Three Things White People Can Learn from the “Karens” of the World
It's all fun and games until you realize that you can be a "Karen" too
Image by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels
To many people, Karen videos are (literally) hysterical. They serve as comical reminders of how ridiculously entertaining white people, and white women, in particular, can be. From the self-serving entitlement that exudes from their pores to the suffocating breath of audacity they wield, Karens are some of the most irrationally bold people there are.
I’m sure you’ve seen the horrific video of the ‘Victoria Secret Karen’ (V.S Karen) by now. The one where a white woman terrorizes an unsuspecting shopper named Ijeoma Ukenta. According to Ukenta, the white woman refused to adhere to the common social understanding of personal space. Rightfully bothered by the lack of social decorum, Ukenta politely asked the white woman to “back up,” and this is where Karen-mode was activated.
As seen in Ukenta's video, the white woman decides to make a scene inside Victoria's Secret. She becomes irate and infused with delusions of danger that cause her to believe that her life is at stake. V.S Karen is so amusingly distraught that at one point, she "faints" and collapses from the sheer weight of her "caucasity," only to wake up with a banshee-like shrill; as she exclaims, "she's recording me! Tell her to stop!” Ultimately, Ukenta has filed a police report, and she is currently pressing charges against the white woman who assaulted her. Ukenta is also filing a complaint against the cops and mall security, who failed to protect her from V.S Karen.
It’s important to note that Karens are not an aberration, though. There are hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions of Karen-like incidences out there that haven’t been spotlighted and gone viral online—a YouTube search will quickly reveal this. Karen is likely to appear closer to home than you think. Therefore, I believe there are three things white people (of all ethnicities) and I can learn from the Karens of the world.
For more on this piece please visit medium.com/@joeypierre