Call It By It’s Name

These past few months of increased racial tension, due to the deaths of people like Breonna Taylor and George Floyd have led to the creation of a new group: “The Karens.”

To begin: thoughts and prayers to those who are actually named Karen and don’t fit into this category, thankfully. You must be having the worst time with this trend.

For those of you who’ve been living under a rock, a “Karen” is a white woman who uses her white privilege to justify her action or perform her daily racist, white nationalist centered duties, all while rocking her “can I speak to your manager” haircut. They justified their actions why their victimhood as white women. But why are we allowing society to mask racism behind a different name? A “Karen” is a racist. Nothing more, nothing less.

There’s been an uprising of “Karens” lately, mostly because we’re turning to social media as an outlet to outs them. Twitter is flooded with video after video of “Karen’s” taking on stances like requiring kids to have permits for lemonade stands, not wanting to wear masks for public safety and needing to talk to the Target store manager.

We’ve created a mascot for racists. An image that desensitizes the problem with white people who feel a sense of entitlement because of their skin color. A term that has begun to envelope itself into culture to the point where celebrities are embracing it. While it sounds like fun to taunt racists, they have no issue turning to using slurs to insult us when the time comes.

The N-word, coined in the 18th century, is an ethnic slur that is directed towards Black people. It is an adaption of the word “negro” in Spanish and a decendent of the Latin adjacent “niger,” which ultimately means “Black.” The entire world knows the world’s notorious use to degrade Black people, especially during slavery, and racist white people have no remorse when it comes to using this word. They call us what they see us as. There is no reason for us to hide their racism for a few likes and retweets.

We should have a problem with the “Karens” getting a slide on being called what they are: racists. We shouldn’t be quick to accept “Karen” as a substitute for someone who could put someone’s life in danger because of their entitlement. But, until this trend dies down: if it makes them mad, keep it up! Just don’t forget who they really are behind their bad haircuts.