Being called "Karen"

The name "Karen" is associated with a certain type of middle-class white woman who exhibits behaviors that stem from privilege. Since that could in theory summarize plenty of MOLers, I'm curious how you feel about the "Karen" thing. I for one don't care for it but it's being used quite often on social media as a way to demonize. So my questions to you are this:

1)  Have you ever been called a Karen, If so, how did you react?

2) Have you ever called someone else a Karen, if so how did they react?

3) How do you feel about the whole Karen thing? Do you find it offensive or are you in support of the term?

4) Do you know any Karens and if so how do they feel about it?

My aunt is named Karen.  Its a bit of a bummer for her as she is the least "Karen" person I have ever met.

Redfruit said:

The name "Karen" is associated with a certain type of middle-class white woman who exhibits behaviors that stem from privilege. Since that could in theory summarize plenty of MOLers, ... 

instead of Karen, maybe those folks (men and women both) can be called "I need to speak to your manager!"

Here's the Urban dictionary definition:

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Karen

Middle aged woman, typically blonde, makes solutions to others' problems an inconvenience to her although she isn't even remotely affected.

jamie said:

Here's the Urban dictionary definition:

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Karen

Middle aged woman, typically blonde, makes solutions to others' problems an inconvenience to her although she isn't even remotely affected.

here’s another. 

“A Karen gets the wrong end of the stick, believing to be the victim of any given situation due to an overly inflated sense of entitlement. Karens cannot be reasoned with, and often expose themselves to widespread ridicule due to outlandish behaviour, usually leading to the explosion of a trivial issue into something unnecessarily large.Person parking car
Karen: YOU CANT PARK HERE!
Person: Why not? It’s an open bay with no restrictions.
Karen: HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT! MY HUBAND’S A COP.”

I really don’t think I have come across any ‘karen’ on MOL…’ken’ on the other hand…

Seems like a bunch of Karen incident's have to do with parking or complaining about mask mandates.  Then you also have a lot of racism in their rants also.  Fortunately, I haven't seen many Karen's in our neighborhood.

I think the racist rants are what started the whole movement, then lesser offenses now get the Karen association.

https://time.com/5857023/karen-meme-history-meaning/

jamie said:

Seems like a bunch of Karen incident's have to do with parking or complaining about mask mandates.  Then you also have a lot of racism in their rants also.  Fortunately, I haven't seen many Karen's in our neighborhood.

I think the racist rants are what started the whole movement, then lesser offenses now get the Karen association.

https://time.com/5857023/karen-meme-history-meaning/

the woman who called the cops in Central Park also helped launch it to the masses.
I do think that issues we find ourselves complaining about like for instance the illegal left turns could in theory get someone labeled a Karen if she  decided to make a point of it to the driver. it’s an unfair label but it’s grown in intensity, Especially among the Millenial and Gen Z crowd.

My favorite Was the one at Victoria's Secret at the Short Hills Mall. Privileged sweetie goes off the rails. Then the "victim" proceeds to get a Go Fund Me so she could sue the perp for all the "harm: she suffered.

So we end up with two "pieces of work."

Formerlyjerseyjack said:

My favorite Was the one at Victoria's Secret at the Short Hills Mall. Privileged sweetie goes off the rails. Then the "victim" proceeds to get a Go Fund Me so she could sue the perp for all the "harm: she suffered.

So we end up with two "pieces of work."

the “victim” was gifted over $100,000 thanks to gofundme. Total joke. Still waiting for her to sue the police as well as she claimed she would. 

Personally, I find it incredibly offensive. I am very patient and generally kind, but god forbid I make one comment that is not entirely favorable on any social media platform (NextDoor, I’m looking at you), I get called a “Karen.” Grrrr!

I knew some Karen would show up.

Formerlyjerseyjack said:

My favorite Was the one at Victoria's Secret at the Short Hills Mall. Privileged sweetie goes off the rails. Then the "victim" proceeds to get a Go Fund Me so she could sue the perp for all the "harm: she suffered.

So we end up with two "pieces of work."

So a white lady belligerently harasses a Black lady, the police are called, and the police take the white lady's side.  I'm not qualified to determine how much harm or trauma the victim felt.  I can believe it was substantial enough that I'm not using scare quotes around the terms.

KarenMarlowe said:

Personally, I find it incredibly offensive. I am very patient and generally kind, but god forbid I make one comment that is not entirely favorable on any social media platform (NextDoor, I’m looking at you), I get called a “Karen.” Grrrr!

next door is a terrible place.  I get drawn in occasionally and regret it.  It's dominated by angry old people who want the world to revolve around them.

The name's unfortunate (I know a great Karen, personally), but I'm actually glad the label exists and it's become such a thing. Especially on TikTok, where I constantly see retail workers re-enacting Karen encounters, and sometimes other ones caught on camera in real-time. I think it's actually, combined with "the great resignation" and other changes to the job market since the pandemic, part of a big shift away from the old "the customer is always right" mentality that has produced so many ridiculously over-entitled consumers / bad customers -- crappy people, really -- who think the world revolves around them. 

ml1 said:

Formerlyjerseyjack said:

My favorite Was the one at Victoria's Secret at the Short Hills Mall. Privileged sweetie goes off the rails. Then the "victim" proceeds to get a Go Fund Me so she could sue the perp for all the "harm: she suffered.

