Being called "Karen"

Formerlyjerseyjack said:

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.

Whatever.

As an old white guy myself, I feel confident saying these are responses I expect from old white guys. 

Maybe I'm an idiot for doing so, but I'm trying to put myself in the victim's shoes. (No scare quotes)


ml1 said:

Whatever.

As an old white guy myself, I feel confident saying these are responses I expect from old white guys. 

Maybe I'm an idiot for doing so, but I'm trying to put myself in the victim's shoes. (No scare quotes)

W.T.F.?  Some of my best friends are White.


What I dislike about the "Karen" label is that it is so gendered. There are plenty of white guys acting as bad or worse but there isn't a similar label for them.

It's sucky behavior whether done by a man or a woman, but women get called out for it more.


HatsOff said:

What I dislike about the "Karen" label is that it is so gendered. There are plenty of white guys acting as bad or worse but there isn't a similar label for them.

It's sucky behavior whether done by a man or a woman, but women get called out for it more.

White middle aged  women are definitely replacing white men as public enemy number one among the social media generation 


HatsOff said:

What I dislike about the "Karen" label is that it is so gendered. There are plenty of white guys acting as bad or worse but there isn't a similar label for them.

It's sucky behavior whether done by a man or a woman, but women get called out for it more.

Ken is used for those angry white guys…


Redfruit said:

White middle aged  women are definitely replacing white men as public enemy number one among the social media generation 

Being replaced? Maybe because the white women were scared to exhibit racist behavior…Both ‘Karen’ & ‘Ken’ are public enemy number one because of their nasty bigoted behavior in public. 


Jaytee said:

Redfruit said:

White middle aged  women are definitely replacing white men as public enemy number one among the social media generation 

Being replaced? Maybe because the white women were scared to exhibit racist behavior…Both ‘Karen’ & ‘Ken’ are public enemy number one because of their nasty bigoted behavior in public. 

Ken really isn’t a thing. Karen on the other hand…


Redfruit said:

Ken really isn’t a thing. Karen on the other hand…

Why do you think there are more ‘karens’ than ‘kens’? Could it be that white men are more privileged than the white women? Maybe ‘karen’ feels she’s lacking the protection of a white man so she calls 911 when she’s uncomfortable among people of color? Since ‘karen’ has more power than people of color…. But less power than a white man… it could be how we’ve come to believe that white women need more protection. 


I haven't seen many "ken" videos out there.  I think Brad would be a better name for this.  There's a ton of Karen compilations though.


Here is one example of how the "Karen" term is being used against any (typically middle aged) woman who gets on a man's nerves:

https://www.wonkette.com/elon-musk-thinks-hes-just-hilarious-calling-elizabeth-warren-senator-karen

"It’s become a catch-all term for any woman a man doesn’t like,
especially if she’s asserting herself. If a woman asks a man to wear a
mask indoors (as the law requires), she’s called a “Karen.” If a woman
on Twitter suggests that Democrats should hurry up and pass voting
rights legislation, very clever men will dismiss her as a “Karen” who's
“calling the manager.” "

...

When Elon Musk, a literal comic book supervillain, calls a woman
“Karen,” that means we all need to stop now. It’s over. “Karen" is yet
another thing white men ruined

All of this does not excuse the type of thing we've seen where somebody (woman or man) tries to get somebody fired and/or calls the cops on them.

But in practice it is being used to disempower women and that I can't stand.


The men that I’ve read about are called ‘Kevin’ or Kev, although about 20 years ago here we used to laugh about Waynes and Charlenes. 
There are entire reddits devoted to their tales, then retold in endless YouTube channels such as Dark Fluff, Ripe, RedWheel, SlashStart etc…. and entitlement is the overwhelming feature. 

I just wish we could all refocus on community improvement, and listening to each other, wherever we live and work. These are some of the reasons I love MOL  rolleyes 


My sister's name is Karen and I don't use the term at all.  I use a**hole.  My sister probably doesn't know what it means.


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, 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?

 

I would guess folks might feel about the same as when you’re called a “trollhole”.


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, 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?

 

This is a good question, because I see it more and more. Be it in the comment section of a video, a TikTok or on a forum like this.

1) Can't say I've been called a Karen as I'm a guy, but from what I understand the male version of Karen is "Kevin".

2) I've never called anyone a Karen. Never really had to. I'm not sure Karen is what I'd call a woman acting out of line.


3) I could see how someone named Karen could be offended. It's not like (that we know of) someone actually named Karen is the reason this exists so I feel kinda bad. It is somewhat amusing though.

4) I don't think I've actually met anyone named Karen that I can remember. I've met a handful of Erin's though.



Black_Panther said:

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, 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?

 

This is a good question, because I see it more and more. Be it in the comment section of a video, a TikTok or on a forum like this.

1) Can't say I've been called a Karen as I'm a guy, but from what I understand the male version of Karen is "Kevin".

2) I've never called anyone a Karen. Never really had to. I'm not sure Karen is what I'd call a woman acting out of line.


3) I could see how someone named Karen could be offended. It's not like (that we know of) someone actually named Karen is the reason this exists so I feel kinda bad. It is somewhat amusing though.

4) I don't think I've actually met anyone named Karen that I can remember. I've met a handful of Erin's though.

I actually dated a woman named Karen back in college. The reason I broke up with her was basically she had this terrible habit of returning whatever dish she ordered at the restaurant. This I could not handle. I guess she was an early Karen!


Black_Panther said:


4) I don't think I've actually met anyone named Karen that I can remember. I've met a handful of Erin's though.

I'm going to guess that you grew up sometime later than the 1960's/70's then. It was WAY at the top of the baby name charts in the 1950s and 60s.  Probably the most common girl name in school when I was growing up and I have several dear friends named Karen to this day.


sac said:

Black_Panther said:

4) I don't think I've actually met anyone named Karen that I can remember. I've met a handful of Erin's though.

I'm going to guess that you grew up sometime later than the 1960's/70's then. It was WAY at the top of the baby name charts in the 1950s and 60s.  Probably the most common girl name in school when I was growing up and I have several dear friends named Karen to this day.

All of my brothers and sisters had Irish Catholic names. I think I was the only one where my mother won--she being full Swedish.


Turns out my assistant has a wife named Karen which I did not know. She says when Karen orders from Starbucks she says her name is Molly just to avoid the snickers. Crazy.  


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, 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?

 


I’ve come in contact with many “Karen’s” I’m just glad there’s a universal name for it as it makes telling a story much easier. Everyone already knows what you’re talking about. Though I must admit we called them “Susan” so “Karen”took some getting used to. Nonetheless, it’s very on point.


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