Karens, or racist white women who believe they have the authority to police others’ behaviour, are becoming an increasing problem in public places. These individuals typically dress in blackface and display other-sorry signs to express their disdain.
They’re the type of individuals who demand to speak to managers, are anti-vaccination and engage in racist microaggressions. Unfortunately, they have become a staple on social media platforms.
1. Amy Cooper
In the spring of 2020, Amy Cooper was walking her dog through Central Park’s Ramble. This section of the park is popular for its winding paths and lush greenery that attracts various bird species.
She was walking when she noticed Christian Cooper, a Black birdwatcher, walking his dog off its leash. She called police and accused him of “threaten[ing] both her life and that of her pup”.
The video of the incident went viral and caused outrage online, as people began drawing connections between it and recent cases of Black people being chased and killed by White men in parks. As a result, Amy Cooper lost her job and surrendered her dog to a rescue group after it became public knowledge.
Some criticize the Karen video meme as going too far; however, others believe it can be an effective tool in calling attention to unacceptable behavior. Williams, an expert on race in media relations, notes that these videos serve to draw attention to how some White Americans treat people of color.
However, she points out that the video lacks context and could easily be edited to alter its narrative. Furthermore, Karen believes the Karen narrative trivializes the anger and economic disenfranchisement of a white working class which propelled Donald Trump to the White House in 2016.
US District Judge Ronnie Abrams recently dismissed a lawsuit filed by Cooper against her former employer, Franklin Templeton. In his ruling, Abrams held that the asset management company had no legal obligation to investigate any allegations of racism against its employees.
2. Amy Cooper and her dog
The first Karen we encountered was a white woman named Amy Cooper who called the police on a black birdwatcher in Central Park last year. The video went viral and sparked widespread accusations of racism. After an extended standoff that culminated in Cooper being fired from her job at global investment firm Franklin Templeton and losing her dog temporarily, there would be no peace.
The Karen phenomenon is an archetype of entitled white women who use their anger and sense of entitlement to harass and abuse people of color. Activists often link this behavior to classism and systemic racism.
But the “Karen” phenomenon has also evolved over time, particularly as racial tensions increased nationwide. During this period, more examples of Racist Karens in public spaces became commonplace than ever before.
Many of these incidents were caused by a combination of factors, including furloughs and layoffs, anti-black state violence, and lockdown stress. According to Lillian Glass – a communications and body language expert – these conditions have contributed to an increase in rage among many whites.
She notes that most rage moments are caused by personal or financial difficulties. Those who can call the police on someone of color in public space tend to be middle class white men, who activists view as using their privilege to protect themselves from oppression.
This has forced them into the forefront of discussions surrounding Black Lives Matter protests and racial tensions. As such, the Karen has evolved from being a humorous symbol of white supremacy to something more serious: an emblem for social policing in an emergency.
3. Amy Cooper and her dog in Central Park
One of the most viewed social-media videos this past year depicted a white woman calling the police after a Black bird watcher asked her to put her dog on a leash according to park rules. This video went viral and ignited an intense public conversation about the persistent racism people of color face when outdoors.
Apryl Williams, a faculty associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, notes that Karens have been around for years but recently experienced an uptick in relevance due to Covid-19 outbreak. According to Apryl, these confrontations often serve as forms of public humiliation rooted in class and racial tensions.
Black Feminist Collective recently stated that the ‘Karen’ phenomenon “is neither misogynistic nor sexist,” but instead an issue that needs to be addressed.
Williams told BKC fellow Allissa Richardson in an interview last week that the spread of this novel coronavirus has intensified class tensions and highlighted the significance of “Karen” type confrontations. She described them as manifestations of anger and aggression.
Confrontations like these can be a risk, if not an inevitable part of life for those who live in areas with widespread racial inequality. It’s difficult to know when it’s time for action and if doing so outweighs the safety of doing nothing at all.
4. Amy Cooper and her dog in the Ramble
In June, Amy Cooper pulled her dog by the collar and called police on a black birder in Central Park – sparking what has since been coined “Karen”-spotting. This event ignited an ongoing national conversation about systemic racism and police brutality that continues today with people connecting actions taken by “Karens” such as Cooper to larger issues surrounding white supremacy and police brutality.
Karens are a type of racist white woman who takes advantage of their privilege to demand what they want at the expense of others. They take everything that’s wrong with an over-entitled western woman and amplifies it several thousand percent.
Social media often calls out white people for their racially offensive behavior, and these individuals are particularly likely to be caught when they use their privilege to attack people of color. Examples include a white woman who asked an Asian couple about their passport in the post office and a farmers’ market organizer who called police on a gay vendor for selling pride flags.
Karens have become an effective tool in highlighting white people’s abuse of privilege during a time when public spaces have become increasingly filled with anti-black state violence and Black Lives Matter protests. Karens can often be seen engaging in various nefarious practices that have little or nothing to do with personal safety but rather aim at exploiting their social status.
Jennifer Weiner (2020) notes the rise of the ‘Karen’ meme at a critical juncture in our history: it is connected to two features: COVID-19 pandemic start date and ‘pandemic shaming’. According to Weiner, ‘Pandemic shaming’ is an unsavory form of self-aggrandizement in which those with privilege are able to assert their status through social policeing, sexual discrimination and targeting essential workers’.
5. Amy Cooper and her dog in the Ramble
Video footage of Amy Cooper, a white woman who had just been asked to leash her dog in Central Park’s Ramble area, calling New York police on bird-watcher Christian Cooper has gone viral and brought attention to the persistent racism Black people experience in outdoor spaces.
Franklin Templeton Asset Management fired Cooper Tuesday after the video went viral. Cooper expressed her displeasure at being asked to leash her dog and claimed an “African American man” had threatened her life.
Karen-spotting has become a surprisingly popular pastime on social media, but it also serves to highlight the persistent racial inequality in American society. This is not to suggest that everyone who encounters Karen on the street is motivated by prejudice; rather, these individuals may simply be acting out of frustration or rage.
Karens who act out in public or on airplanes often do so because they feel entitled to do so. These behaviors may be the result of economic disenfranchisement and other personal/financial difficulties.
Karens who go out of their way to complain about Black people going about their business usually do so out of a sense of disproportionate power over that individual based on race. Furthermore, these encounters tend to follow an encounter with a police officer or other authority figure trying to enforce rules they believe are in the best interests of their citizens.
As Amy Cooper and her dog demonstrated, these situations can be highly volatile and violent. Additionally, these public displays of female anger are usually led by white women; however, these incidents do happen with men as well.
