“Karen” may have become an amusing meme, but her actions could put lives at risk by calling 911 for seemingly trivial matters – an action which is driven by racism, white entitlement, and unchecked privilege.
Why do so many white women feel entitled to police people of color?
1. They’re Entitled
As recent months have unfolded, stories have surfaced of white women turning to the police to report people of color – commonly referred to as Karens – using privilege as both shield and weapon against people of color. This trend began initially among African-American communities as an avenue for discussion of how white women perpetuate racism while simultaneously exploiting it for personal gain while claiming ignorance about it all.
Central Park Karen in New York City recently called 911 on a Black man bird-watching with his family, alleging he threatened her and her dog; footage captured this incident, leading to its virality and her subsequent loss of employment at an investment firm and arrest for filing false reports.
Instagram pages like @karensgoingwild have documented numerous instances of Karen-ing since its launch in June this year, amassing over one million followers since launch. While this trend was present prior to Covid-19 and increased racial awareness, its growth since has accelerated significantly due to these incidents highlighting how white women can easily mistake their sense of entitlement with dangerousness displayed by people of color.
Identification terrorism” refers to when white people are encouraged to assume that any act or statement perceived as threatening by black or brown individuals poses an immediate threat for themselves, making them feel comfortable scolding, harassing and calling 911 on them as necessary.
Racial and social tensions within the US have provided fertile ground for Karens to flourish, in tandem with concerns about public health issues like coronavirus. But just because awareness of this phenomenon is increasing does not mean we should downplay its racist and entitled behaviors by privileged white women.
2. They’re Angry
Your TV, phone and social media feeds may have shown videos of Karens calling the police on people of color – it can lead to violence and even loss of life, while Karens seem unaware of how their actions could impact others.
As such, Karens often become angry against people of color, often making racist calls that are often inaccurate and biased in nature. Their actions can lead to hate crimes, lawsuits or other forms of legal harassment against these communities if left unchecked; it’s therefore vitally important for us to determine why Karens become so outraged, as well as how best we can stop their behaviour from wreaking havoc within them.
Now, however, there are more tools than ever available to us for identifying and confronting Karens. Amy Cooper from The Root wrote in her article on this phenomenon that “Karens” became memes due to their “relentless pursuit of attention.” By turning their stories into viral videos or social media posts — like in this case of San Francisco woman calling police on neighbor who stenciled “Black Lives Matter” onto his retaining wall – their stories became nationally recognized figures who represent their purported fears racialized fear they purported to feel. Williams similarly explained how incidents that would likely remain ignored became newsworthy due to Karen memes’ framing; for instance a San Francisco woman calling police on a neighbor for stenciling “Black Lives Matter” became newsworthy upon being covered by Karen memes.
Virality also gives Karens a platform from which they can voice their grievances on social media, and allows the public to witness their racist behavior. Sometimes this online backlash is enough to discourage her from acting aggressively toward people of color in future encounters.
However, in order to tackle police racial profiling effectively and eliminate it altogether, it is critical that we recognize this behavior for what it is – white entitlement and privilege combined with racism and arrogance. By doing so, people will avoid misusing “white clicktivism.” Now is the time to end this meme!
3. They’re Defensive
If you are a person of color on social media, chances are you may have witnessed an upsurge of videos depicting an especially aggressive form of the “Karen” meme. These female, usually white individuals call the police on people of color for minor or even fabricated offenses that never actually took place.
Though pop culture has a history of mocking white women who abuse their privilege, with names like BBQ Becky, Pool Patrol Patty, Cornerstore Caroline and Central Park Karen being popular examples, something special stands out about this particular trend: most of those associated with Karen don’t just call the cops on unruly or rude people – instead using their authority in a highly offensive and often dangerous manner.
When Karen uses her relative privilege to threaten or harass members of marginalized communities, it raises serious questions about social and racial justice in our society. While such actions often generate outrage among their targets and end up making headlines nationwide, their potential victims often experience real consequences of this phenomenon, both legal and personal.
The Coronavirus Karen has become increasingly harmful over time. Inspired by Covid-19 and manifesting pushy behavior, classism, and anti-science views into a potent toxic cocktail which has had disastrous results on marginalized communities.
Karen has become notorious for using public anxiety about coronavirus as an excuse to call police on both neighbors and strangers she views as enemies, with Karen often refusing to wear masks in shops or publicly criticizing their quarantine plans for coronavirus. She uses public concern over pandemic as justification.
Representative Casey Weinstein and state Senator Karen West have recently collaborated to introduce legislation which would permit individuals to sue 911 callers who make false reports against them, providing an important protection against abuse that has long plagued people of color in our nation – such as unjustified deaths or arrests of Black individuals by overzealous police.
4. They’re Sexist
Karen is an Internet term designed to shame white women who use their privilege against people of color without realizing it. Karens often complain of minor or even imagined rights violations that happen regularly due to being white women; such issues usually go unchallenged due to being white women themselves. Although people of all races can be identified as Karens, most commonly White women fall into this category – evidenced most obviously during the coronavirus pandemic, with viral videos featuring White women acting entitled being labeled “Karens.”
Although Karens have long been targets of name calling, this particular pandemic seems to have amplified this insult’s reach and resonance in the wider debate about social distancing and profiling. Yet despite this meme’s broad appeal, its use remains troubling: first off it’s sexist; it caricatures an archetypal white woman of boomer age and middle-class status and is particularly offensive when targeted against; imagine the outrage if this were used against other groups like young black men or millennials instead!
As the pandemic’s impact continues to spread through our communities, it’s critical that we pay attention to how power structures perpetuate behaviors like Karen that give rise to memes like her.
Karen blurs the boundaries between various forms of oppression, creating confusion about who holds power in society. If we want to make progress against ageism, racism and sexism it’s essential that we create a shared language to understand its roots – something Karen won’t do; rather it takes calling out any and all sexist or racist behavior even from those we know and recognizing when Karens appear in our lives.
