Mixed Feelings About Karen
I don’t understand the ‘Karen' labeling. Maybe it’s because my mother is a Karen. Actually she’s a Karin, small technicality.
Albeit, I don’t always like or agree with her. As her daughter it’s my right to get annoyed, with eyes rolling saying shortly, “Karin.” Sometimes it’s in unison with my equally annoyed sisters.
Yet when a stranger shortly tells another stranger, “Stop being a Karen.”
It hits different. I’m not one to get easily offended. Ask any of my friends they’ll tell you it’s hard to offend me. Regardless of spelling, much like palm trees and raspberries, hearing ‘Karen,’ always makes me think of her.
Surely I’m not the only child of an un- ‘Karen,’ ‘Karen’ for a mother and gets slightly annoyed all ‘Karen’s’ are lumped in this group of entitled middle-aged women who can be annoying.
My ‘Karen’ loves to have fun, talks loudly, and laughs even louder punctuated with dorky snorts. And she’s always laughing. She’s a dictator when it comes to making sure you’ve eaten all your veggies. Terrible fashion sense and even worse home decorator. Seriously never call her for fashion or decorating advice.
Her optimal habitat is on a deck at a family get together sharing funny nostalgic stories with a glass of wine in hand. Once while eating a donut she started singing a parody to “Like A Virgin,” by Madonna, “Like a donut! Round with a hole in the middle.” Ten years later that dork is still singing it.
She’s a strong women who empowered my sisters and I to work hard for what we want. We weren’t raised with a sense of entitlement, everything had to be earned. She got a master’s degree while raising two kids with a husband to give her family a better life. Best of all my ‘Karen,’ helped raise and house a child she didn’t give birth to without ever hesitating. My mother is all about family and helping anyone in need, without ever putting anyone down.
Why in this age are we so fixated with labeling and cancelling? I remember how she was a tad hurt (she’s also not easily offended) and confused my mother was when she found out about the ‘Karen' labeling.
I know it was a popular name for women now in their 40’s, 50’s, and ‘60’s. So surely out of all the ‘Karen’s’ there are plenty of sweet, quiet, polite, fun ‘Karen’s’ who don’t deserve to be associated with the sterotype.
Now that I’ve just said ‘Karen’ in my head a hundred times, maybe you will too and realize it’s just a name and it sounds ridiculous when used otherwise. Maybe I would feel defintley if instead I had a ‘Patrica’ or a ‘Donna' or a ‘Rebecah’ as a mother. Who knows.
Instead we need to find ways to constructively give feedback, to compliment strangers more. Most of all let’s direct all this labeling and cancelling energy into finding ways to commit small acts of kindness. And let’s channel a bit of my ‘Karin,’ and think of funny lame jokes and relaxing palm trees, just enjoying life.
What do you think about all this?
