Is Karen considered a racial slur?

[Anonymous]

People who use the term "Karen" as a-holes. They're mean and aggressive and just as bad as any Karen.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I use it for all races and have not gotten the impression that it’s only reserved for white women. It’s about attitude and not racial IMO.

+1

It's the behavior. My dad is the biggest Karen in my family. We've told him he's not allowed to talk to the servers anymore.

And while you are so righteously defending the servers by calling out your Dad’s behavior, do you even check to make the server’s name isn’t Karen?

Whether or not it’s racist, sexist, or ageist, or any other “ist”, stereotyping ANY group of people and using that stereotype to mock and condemn the group is cruel and bigoted.

If your Dad’s behavior is offensive, by all means call him on it. But please do so by addressing the actual behavior, rather than using it as an excuse to attack an entire group of people who have nothing to do with your Dad, and certainly aren’t responsible for his behavior.

I'm calling out my dad's obsessive complaining at restaurants. It's the behavior.

I'm not stereotyping anyone. I don't think that all older, white women complain excessively. I think some people of various ages, genders, and skin colors do.

It's not about you.

But using a name to label the behavior makes it about the name. Telling him he complains excessively is about the behavior. Calling him a Karen to criticize his behavior, makes it about the name.

I don’t think you’re stereotyping all older, white women. I think you’re stereotyping everyone named Karen. People named Karen may be predominantly (but not exclusively) older, white, women, but only a small percentage of older, white women are actually named Karen.

If you mean it’s not about me as someone named Karen, you’re absolutely correct. My name isn’t Karen.

However, just as you feel compelled to call out your father for his bad behavior, I feel compelled in the interest of fairness, compassion, and civility to call out yours. Please note that I am addressing the specific behavior without resorting to slurs and stereotypes. Incidentally, I consider the use of “Karen” as a slur to be worse than the behavior associated with that label.

And that is exactly the kind of white feminism the word is meant to poke at. People have literally lost their lives to white women who weoponize their privilege. Karen behavior can be deadly. But you want to act like calling someone a Karen is worse than acting like one? Give me a f#cking break.

No one is defending that behavior. But you are trading one slur for another. And honestly you just proved the teacher’s point that Karen is a racist term.

Read the quoted post. They literally did defend the behavior. And what slur are we trading? We're talking about gross behavior vs. an insult. Actual crappy behavior vs. A word. See the difference yet?

As the person who is being quoted, I was comparing the use of words to complain vs the use of words to target an entire group of people (those named Karen, regardless of race, age, or gender). I was comparing petty complaints to bigotry, and I think bigotry is worse.

Googling bigotry, this is the definition provided, citing a source of Oxford Language:
obstinate or unreasonable attachment to a belief, opinion, or faction, in particular prejudice against a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular group.

A lot of people are defending the use of Karen as a response to racism. I completely and unequivocally condemn racism.

There is nothing to suggest that the PP’s dad is racist, merely unreasonably demanding and/or critical at restaurants. Regardless of the race of his server, some random person named Karen on the other side of the city/state/country/world has nothing whatsoever to do with his behavior, regardless of their race.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I use it for all races and have not gotten the impression that it’s only reserved for white women. It’s about attitude and not racial IMO.

+1

It's the behavior. My dad is the biggest Karen in my family. We've told him he's not allowed to talk to the servers anymore.

And while you are so righteously defending the servers by calling out your Dad’s behavior, do you even check to make the server’s name isn’t Karen?

Whether or not it’s racist, sexist, or ageist, or any other “ist”, stereotyping ANY group of people and using that stereotype to mock and condemn the group is cruel and bigoted.

If your Dad’s behavior is offensive, by all means call him on it. But please do so by addressing the actual behavior, rather than using it as an excuse to attack an entire group of people who have nothing to do with your Dad, and certainly aren’t responsible for his behavior.

I'm calling out my dad's obsessive complaining at restaurants. It's the behavior.

I'm not stereotyping anyone. I don't think that all older, white women complain excessively. I think some people of various ages, genders, and skin colors do.

It's not about you.

But using a name to label the behavior makes it about the name. Telling him he complains excessively is about the behavior. Calling him a Karen to criticize his behavior, makes it about the name.

I don’t think you’re stereotyping all older, white women. I think you’re stereotyping everyone named Karen. People named Karen may be predominantly (but not exclusively) older, white, women, but only a small percentage of older, white women are actually named Karen.

If you mean it’s not about me as someone named Karen, you’re absolutely correct. My name isn’t Karen.

However, just as you feel compelled to call out your father for his bad behavior, I feel compelled in the interest of fairness, compassion, and civility to call out yours. Please note that I am addressing the specific behavior without resorting to slurs and stereotypes. Incidentally, I consider the use of “Karen” as a slur to be worse than the behavior associated with that label.

And that is exactly the kind of white feminism the word is meant to poke at. People have literally lost their lives to white women who weoponize their privilege. Karen behavior can be deadly. But you want to act like calling someone a Karen is worse than acting like one? Give me a f#cking break.

No one is defending that behavior. But you are trading one slur for another. And honestly you just proved the teacher’s point that Karen is a racist term.

Read the quoted post. They literally did defend the behavior. And what slur are we trading? We're talking about gross behavior vs. an insult. Actual crappy behavior vs. A word. See the difference yet?

