On social media platforms worldwide, Karens have been revealed for their rude, racist or entitled behavior – particularly Karens who demand to speak to a manager before 9 am.
Entitled people believe they deserve more than others and act accordingly, which can cause irreparable damage to both personal and professional relationships.
1. The Angry White Woman
Some years back, a viral video showing a white woman calling the police on a black bird watcher in Central Park went viral, sparking national discussion and sparking numerous social media users to share incidents where other white women used their privilege to intimidate or harass Black people in public spaces.
This behavior, commonly known as BBQ Becky or Permit Patty, stems from a history of white women using victimhood to harm people of color. Carolyn Bryant made headlines during Jim Crow era by falsely accusing Emmett Till of being offended by her and leading to his violent execution; today’s Karens seem emboldened by their privilege and less worried about harming or intimidating those they target with intimidation or harassment.
Karens are well-known as being problematic members of middle-aged, white women who demand to speak to managers. Karens often behave rudely or inappropriately towards staff; such sexism often stems from ignorance and ruthless self-interest.
Recently, Karen videos have become part of social media culture and can be found everywhere from Facebook posts and articles to Reddit threads.
Karens have come under criticism from various quarters, including Black Twitter and social justice activists. A video depicting a California woman being denied service at Starbucks due to not wearing a mask is just one example of Karens’ entitled behavior that can lead to violence against people of color.
This type of behavior, which has the potential to result in death or serious injury, has long been present; it just seems more prevalent now. What’s worse, more and more white women display this form of racism while maintaining victim-hood mentalities as part of their superiority mentality.
2. The Angry Black Woman
Women of African heritage can often become the target of racial shaming when they express anger. Their behavior can often be misconstrued as unreasonable and entitled.
Though it may be surprising, many angry Black women don’t shy away from complaining about racism or discrimination in the workplace. Their anger serves to fight back against systemic inequality; whether that means refusing to pay their wages on time, or employees refusing to take medications prescribed to them; angry Black women must take a stand against racial biases so as to survive and thrive in today’s workplace environment.
Complaints about other people can also include white privileged women acting petty or demanding. Anger at black women could serve as an inspiration to white privileged women who may never have had to fight for their rights themselves.
Customer service is often where abusive, racist and/or entitled behavior takes place. Two examples include a woman in a Trader Joe’s who screamed at employees for not wearing masks; Amy Cooper (known as Central Park Karen) called police on a Black man because he asked her to leash her dog.
Although these videos can be embarrassing, they’re an important reminder of what can happen when someone doesn’t get their way in social situations. With more people confronting racial biases in our society and more Karen sightings expected, people need to be ready when encountering her sightings. Furthermore, being aware of different forms of aggression that Karens can display will allow for effective response when necessary – an especially crucial aspect in maintaining respectful interactions.
3. The Angry Asian Woman
Asian American women often fall through the cracks when discussing stereotypes in media; Latinos and blacks have taken to voicing their outrage at such depictions, often being perceived as passive, submissive, or even indifferent to what happens around them.
Asian Americans are among the most targeted victims in sexual assault and hate crime cases, particularly due to a series of high-profile murder cases involving white men who killed eight Asian women and one Asian male across the U.S. This trend is not new, but has gained momentum recently due to high-profile murder cases involving white men who murdered 9 Asian victims in this way.
Many Asian American women aren’t angry; instead, they’re feeling lonely.
Jay Caspian Kang’s exquisite novel Lonely Asian Woman explores those feelings at its core. Set in Hong Kong, it explores both individual experience and collective hallucinations brought on by connectivity.
Kang, who hails from Chinese-American descent and currently teaches writing at Berkeley’s University of California, Berkeley campus, understands this struggle first-hand. Through extensive reading and writing on Asian American culture he’s come to see first-hand how Asians seek their place among the country’s diverse racial divisions.
Asian women raising children with non-Asians, an increasingly prevalent practice, is facing backlash due to miscegenation and violence directed against mixed-race families. MRAsians, anti-miscegenation activists on Reddit, have targeted multiracial families and accused their women of raising children like Elliot Rodger, the half-Chinese college student who killed six people in 2014.
Archelogy reported that several of these trolls have been caught on camera “humiliating and assaulting” actor Ken Jeong, who portrays Asian American characters in films. Additionally, these individuals have been accused of harassing other Asian women such as author Celeste Ng.
4. The Angry Asian Man
The Angry Asian Man is a popular blog which highlights any instances of racist or entitled behavior among the elites, providing entertaining reading with a healthy dose of social justice. Since it launched in 2020, The Angry Asian Man has amassed over one million followers – making it one of the most active communities on Reddit.
This blog is an essential read for anyone wishing to gain more understanding about Asian Americans in media, politics, and American culture. Furthermore, The Angry Asian Man hosts an impressive podcast library that features interviews with various guests; additionally the blog serves as an information resource on topics including Asian profiling as well as anti-racism measures that have been featured by media outlets like ABC, The New York Times, The Guardian and Wall Street Journal.
Mina Hong explores various tidbits about Los Angeles and Asian America in her book of the same name. Drawing inspiration from her own childhood in L.A., Hong combines anecdotal stories with historical and sociocultural context to provide a vivid depiction of how Los Angeles’ thriving immigrant population has developed over time.
She takes great pains in detailing even seemingly inconsequential details of her family history, such as their one-time-only immigration status reversal in the 1970s – which, she emphasizes, had its ups and downs; ultimately she came to appreciate both her upbringing and growing up in a big city.
She discovered several notable events and figures around Los Angeles that provided for an enjoyable journey into Asian American history, notably The Angry Asian Man as an embodiment of an ongoing social issue affecting Asians today – lack of visibility.
5. The Angry Black Man
Un great book can have tremendous power to transform lives, opening minds and drawing people closer together. Additionally, reading can provide the rare chance to be seen and heard – something sorely needed in today’s society.
Books can often be the most effective means of altering our perception of issues such as race and identity, particularly those featuring Black characters and authors who write about Black experiences.
Are You Searching for Books About Deficit Reduction? Here Are A Few Suggestions:
Malorie Blackman’s Noughts and Crosses explores an alternate reality where white people are held captive by black people, providing an amazing literary work which challenges us all to consider race in new ways. Its intelligent themes will challenge your assumptions on race.
Ishmael Reed’s 1972 novel A Garden for Black Boys deftly takes on White supremacy through hoodoo and voodoo traditions, juxtaposing them against American mainstream culture.
Though this novel is fiction, it creates a real and visceral connection with its subject matter – race and identity are explored both poignantly and humorously within its pages.
This book should be on every book lover’s reading list, particularly given the recent resurgence of Black Lives Matter activism in 2020. The themes within it are extremely relevant, providing us with a glimpse of life from an unlikely viewpoint: that of an upstart young black male.
An angry black man can be an intriguing character; their actions often reflect his thoughts and emotions about situations or people around him. While an angry Black Man might become angry over not receiving help in the grocery store from a woman, that doesn’t indicate they’re racist or entitled; rather they blame society as a whole for oppressing them and want it changed for betterment.