So we end up with two "pieces of work."

So a white lady belligerently harasses a Black lady, the police are called, and the police take the white lady's side.  I'm not qualified to determine how much harm or trauma the victim felt.  I can believe it was substantial enough that I'm not using scare quotes around the terms.

the cops didn’t take sides. That’s just nonsense. They did approach the nut first since she was the one out of control. But sides?? Hogwash. 

Redfruit said:

ml1 said:

Formerlyjerseyjack said:

My favorite Was the one at Victoria's Secret at the Short Hills Mall. Privileged sweetie goes off the rails. Then the "victim" proceeds to get a Go Fund Me so she could sue the perp for all the "harm: she suffered.

So we end up with two "pieces of work."

So a white lady belligerently harasses a Black lady, the police are called, and the police take the white lady's side.  I'm not qualified to determine how much harm or trauma the victim felt.  I can believe it was substantial enough that I'm not using scare quotes around the terms.

the cops didn’t take sides. That’s just nonsense. They did approach the nut first since she was the one out of control. But sides?? Hogwash. 

if you accuse someone of harassment or assault, and the police let the other person walk away, they've chosen sides.

https://www.nj.com/essex/2021/07/police-called-to-nj-mall-after-karen-is-filmed-chasing-black-woman-around-victorias-secret.html

dave said:

I knew some Karen would show up.

I'd like to speak to the manager of MOL... 

DanDietrich said:

KarenMarlowe said:

Personally, I find it incredibly offensive. I am very patient and generally kind, but god forbid I make one comment that is not entirely favorable on any social media platform (NextDoor, I’m looking at you), I get called a “Karen.” Grrrr!

next door is a terrible place.  I get drawn in occasionally and regret it.  It's dominated by angry old people who want the world to revolve around them.

It really is awful.

KarenMarlowe said:

DanDietrich said:

KarenMarlowe said:

Personally, I find it incredibly offensive. I am very patient and generally kind, but god forbid I make one comment that is not entirely favorable on any social media platform (NextDoor, I’m looking at you), I get called a “Karen.” Grrrr!

next door is a terrible place.  I get drawn in occasionally and regret it.  It's dominated by angry old people who want the world to revolve around them.

It really is awful.

the right wingers ruin everything.

Every time i accidentally log into nextdoor

I haven't stayed awake at night considering another label or what people call me. I do stare at the ceiling wondering, "When will they all become Vegan?"

I'm generally skeptical of pejorative stereotypes including this one, and feel badly in particular about women named Karen where it doesn't apply. If someone is engaged in racist behavior from a position of privilege, I'd prefer to hear a more nuanced and detailed description than a slur.  

I abhor the behavior but (being of a certain age), I have many wonderful friends named Karen and hate to see their name used this way.

Time's Person of the Year speaks!

ml1 said:

if you accuse someone of harassment or assault, and the police let the other person walk away, they've chosen sides.

https://www.nj.com/essex/2021/07/police-called-to-nj-mall-after-karen-is-filmed-chasing-black-woman-around-victorias-secret.html

Alls I recall from watching the video of the event, was the look the face of the "traumatized victim" as she was laughing at the dillwad, melted down and crying, lying on the floor. 

As for the cops, as I recall, charges were filed after the store video was examined. 

Carry on.

I'm not seeing tons of horrible posts on Nextdoor.  Most of what I see on Nextdoor are messages about lost pets, requests for referrals to tradespeople, and posts about selling stuff.  It's pretty dull, but can be useful.  Every now and then, a thread will blow up, just as they do here, but on Nextdoor, the moderators remove it.  

Formerlyjerseyjack said:

ml1 said:

if you accuse someone of harassment or assault, and the police let the other person walk away, they've chosen sides.

https://www.nj.com/essex/2021/07/police-called-to-nj-mall-after-karen-is-filmed-chasing-black-woman-around-victorias-secret.html

Alls I recall from watching the video of the event, was the look the face of the "traumatized victim" as she was laughing at the dillwad, melted down and crying, lying on the floor. 

As for the cops, as I recall, charges were filed after the store video was examined. 

Carry on.

exactly. I think ML is in that mindset where If the police are involved, they’re making one mistake after the other. Silly. Cops at times can actually  be really good at their jobs. At the mall, they most certainly were.  

Elle_Cee said:

I'm not seeing tons of horrible posts on Nextdoor.  Most of what I see on Nextdoor are messages about lost pets, requests for referrals to tradespeople, and posts about selling stuff.  It's pretty dull, but can be useful.  Every now and then, a thread will blow up, just as they do here, but on Nextdoor, the moderators remove it.  

yeah, I go on nextdoor occasionally and don't find it very objectionable. it's pretty mild.