Well, you’ve certainly shown it is obviously not just a word. Now according to you there is a scale of slurs, some are ok and some are not. Insult = ok. Got it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People who use the term "Karen" as a-holes. They're mean and aggressive and just as bad as any Karen.

Lol irony

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People who use the term "Karen" as a-holes. They're mean and aggressive and just as bad as any Karen.

Lol irony

+1 funny!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People who use the term "Karen" as a-holes. They're mean and aggressive and just as bad as any Karen.

OK, Richard.

[Anonymous]

Just remember, all of you posters are probably Karens to someone. 30+ moms? We are but a flock of Karen’s and dcum is the ultimate Karen watering hole

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I use it for all races and have not gotten the impression that it’s only reserved for white women. It’s about attitude and not racial IMO.

+1

It's the behavior. My dad is the biggest Karen in my family. We've told him he's not allowed to talk to the servers anymore.

And while you are so righteously defending the servers by calling out your Dad’s behavior, do you even check to make the server’s name isn’t Karen?

Whether or not it’s racist, sexist, or ageist, or any other “ist”, stereotyping ANY group of people and using that stereotype to mock and condemn the group is cruel and bigoted.

If your Dad’s behavior is offensive, by all means call him on it. But please do so by addressing the actual behavior, rather than using it as an excuse to attack an entire group of people who have nothing to do with your Dad, and certainly aren’t responsible for his behavior.

I'm calling out my dad's obsessive complaining at restaurants. It's the behavior.

I'm not stereotyping anyone. I don't think that all older, white women complain excessively. I think some people of various ages, genders, and skin colors do.

It's not about you.

But using a name to label the behavior makes it about the name. Telling him he complains excessively is about the behavior. Calling him a Karen to criticize his behavior, makes it about the name.

I don’t think you’re stereotyping all older, white women. I think you’re stereotyping everyone named Karen. People named Karen may be predominantly (but not exclusively) older, white, women, but only a small percentage of older, white women are actually named Karen.

If you mean it’s not about me as someone named Karen, you’re absolutely correct. My name isn’t Karen.

However, just as you feel compelled to call out your father for his bad behavior, I feel compelled in the interest of fairness, compassion, and civility to call out yours. Please note that I am addressing the specific behavior without resorting to slurs and stereotypes. Incidentally, I consider the use of “Karen” as a slur to be worse than the behavior associated with that label.

And that is exactly the kind of white feminism the word is meant to poke at. People have literally lost their lives to white women who weoponize their privilege. Karen behavior can be deadly. But you want to act like calling someone a Karen is worse than acting like one? Give me a f#cking break.

Outside of Emmet Till, something that happened in 1955, give me examples in the 21st century of white women getting black men murdered using their Karen like powers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Lol guarantee someone is going to whine to Jeff and get this thread locked or deleted.

When you're used to privilege and get knocked down a peg, I'm sure it does feel like a great injustice. But no, Karen is not a slur.

Go on and try slinging that around your workplace and see how far it gets you.

Why are you assuming there are people with bad behavior at her workplace?

Have you ever had a job?

Of course. I can’t think of anyone with “Karen” behavior in my immediate work circles. At least they don’t do that at work. I work with well-educated professionals. YMMV.

Quite a few of these men and women who were targeted are in the well educated professional department. It’s gone overboard with people misusing it. There’s a Black Karen now too. Kind of shows that Karen was meant to be a White woman. That and the basic White woman's name.

I don’t know why these people just don’t mine their business if no one is getting hurt.

[Anonymous]

that which we call misogyny,
by any other word
would smell as sweet

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I use it for all races and have not gotten the impression that it’s only reserved for white women. It’s about attitude and not racial IMO.

+1

It's the behavior. My dad is the biggest Karen in my family. We've told him he's not allowed to talk to the servers anymore.

I thought it was just used for racist people with terrible behavior that needs to be called out? What are you saying about your dad?

No I wouldn’t even call someone a Karen if they’re being racist, I’d just call them a racist. A Karen is rude to servers, repeatedly sends back food, tips poorly. Or uses her position on the HOA to power trip and nitpick everything about people’s houses/yards. You get the idea…

I was a server during my college years and it’s not the White women who are picky and poor tippers. White men are the best and White women are average. This is what’s happening, the term is being applied too widely and being misused.

[Anonymous]

It's not a racial slur, lmfao. If it's something you can say in public without immediately being canceled, it's not a slur. The n-word is a slur. Karen is not.

That being said, I find it kind of sexist and frankly think it has morphed too far. It originally was meant to describe a very entitled woman who annoyed customer service people. It now means any woman who deigns to speak her mind. I have posted this story before, but my much younger sister once told my mom she'd be a Karen if my mom asked the neighbor's contractors to not dump paint in her yard.

[Anonymous]

White people are the last ones that it’s ok to discriminate against. Eventually society will wake up and realize that this is prejudice too. There are actual people who are named Karen (mostly white) and there are people who “look like a Karen”, which one of the necessary characteristics is to be white.

You don’t see socially accepted uses of names like Juan, Maria, Latoya, Damarcus, etc

The posters on here sound a lot like the racists I’ve heard in life who refer to inner city girls as “Shaquitas” or calling every Hispanic guy “Jose”. You all would be horrified and preaching about white supremacy if you heard any of that.

But it’s ok with Karen, because it’s about being white.

[Anonymous]

Uncle Tom and Karen

[Anonymous]

White business men by far are the best tippers