In a viral TikTok video, Alonzo Harmon stands outside the woman’s garage while she calls 911, sobs uncontrollably, and claims that he’s threatening her. Harmon asks her to tell him what threat she made, but she refuses to speak.
Karen is an archetype that’s often morphed from Generation X soccer moms into the space reserved for privileged white women. This Minnesota Karen takes things a step further, weaponizing local police for no reason other than to harass and instigate violence.
Video
A black HVAC technician in Minnesota is outraged after his client calls 911 on him, sobs uncontrollably and claims he’s threatening her. He recorded the moment and posted it on TikTok, and it’s now gone viral on social media.
In the video, the HVAC technician, Alonzo Harmon, is seen standing outside of his client’s garage as she calls 911 and sobs hysterically while claiming that he’s threatening her. She can be seen telling the 911 operator that she’s having a panic attack while she yells out, “He’s trying to kill me!”
The video was captured in Nov. 29 of last year and has already made the rounds on social media, attracting attention from users across the globe.
It’s no secret that white women have been known to call the police on people of color for seemingly mundane activities, such as taking a shower or cleaning their toilets. However, this video is the first to catch the eye of both social media users and law enforcement agencies alike.
According to a spokesperson from the Golden Valley Police Department, officers responded to the woman’s call but took no further action. They also reported that the lady on the phone hasn’t made a repeat visit to the local law enforcement agency since.
Calling the Police
A Minnesota Karen called 911 on a Black HVAC technician while he was working in her garage, sobbing uncontrollably and claiming that he was threatening her. The incident is captured on a viral TikTok video that has already racked up millions of views.
A woman who booked an appointment for duct cleaning outside Minneapolis calls 911 on the tech while he stands outside her home in a snowstorm, a logoed winter hat and company uniform. The woman tells the operator that she has been threatened and says that her life is in danger, according to The Daily Beast. She also claims that the tech was not allowed to leave the home.
The HVAC technician explains that he arrived at the woman’s house to clean her air ducts. He explained that he waited for her to call the cops because she told him that she wanted him out of her house before he started work, but he did not take further action.
He also explained that he had been called to the house several times before and had never received any sort of warning or reprimand from the woman. He said that he was trained to do the job and had a license to perform it. He stated that he is not in the habit of calling 911 on his customers for no reason, but he did it because he was being harassed by this lady.
This case should serve as a reminder to everyone that it is illegal to call 911 with racist and sexist comments, no matter the circumstance. This woman could end up with up to a year in jail for her actions, which are uncalled for and completely unacceptable.
Reactions
A Black HVAC technician who works in Minnesota is outraged after a Karen called 911 on him and wrongly accused him of threatening her. The moment is captured on a viral TikTok video that was posted by Alonzo Harmon in November of 2022. In the video, Harmon stands outside a garage in Golden Valley as snow falls and is wearing his company uniform with a logoed winter hat. He records the woman, who was calling police on him, as she sobs and accuses him of threatening her.
Karens occupy an altered traditional role in North American culture that corresponds to modified archetypes often given to women, such as soccer moms or Fu Manchus. These societal roles have been reimagined and adapted to suit the context of social media-based activism, which is based on moral panics about white women’s perceived threat. These moral panics are rooted in racism and the perception that white women play a pernicious role in the brutality against black men (Carby, 1985; Apel, 2004). However, unlike Generation X soccer moms, Karens have become the silent enemy of white women on social media today, coalescing into a collective determination to cancel them out of online spaces. The result is a phenomenon that I call cancellation culture.
Responses
Every HVAC technician knows that their credibility is at stake whenever they go to a customer’s house for a service call. In fact, winning that credibility can mean the difference between earning a repeat customer and a lost opportunity. That’s why it’s crucial for technicians to have excellent listening skills when taking care of their customers. And it’s also why they should be prepared for the most important aspect of any service call – the phone.
A viral TikTok video shows a Black HVAC Technician being outraged when a Minnesota Karen calls the police on him while he’s doing his job. The woman he’s talking to, in the video, is sobbing uncontrollably and claims he’s threatened her. It’s a good thing the technician decided to record her call — and then post it on TikTok.
