can see the end result of this encounter. She would either cost an employee of his job or complaining about how she was treated unfairly (which is a total bullshit considering that she was the one who cut the queuing line in the first place). And this doesn't stop on closed premises either. Public areas can be a scene of a Karen meltdown. The most recent "Karen" incident was happened on May 2020, when an African American man named Christian Cooper encountered a woman named Amy Cooper (no relation whatsoever) and noticed that Amy's dog was not leashed in an area inside Central Park where dogs must be leashed at all times. And what did she do? She called the police on Christian because she didn't want to leash her dog. She called 911 with the excuse of how "an African American man is threatening her life". and to make things worse, while doing so, she totally forgot that she was holding her dog by the necklace, choking the K-9. And because of this, Amy Cooper is now dubbed by the Internet as the "Central Park Karen". Like I said earlier, some of them can be outright racist.
Surprisingly enough, not all Karens can be called a "Karen". Names like "Becky" can be used for this type of behavior. The term "BBQ Becky" is coined when a white woman decided that it would be an excellent idea to call the police over few black people having a barbeque cook-off at Oakland, CA. The ordeal was captured on video and uploaded on YouTube by Michelle Dione. Another name is "Permit Patty", which was assigned to California woman Alisson Ettel who allegedly call the police on an eight-year old black girl and her mother who were just selling water. But some of them deserve to be called a "Karen", like for instance, "Kidz Bop Karen". This nickname first appear when a white woman, possibly in her mid-40s confronted a Lyft driver in New York City for allegedly cutting in front of her in traffic. She proceeded to force her head inside the car while spewing a bunch of expletives and rants, but told the passenger inside, the 29 year-old Chelsea Klein to calm down, while this "Karen" is the one that supposed to calm down. Then why Kidz Bop Karen? Hilariously enough, "Karen" was driving her Kids when the whole ordeal unfolded, and when being confronted about her foul language and the effects to her children, she just simply replied "My kids can't hear me calling you a bitch" because "they're listening to Kidz Bop" (Compilation of kid-friendly version of popular songs covered by "Kidz Bop Kids", which is earrape at its best). It's really amazingly strange to think that these "Karens" would be offended by virtually harmless things like Barbeques, kids selling water on the side of the street, or even a simple mistake in traffic.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, you can also find a Karen who wants their manicure-pedicure and haircut WITHOUT considering that there is a deadly virus roaming around and would kill her if she step away just a few meters from her house (yeah, I am using the metric system here, it's easier that way). She is also not a big fan of "social distancing" or even wearing a face mask when being outside, and always attends anti-lockdown protest. And don't forget how she easily harassing essential workers (in this case doctors and nurses, basically all the healthcare staff). All she cared about is her appearance and beauty, and the dreaded coronavirus is at the least of her concerns. Inevitably, she would cause danger to herself and others surrounding her just by being present in an area without adhering to health and safety protocols. At this point, she is both a "covidiot" (a term where someone is purposely disobeying the COVID-19 heath and safety guidelines) and a full-blown "Karen" (The right term for this is called "Corona Karen"). I never wished any ill will, but let's hope that by contracting COVID-19, this would be both a wake-up call and a big slap to the face for these Karens to remind them to stay inside their homes and don't move a muscle outside, except for essential things like shopping, medical care or food orders.
But can the Karen meme be considered as a sexist slur? I guess not. I have to say this frankly, but despite all the fiasco, it's just a given name. But apparently, journalist Julie Bindel on her twitter post suggested so. Some of them even comparing the meme to the N word slur targeting black people, mainly how "The K word (so to speak) is way worse than the N word". Maybe what they have in mind is implying that all white women is a Karen, while in reality, the meme is mainly used to mock SOME white women who happens to have a planetary-sized ego and the sense of maturity like that of a five year-old with demanding and entitled attitude. It's just a name that is coincidentally used to refer entitled white women who thinks that the manager is beneath her and can be insulted at will. But should we treat the Karen meme as a slur equal to (or maybe worse than) the N word? No. It's just merely the way the Internet puts its criticism.
In the end, the Karen meme is just a way of the Internet to criticize entitlement behaviors of some white women who happen to be middle-aged and don't care two shits about public order just to get what she wants strictly on her own terms. It's really like having that one obnoxious friend who is always nagging on others when the person didn't get that they want, and would keep on terrorizing their peers so that they would be satisfied (notice that I used the word "terrorizing", that's exactly what these Karens have been doing). My only message is, don't be a Karen. Under any circumstances and conditions, don't be that one who want to get what you want by speaking to the manager and ruining everybody's day and mood. Some of them might display even harsher behavior than you. Stay safe, stay home, always wash your hands, and always stand 2 meters apart with other people.
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