That’s So Karen
My family loves to overshare. This lack of filter sometimes has the tendency to get people into trouble because not all the information is provided, even when it’s meant harmlessly. My parents are a bit older—like prime “Ok, Boomer” age. I was talking to my dad the other day on the phone because his birthday dinner was in a few days.
I asked how mom was doing and he goes on to tell me a story about how my mom and Aunt Karen were at the store and the cashier made a mistake. My aunt went off on the cashier and asked to see the manager. My mom was mortified and tried to calm her down but she wasn’t having it. I then mentioned to my dad, “That’s such a Karen thing.”
He goes on to say, “Yeah, your aunt does that a lot.” I tell him, “That’s the funny part, the Karen meme is a real thing. It’s when an entitled, typically white woman gets angry at the smallest mistake and asks for the manager.” My dad found this hilarious and I explained in more detail. I also send him a few links to sites explaining it online.
He finds all of this even more hilarious, as my aunt even has the Karen hairstyle. This sends him down the Google Images rabbit hole and the next few days, he sends me random memes of “Karens” doing Karen stuff, adding, “your aunt did this last week” or “I think this one is about your aunt.” This leads up to his birthday dinner with extended family.
My dad’s birthday dinner is going well. Everyone is having a good time, good food, and drinks, etc. Suddenly my aunt, who was sitting a few seats down from me, leans forward and loudly shouts down the table “Hey [my name], what’s this whole thing about making a meme about me?” I respond “Huh?” She then tells me my dad sent her all these memes about things she’s done.
He didn’t even give her the context that it’s a generic meme from the Internet and what it’s about. Now, my aunt thinks I made all these memes about her real-life events. At this point, the entire family thinks I created this meme on the Internet about my aunt’s antics in public, and there is a back and forth discussion about it being really rude of me.
Basically, she’s pulling a Karen and starts chewing me out. Meanwhile, I am looking at my dad like what the heck, back me up here. My dad finally steps in to say that this is just a random viral Internet thing and that I didn’t make these up behind my aunt’s back. Even after explaining, though, she’s a bit irritated. It is apparent she is embarrassed that she is so much like a “Karen” that she couldn’t tell the difference between the stories online and her own encounters.