To think they call us Karen because they fear us

[InformEducateEntertain]

I absolutely hate the term Karen. It's pejorative and deeply unpleasant.

Middle aged women (of whom I am one and to whom the term is most generally applied) are bloody amazing. Putting us down for our don't give a f**k badass attitude and willingness to fight back strikes me as lazy categorisation.

I'd go as far to say that those who use it are scared by the knowledge that looking the menopause in the eye has given us the courage to have a voice at last.

AIBU?

And yes, of course male privilege exists.

Going back to this @PlanetJanette - it seems we both agree:

• White privilege exists
• male privilege exists

It would also be fair to deduce:

• White privilege exists - and both white men and white women benefit from it
• Male privilege exists - and both white men and black men benefit from it.

Here’s what I’d rather do: rather than using abstract concepts of privilege, we use common sense. That means not attaching handicap points to particular groups to create some sort of Oppression Hierarchy and “My group is worse off than your group” and instead deduce that:

1. People shouldn’t be racist. This includes racial slurs or suspicions of someone being in a certain place because of their skin colour
2. Nor should people be sexist - and whether you like it or not this does include using the term Karen (listen to women!). Because as I’m sure you know, it’s about as far removed from racism as humanly possible now

And challenge the stereotypes that lead to the above incidents.

Seems like a win win solution to me rather pontificating over semantics

Of course there’s misogyny. Because he would not have treated a man like this. If this was a 6’5” burly man getting out his car, that little pipsqueak would have cowered in his car and driven off. He used his male privilege to attack this woman

And we’re supposed to be delighted because she got thrown to the ground (not pushed either literally thrown). And no, of course he wouldn’t have “calmly” got out of his car to attack a man.

I’m not delighted about it at all.

I think they both behaved badly.

Do you think she behaved well? She was screaming at a woman trying to physically attack her by getting her out of the car.

should she be in jail too?

Using a persona’s name for black men would frankly be a step up from the N word.

i 100% agree (in case it wasn’t clear I have no interest in creating names for POC, I was merely making a point).

Which is why im surprise you support the use of Karen. Isn’t it just one step up from a sexist word like Bitch and Whore?

I mean if you want to talk about evening the playing field

I am absolutely not interested in “evening the playing field”. This would be counterproductive and only serves to spread more hate. Saying “Let’s create problems for X group because Y group are suffering” is something only an especially stupid toddler would come up with.

Of curse he wouldn’t. Men who perpetrate violence against women never pick on someone their own size.

No I don’t think the woman in the video should be arrested. And here’s why: if she’d slapped him and nothing else happened, yes I would say arrest her. But when you look at how the police arrest people (DV cases being a good example where a man beats his wife to a pulp and she just kicks him for example) when one had so disproportionately dispensed extreme violence towards the other after experiencing only mild violence, arresting them both is way too problematic - and whilst it may not be fair, it’s much easier prosecuting a case of where only one person is the victim.

Do you think the man should be arrested? Why or why not?

Totally agree. I find the video because some YouTubers were covering it and they cheered and called her a Karen.

But yeah women have all the power apparently 🙄

So screaming at someone to get out a car is worse than physically attacking someone?

I don’t support the use of Karen.

I was just explaining the history of it, and where I see it used.

I don’t like the experience of racism ignored or denied.

I get why try are upset at it being used against them, but also would like to think they can have compassion for where it originated from.

Like with so many words, the history and origins are defunct. It’s not to mean “Woman who speaks up”, and is used to silence women.

Nobody is ignoring or denying racism

I get why try are upset at it being used against them, but also would like to think they can have compassion for where it originated from.

I am short at the use of Karen. I also have compassion for victims of racism. But that doesn’t mean accepting a sexist slur to be used against me. One doesn’t beget the other

No. I image she would have physically attacked the woman though as she was threatening to do.

She attacked him first. That’s not ok either. He should not have fought back. That’s not ok.

If she was a man screaming at a woman to get out of her car so he could beat her up, and telling a man to control his bitch what would you think?

I’d think it was terrible and aggressive behaviour much like I do of this woman. But if a man, after merely being slapped, body slammed him into the ground I’d by far think he was much worse (although I doubt it would happen, pipsqueaks like him only ever pick on women)

Do you think the man should be arrested?

As well as who? is the man who attacked her in jail?

You may not be delighted but it’s fairly clear that we’re all meant to think justice has been done

I mean it wasn’t exactly self-defence was it? He just basically turned around picked her up and threw her in the floor 🙄

Of course.

They both should be.

No it wasn’t. He behaved poorly.

Did she attack him in self defence when he was leaving?

I will say this though.

If I was in that situation I would have wanted to smack her back but because she was white I would not have dared.

Did she leave him lying on the floor barely able to get up?

I’ve tried to see if there’s an outcome to the body slam video and I can’t find one only this popped up - a similar incident in which the woman bumped into the man’s car by accident. He pulled pulled her out her car and body slammed her and she had a cracked skull, fractured eye socket, broken knees and a broken foot.

Hardly the same as a slap really is it? Quite possible the other woman suffered similarly (although the “pulled her out her car” bit came from witnesses, as in the video she is seen trying to hit him beforehand whilst she’s firm in his grasp so I’m guessing she deserved it 🤷‍♀️)

https://abc7.com/amp/post/road-rage-massachusetts-video-shows-gladior-kwesiah-body-slamming-hailea-soares-after-incident-attleboro-ma/15751823/

And yet in the link I posted above a black man happily body slammed a white woman into the ground. Not all black men are cowering in fear of the white women weaponising their whiteness against them it seems.

I already said he was wrong.

Do you think it was ok to attack him because he was bigger and a man?

She didn’t seem intimidated by him since she started a physical fight.

Sorry, I don’t remember saying all black men were scared of white women?

Could the same be said for this woman then? She didn’t seem scared of a man? Does that mean misogyny doesn’t exist?

I do t think it’s to do with fear or any knowledge of the menopause. I also don’t think it applies to all middle-aged women, just a particular subset.

My point is you don’t speak for all black people. You are one person’s experience, as was the body slammer

Sorry are you implying the woman in the video was somehow in the wrong??

No I don’t but he behaved far worse. He didn’t slap her. He threw her to the ground. He didn’t do that out of self-defence. Bruised ego probably. She was meant to be intimidated by him (as you say she obviously wasn’t) then she slaps him. Just think how angry that must of made him 😬

But as I said before my issue is not with what happens in the video but the way we’re invited to celebrate it.