Think of the Karens

Yes and yes absolutely!

Happy Oh Boy GIF

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It’s really sad that I’ve had to post this twice in one day…

You’re perfectly free to express your opinion, but yeah, any of us who do so here shouldn’t be surprised to get challenged on it. It’s Internet 101, people will argue about anything and everything. You’re not obliged to agree with what others say… but in my experience, listening to and considering other people’s points of view have taught me a lot about many subjects, as well as how to communicate my own thoughts better and more clearly.

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Here we go again…

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Cute :grinning:

There is a problem with aligning with a group ideology that boils complex ideas down to Karen’s and Stacy’s and Chads (same level).

Racist and misogynistic hate deserves a bit more thought than sharing slogans and snarky gifs.

Bit emotional here having seen my Karen in an emergency room from a brutal beating for being trans.

Looks like I’ve made it about me again.

I’m out bye.

Which is horrible, and there is not one person here who does not grieve that, and wish it had not happened. But she was beaten for being trans, not for being “Karen”.

I get why you’re emotional, but there are larger things afoot. Yes, of course, nothing is more important to you than the wellbeing of your partner. But there is a thing: an identifiable thing, where a woman, almost always middle aged, well-off, and white, uses her privilege to harm people, almost universally sharing a set of characteristics picked from “poor”, “powerless”, “PoC”, without consequence to herself.

Men do it too, but not as often, because men are conditioned to use their power differently, usually directly. Women are conditioned to use indirect power.

That’s all a bit complex already, and it’s certainly missing multiple important dynamics. We need a name for this, now that we know that it exists, so that we can talk about it.

Now we have a name for it, the woman who accused Emmett Till of looking at her funny was a Karen. She made an accusation against a poor black child, knowing that the best case was that he was going to be beaten. As it turned out, he was beaten into an unrecognisable pulp, and the Karen who caused it all had no consequences whatsoever. She wasn’t even arrested for it, because the police didn’t want to bother her.

Your beloved is Karen. Your beloved is not a Karen. There is a massive difference between the two.

But sure, I get it. You hate that the association is there. So what else should we call this phenomenon?

You’ve made the point that you are upset by it, and we’ve acknowledged that you are upset by it. Cool. What else should we call it, then?

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It’s probably a good idea to spend time caring for her right now.

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I am truly sorry about what happened to your partner. I wish that we lived in a world where that kind of thing never happened, and I truly hope that it never happens again.

But I think that you need to separate that from the linguistic trend that we are seeing with the name Karen, as that is not directed at your partner personally (or any other individual who happens to have the name Karen). It does not do you or your partner any good to take the use of Karen as a personal attack because it is not in any way, shape or form. Neither the people who use the term nor the people who see or hear the term have any inkling that it has anything to do with your partner. We are all capable of separating your partner from the stereotypical middle aged white lady who wants to speak to a manager because we have never seen or even thought of anything to link them.

Words can have multiple meanings. Nobody hears the name Mark in context and conjures up an image of a person who is easily fooled in a scam. That’s not how it works. You are worrying yourself about connotations of the word that simply are not there. It would do you good to accept that language gives new meaning to things sometimes, but that does not alter or diminish the meanings that were already there. Karen is still a fine name for a person to have.

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Thank you for your considered reply. I’ll take that on board.

Although scarred from this a year ago she is a lot tougher than me… cares for me… she’s all I need and we love each other. I’m a very lucky if slightly grumpy chap sometimes!

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Nothing but sympathy for your partner and what she’s gone through. We have members of the BBS who have dealt with that. It’s fucking horrible.

As many have said, that is separate from this discussion.

My name is Jay. When I go for a walk, I am Jay, and I’m walking. I am not Jaywalking. We are not the meanings of our names, we are ourselves; our identity.

To repeat what has been said before; your partner is Karen. Not A Karen. Simple enough.

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ok I’ll take that on

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Maybe something more positive to focus on? Have you seen this

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Thanks, I’ll check that out.

I’ve had a hard day so very much appreciate a positive link.

Not sure if others will see but I’m so sorry for acting out from my mental state on this forum.

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We’ve all been there. Take in a little hope, lean into your love. The world is a rough place right now, especially so for trans people and those who love them.
If you like animals this is good: Post your Pet or animal Pics (Part 2)
And there are literally thousands of these in the part one and two. 🌈 Unicorn Chasers 2 🌈

There are also gardening and cooking threads. I try to balance my time a bit or everything can get overwhelming.

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But… But… That would upset my mate Kev who is a splendid fellow! Nooooooooo!!1!1!1

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Weird how that point was nearly lost among all the genuine good faith replies.

Most people here seem fairly decent and sincere, much of the time; it is unfortunate when certain disingenuous actors seek to abuse or exploit those positive traits.

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Thank you