Karen diplomacy has developed from colonial micro-level diplomacy to postcolonial macro-level diplomacy over time and back. With each shift, the concept of Karen states expanded from symbolic spaces within commonwealth or federal unions towards full independence.
Non-KNU armed Karen groups remain vital actors in the conflict, serving as government proxies and fighting KNU troops (South, 2011). This adds another level of complexity.
Why Are Karens Angry?
The Karen people are an ethnic nationality located in Burma (Myanmar). For centuries they were part of an alliance with Britain against Burma’s military government; unfortunately this contract was broken upon independence, leaving many Karens feeling powerless and isolated; many joined ethnic resistance armies fighting the regime even to this day.
Before engaging with Karens, it is crucial to gain an understanding of their culture. Karens tend to value modesty in speech and gesture, believing directness to be rude; thus leading to miscommunication between Americans and Karens as American directness could be taken as a sign of anger or irritation.
Karens are notoriously superstitious people, believing in malevolent spirits that threaten human life and can inhabit people’s bodies to cause physical harm and wreak havoc upon it. To combat such threats, Karens use herbs and charms against such spirits; also believing their soul leaves at death to return as the spirit of a newborn baby.
Due to decades of oppression at the hands of Burmese military forces, Karens are fearful of violence and indignant at any perceived injustice – thus leading them to express great animus when encountering American society. This anger often manifests itself when dealing with their interactions.
In 2015, for instance, Karen went into an angry tirade at a Chevron gas station when her credit card wasn’t charged. An assistant manager managed to secure Karen in a headlock before calling police; ultimately the woman was arrested and ultimately deported from the country.
If you work in the service industry, chances are you have come across women known as Karens. These irate middle-aged customers frequently enter restaurants to attack 16-year-old waitstaff over insufficient ketchup or errors on orders placed with 16-year-old clerks behind counter. While not always Karens by name alone, their behavior has earned them this moniker.
They Are Feeling Unheard and Marginalized
Karens may be an underrepresented minority, yet their presence can be felt throughout the globe. Anyone familiar with retail and restaurant environments knows that customers named Karen stand out, often demanding to speak to management and making numerous complaints about service they feel they deserve. These women have come to be known by some as having “weaponized victimhood”, whereby they use aggressive language until receiving what they perceive to be adequate customer care services.
Names like Karen have come to symbolize an arrogant, self-important attitude; consequently, many are reluctant to work with or even communicate with them due to this perception. Furthermore, these individuals have often become targets of discrimination and name-shaming that can be extremely painful to those experiencing it.
One of the most prevalent forms of name-shaming is known as the “Karen meme,” in which someone who shares that name is called out online as Karen in jokes posted to social media or posted to a forum. Such memes may cause great discomfort if directed against friends or family who also bear this moniker; it’s essential that we speak out against these insulting memes whether we identify ourselves with that title or not.
Karens have long felt excluded and marginalized from other Burmese, both as a result of war against Britain and subsequent conflicts with nationalist armies. Furthermore, many Karens retain wartime identities such as Christianity and support for nationalist militia movements that make them less open to federalism than non-Karens.
The Karens are a diverse people with differing opinions on national identity and ideal forms of political recognition, leading to increasingly divided demands for independence from each faction of an armed nationalist movement. As a result, tensions have escalated into all-out warfare between competing nationalist factions.
Karens can feel marginalized and excluded due to the experiences they encounter daily. When entering stores, restaurants, or medical offices for appointments or treatments, civility often breaks down in favor of hostility or mockery – an experience which is often traumatizing for Karens, and may have long-term negative repercussions for their mental health and well-being.
They Are Fearful of Revenge
Karens of the world fear being dispossessed of their wealth, power and privilege by someone. At a deeper level they understand that everything they possess rests upon the remains of other lives; everything they own has been made possible at someone’s expense. Protesters seem like an organized attempt by some dark force to destroy them as part of them believes this punishment belongs to them.
Karens often become angry when forced to share the spotlight with people that don’t fit the mold they created for themselves in their minds. After decades of using others’ lives for themselves, these Karens perceive anyone daring to speak up against injustice as an existential threat and take immediate offense at anyone speaking up against injustice themselves as threats against themselves and their goals.
Karens often fear revenge and have difficulty understanding that they may have been victims of injustice themselves. They see neighbors, coworkers, and friends as threats and will go to great lengths to defend what they have worked so hard for.
When feeling threatened by someone else’s actions or beliefs, Karens often resort to fabricating stories or making outlandish accusations in order to justify their own behavior. Sometimes this behavior indicates mental health issues which require treatment;
Appropriating someone else’s name to hurt people is deeply disrespectful and unfair. Karen-named women have recently come under attack from an unprecedented wave of “Karen shaming”, including being accused of their opinions, political leanings and even skin color being offensive to society. Their names have been used as tools against them with people telling them that their behavior is unacceptable or that their middle-age status makes them annoying or entitled.
The Karen shaming trend has become an unfortunate way of life and even for well-known celebrities, targeting everyone from all backgrounds and walks of life – not only women named Karen themselves but also to people who may never have encountered the person whom they’re making fun of in person. It has proven harmful both psychologically and socially for all involved parties involved.
They Are Angry for Their Own Shadow
American media tends to paint Karens as being unreasonable and paranoid, often depicting them as wanting revenge against white people or wanting to kill them; when in reality the situation is much more nuanced – many Karens harbor anger for themselves as having done all the harm to society in which they reside.
As they experience America, their treatment renders them feel powerless and marginalized, leading them to attempt regaining some sense of power through anger. Unfortunately, their attempts only serve to illustrate just how powerless they feel themselves.
American public may mistake Karens as being dangerous and unreasonable; they are acting only in response to how they have been treated by us as a whole, not only Karens. Our nation has long had a history of treating its citizens harshly; not just Karens have suffered under its rule. It is time that we recognize this reality and stop making excuses for continuing such treatment of Karens.
This research involved fieldwork interviews conducted by the author between 2010 and 2015. Interviews were recorded in S’gaw Karen language before being transcribed for analysis using QRS N-Vivo 10. This work sought to create data useful in informing policy regarding refugee resettlement issues.
This research demonstrated the necessity of considering all the intersecting axes of social difference present within Karen women’s identities – migration history, gender, education. Furthermore, this investigation explored how neoliberalism creates inequitable health resources as well as hinders refugees’ integration.
This report detailed a variety of government abuses, such as land confiscation, in the northern Karen State villages that reside under effective control by Burmese military and government-affiliated militias. Some villagers were successful in getting compensation through various strategies such as lodging written complaints with local authorities; sometimes village leaders reached out to higher-level leaders such as chief ministers or presidents to assist them with pursuing their claims for compensation.
