The moniker of a ‘Karen’ has been thrown around in the past year. According to dictionary.com- karen is a slang term for an obnoxious, angry, entitled, and often racist middle-aged white woman who uses her privilege to get her way or police other people’s behaviors.Â
This last year has been difficult, with political tension from the election, COVID-19, and cultural movements. Karens have not made any of these experiences easier.
@moemoe_90 #foryoupage #blacklivesmatter #karen #mindthebusinessthatpaysyouthanks
In a recent video taken on July 25th, 2021, TikTok user @moemoe_90 captured this pretty intense confrontation between her husband and a karen that pulled up near their car. While the two people you hear can’t be seen, the wife recording also captures our attention with her reaction.Â
The video has over 1.3 million views and 230,000 likes with many people praising the husband for shutting down the woman and her alleged racist behavior. This is not the only video of a Karen, unfortunately, it seems to be a common trend, especially when it comes to what many people in the Black community have to deal with.
https://www.tiktok.com/@squiddy_tiddies/video/6989345977714887941?referer_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailydot.com%2F&referer_video_id=6989345977714887941&refer=embed&is_copy_url=0&is_from_webapp=v1&sender_device=pc&sender_web_id=6951304256733677061
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TikTok user @squiddy_tiddies also recently encountered this racist woman at an IKEA store in Emeryville, California. She is seen by the user calling nearby people racial slurs using the N-word. The user reports that the woman even tried to hit the woman in front of security. Security then escorted her for her terrible behavior. Many were divided over this video. Some gave props to the security guard, who was calm and quick to help. Some thought it was unfair to deem the woman a Karen, as she seemed to be dealing with some kind of mental illness causing her to act like she did. However, many comment that though that might be true, white woman are given more allowance to act badly in public while many people of color are scrutinized for simply existing in public. The bad behavior of Karens often reminds people how much white women are often forgiven.
While we’ve seen the power of these moments being captured on camera, we also hope they don’t just get lost in the viral abyss but continue to create a conversation and action towards change against racism and white supremacy. What would you have done in these situations?Â
