Is “Karen” the new C-word?

GURPS

INGSOC
PREMO Member
There are only a few words that one does not say in polite society. The two most prominent are the N-word and the C-word.

Voldemort—Harry Potter’s nemesis—exists, but one cannot say his name. That is a projection of power.

Of the two, N— or C—, the N-word is in wider public use. However, it is a word reserved only for use by particular people; only those who would be most offended by it get to use it. To use it outside the privileged group says a lot about the person using it. And nothing good. This is a projection of real power.

The C-word is more tightly policed. It’s closer to Voldemort, superficially. However, The C-word—and more importantly the reality behind the C-word—is losing ground fast. The narrative is shifting.

There is a bait-and-switch afoot with far-reaching consequences. When folks say “Karen” today, I think they are developing a profile of women that is very close to the C-word.

Just recently, two examples have surfaced.

The aging Babewatch Karen-on-the-Plane, hitting and spitting on an old man in the ever-increasingly unfriendly skies: This lady was an obvious, spot-on C.


 

Hijinx

Well-Known Member
I watched that video and it was appalling to see someone as ill-bred as that woman.
At one point she slapped that man and spit on him and was kept from hitting him with her fist by the flight attendant.

Now: I never hit a woman in my life and i don't want to start, but at what point does a man forget his manners, his training, and his masculinity and the fact that he is stronger than the female of the species and be allowed to defend himself.?
This man was a senior citizen, I don't know if he was stronger than this slut or not, but she did not use the fact that he was a Senior citizen to lose all respect for him (and for herself) and attack him.

I will not be spit on by man woman or child and not defend myself. That is the vilest thing one human being can do to another.
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
When folks say “Karen” today, I think they are developing a profile of women that is very close to the C-word.

Yeah, ya think?

I use Karen in place of the socially unacceptable C-word - to me they're interchangeable, and so what? Karens are C-words, and C-words are frequently Karens.

I'm more wondering, why "Karen"? How did that name take hold as a synonym for ****? The photo they most frequently use to depict a Karen is actually Kate. So why isn't Kate what we call ****s?
 

GURPS

INGSOC
PREMO Member
Karen (slang)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



This article is about the term and meme. For the name itself, see Karen (name). For other uses, see Karen.

Karen is a pejorative term for a white woman perceived as entitled or demanding beyond the scope of what is normal. The term is often portrayed in memes depicting white women who use their privilege to demand their own way.[1][2] Depictions may include demanding to "speak to the manager", being racist, such as calling the police on black people simply because of their race, or sporting a particular bob cut hairstyle.[3] A notable example was the Central Park birdwatching incident.

The term has been criticized as being ageist, sexist, racist, classist, misogynistic and seeking to control women's behavior.[3] As of 2020, the term increasingly appeared in media and social media as a general-purpose criticism of middle class white women, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests.[1] The term has also been applied to certain male behavior.[3][4] The Guardian called 2020 "the year of Karen".[5]

Origin

In African-American culture, there is a long history of calling meddlesome white women by a certain name. In the antebellum era (1815–1861), "Miss Ann" was used.[6] In the early 1990s, "Becky" was used.[7] As late as 2018, before the use of "Karen" caught on, alliterative names matching particular incidents were used, such as "Barbecue Becky", "Cornerstore Caroline", and "Permit Patty".[8]

For the term "Karen", several possible origins have been proposed.[9] Early uses of Karen as a joke punchline include the airheaded character Karen (played by Amanda Seyfried) from the 2004 film Mean Girls, Dane Cook's 2005 sketch "The Friend Nobody Likes" on his album Retaliation,[10] and a 2016 Internet meme regarding a woman in an ad for the Nintendo Switch console who exhibits antisocial behavior and is given the nickname "antisocial Karen".[11][12] In December 2017, Karen memes regarding entitled women went viral on Reddit, the earliest being from user karmacop9, who ranted about his ex-wife Karen. The posts led to the creation of the subreddit r/****YouKaren, containing memes about the posts, and inspiring spinoffs including r/karen and r/EntitledKarens dedicated to criticizing Karens.[10][11]

A more pointed explanation, which involves race, is the expression originates among black people to refer to unreasonable white women.[7][13] The term was popularized on Black Twitter as a meme used to describe white women who "tattle on black kids' lemonade stands"[7] or who unleash the "violent history of white womanhood".[14] Bitch magazine described Karen as a term that originated with black women but was co-opted by white men.[15]
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
Was Kate the screamer after Hillary lost?

No, Kate Gosselin with her "I'd like to speak to your manager" haircut.

161907
 

stgislander

Well-Known Member
PREMO Member
I seem to remember "Becky" being a perjoritive used by black women for white women chasing black guys.
 

BOP

Well-Known Member
From one of my Aussie friends; who, by the way, fling the word about with abandon, applying it fairly indiscriminately to both men and women.

Oh, and my Aussie friend: a chick. She's more potty-mouth than most dudes I've known. The C-word is like her favorite word of all time.


161910
 

Hijinx

Well-Known Member
Of course Karen is the polite word for cu*t, Just like let's go Brandon is the polite way of saying Fuk Joe Biden.

I guess it would take a lot of Let's go whomsoever's for me to be polite in saying fuk Nadler, Schiff, Schumer, Pelousy, Swallwell, Liz Cheney and Mitt Romney so I will say this about Trump haters and sing it to an old WW2 tune.

Fuk 'em all-------fuk 'em all===The long the short and the tall.
Fuk all the demmies and R-I-N-O-'s
Fuk the speaker the pres. and the hoe
We're saying goodbye to them in 2022
Adios mother humpers and goodbye to you.
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
Fuk 'em all-------fuk 'em all===The long the short and the tall.
Fuk all the demmies and R-I-N-O-'s
Fuk the speaker the pres. and the hoe
We're saying goodbye to them in 2022
Adios mother humpers and goodbye to you.

Dr. Seuss for adults. :yay:
 

Grumpy

Well-Known Member
Of course Karen is the polite word for cu*t, Just like let's go Brandon is the polite way of saying Fuk Joe Biden.

I guess it would take a lot of Let's go whomsoever's for me to be polite in saying fuk Nadler, Schiff, Schumer, Pelousy, Swallwell, Liz Cheney and Mitt Romney so I will say this about Trump haters and sing it to an old WW2 tune.

Fuk 'em all-------fuk 'em all===The long the short and the tall.
Fuk all the demmies and R-I-N-O-'s
Fuk the speaker the pres. and the hoe
We're saying goodbye to them in 2022
Adios mother humpers and goodbye to you.
Patty Smyth could sing that.
 
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