Karen

   A word of warning before you read any farther. I'm going to throw a temper tantrum in writing. I'm not going to be nice or politically correct. I'm angry, upset, fed up,indignant, incensed,furious, boiling and seriously ruffled. I plan to verbalize, vocalize, pour out, unleash and seriously vent. I know that many of us have been subjected to quite a few angry people the past few weeks and would prefer to take a break from it.  If you are one of them, you may want to pass on this column. 

  I'm sure you are wondering what has got a mostly mild mannered person like me so upset. The answer is one word. Karen.

  I know a woman named Karen. She's very quiet and very smart. Would you like to know what she did during the early days of the coronavirus outbreak? She did her job as a county procurement officer and helped to set up and supply places for homeless people infected with coronavirus to go to be safe and to not infect others. I also know, not personally, another Karen last name Carpenter. A fine musician and drummer who sadly is no longer with us. I seriously dislike what has happened to their name.

   Karen, according to Wikipedia, is" a pejorative term used in the US and other English-speaking countries for a woman perceived to be entitled or demanding beyond the scope of what is considered appropriate or necessary. A common stereotype is that of a racist white woman who uses her privilege to demand her own way at the expense of others." The short version is that it is a one word insult.

  The first things that angers me about this is that we have, once again, a new derogatory label for a certain  group of people. A new label that dehumanizes yet another group of human beings. A new way to be cruel and demeaning to those we deem unworthy. We are in the middle of a racial uprising. A racial uprising started because a group of people, African Americans, finally got tired of being treated like they don't matter, like they are not human. Like they are undeserving of all the things the rest of us take for granted. 

  Part of the challenge that AAs (African Americans)  have is how they are perceived. Part of what shapes that perception is language. Various terms have been used to describe AAs throughout the years. Here is a sample of them: ape, coon, coloured,crow, jigaboo, jungle bunny, monkey, sambo, spook and spade. Can you spot the similarity in all these offensive names? None of them make you think of a human being, do they? In fact half of them refer to animals and the other half refer to  inanimate objects. They are all terms meant to dehumanize. If you don't think of a group as human, then they aren't equal to you and you can do pretty much what ever you want. We need to think of all humans as humans and not the little labels we stick on them.

  I'm angry that there is another demeaning term for women in our language. There are plenty of demeaning terms for women. Here is a a few of them: witch, frump, chick, battleaxe, arm candy, bag, cow, bitch, harpy and hussy. Now we get to add a new term to this distinguished lineup, Karen. I really don't think that we need more terms to dehumanize another group of people who have plenty of dehumanizing terms to describe them already. Instead of referring to an offensive person as a Karen, why not just describe them or use their own name. For example, the young woman who called the police on an AA man who had asked her to put her dog back on its leash shouldn't be called a Karen. She should be called a young woman from New York or called by her name, Amy. Doing this does two things, first it does not perpetuate as stereotype and second it does not allow the person who did it to hide behind a generic name.

   I'm  bothered by the fact that this nasty little name implies a middle aged woman. I happen to be a middle aged woman. Women in my age group are a disrespected lot in general. Age is not respected especially in women. Many older women mutilate themselves to ridiculous extents to make themselves look younger than they are. It's harder to find a job and many older woman are being forced out of jobs. It's bad enough that we are seen as a bunch of crones that need to move over and make room for the younger set, we are now snooty, entitled and racist.

  My final concern is that this is a term that will be used to back women down. That women who assert themselves will be considered to be "Karens" and part of a toxic culture that must be done away with.  It almost seems like Karen actually another word for bitch. A more acceptable word, one that could be printed. Why not just use the word bitch and be done with it instead of trying to hide behind something that sounds more politically correct.  

   It's not rocket science. We need to stop with the labeling. Start treating everyone with dignity and respect  and stop using little euphemistic names to try to be non offensive. 

  Rant over. Thank you. I feel much better now.