by Pa Rock
Social Commentator
I will admit to not being the hippest cat on the block. My knowledge of social references, while never on the cutting edge, has been almost nil since I retired and moved off to my sanctuary on the outskirts of rural America. If it was not for the internet, I would be a complete cultural recluse.
But the internet brings me the news, keeps me up with the current outrages of government, and even provides glimpses as to how society talks and interacts among its various classes and subsets of individuals. It was through the internet, for instance, when - just a few months ago - I began seeing the name "Karen" broadly used in a derisive manner.
By paying careful attention I began to understand, in general terms, just what being a "Karen" generally entailed. A "Karen" was an entitled white woman, in her forties or fifties, who was frustrated with her lot in life and quick to take her anger out on others. She was the explosive character attacking other shoppers at Walmart because they weren't speaking English, or the angry customer refusing to put on a mask before entering a business, or the mad driver refusing to accept a traffic ticket a policeman, or the driver whose car was blocking traffic because she had exited her vehicle to yell at the man in the car behind her - the man who had honked at her when she failed to move her car when the signal turned green - probably because she busy with her phone.
In addition to being loud and brash, I also pictured the average Karen as dressing slovenly, having tattoos, owning guns, and, of course, being a Trump-supporting MAGAt. In my own mind I saw Karen as someone who had bitterly accepted her lot in life up until the day Donald Trump was elected, and then she suddenly came to the realization that she had just as much self-worth as any damned person in America - and by God she would be heard!
I assumed that one woman in one of those classic internet memes had actually been named "Karen," and that a few snarky individuals had appropriated the name and began using it to describe all persons of that general type.
This week Dictionary.com, a free vocabulary-building service to which I subscribe, sent around an email from the "Slang Dictionary" which focused on the meaning of "Karen," along with background on the current usage. That dictionary's "Karen" is a bit more urbane than mine, but every bit as unpleasant. According to the Slang Dictionary:
The article in the Slang Dictionary gives several possible origins of the term dating back to 2010, with it becoming increasingly common during the past couple of years. It also mentions two other proper names that are becoming shorthand to describe character types: "Becky" - a basic, young white woman, and "Chad" - a cocky, young "dudebro."
But while Beckys and Chads are fairly harmless, the Karens are not. They will be heard, and they will ruin your day!
Social Commentator
I will admit to not being the hippest cat on the block. My knowledge of social references, while never on the cutting edge, has been almost nil since I retired and moved off to my sanctuary on the outskirts of rural America. If it was not for the internet, I would be a complete cultural recluse.
But the internet brings me the news, keeps me up with the current outrages of government, and even provides glimpses as to how society talks and interacts among its various classes and subsets of individuals. It was through the internet, for instance, when - just a few months ago - I began seeing the name "Karen" broadly used in a derisive manner.
By paying careful attention I began to understand, in general terms, just what being a "Karen" generally entailed. A "Karen" was an entitled white woman, in her forties or fifties, who was frustrated with her lot in life and quick to take her anger out on others. She was the explosive character attacking other shoppers at Walmart because they weren't speaking English, or the angry customer refusing to put on a mask before entering a business, or the mad driver refusing to accept a traffic ticket a policeman, or the driver whose car was blocking traffic because she had exited her vehicle to yell at the man in the car behind her - the man who had honked at her when she failed to move her car when the signal turned green - probably because she busy with her phone.
In addition to being loud and brash, I also pictured the average Karen as dressing slovenly, having tattoos, owning guns, and, of course, being a Trump-supporting MAGAt. In my own mind I saw Karen as someone who had bitterly accepted her lot in life up until the day Donald Trump was elected, and then she suddenly came to the realization that she had just as much self-worth as any damned person in America - and by God she would be heard!
I assumed that one woman in one of those classic internet memes had actually been named "Karen," and that a few snarky individuals had appropriated the name and began using it to describe all persons of that general type.
This week Dictionary.com, a free vocabulary-building service to which I subscribe, sent around an email from the "Slang Dictionary" which focused on the meaning of "Karen," along with background on the current usage. That dictionary's "Karen" is a bit more urbane than mine, but every bit as unpleasant. According to the Slang Dictionary:
"Karen is a mocking slang term for an entitled, obnoxious, middle-aged white woman. Especially as featured in memes, Karen is general stereotyped as having a blonde bob haircut, asking to speak to retail and restaurant managers to voice complains or make demands, and being a nagging, often divorced mother from Generation X."
The article in the Slang Dictionary gives several possible origins of the term dating back to 2010, with it becoming increasingly common during the past couple of years. It also mentions two other proper names that are becoming shorthand to describe character types: "Becky" - a basic, young white woman, and "Chad" - a cocky, young "dudebro."
But while Beckys and Chads are fairly harmless, the Karens are not. They will be heard, and they will ruin your day!
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