“Karens” one
Vocabulary
| for now | on tape | catch/caught/caught |
| rant | thing (2) | ranting and raving |
| cop | threaten | cause a scene |
| seem | complain | send/sent/sent (2) |
| media | as far as | determine |
| legal | entitled | sell/sold/sold |
| dub | rave (2) | social media |
| illegal | perceive | phenomenon |
| permit | scope (2) | demanding |
| fame | comic (2) | appropriate |
| racist | page (2) | nonsense |
| tag | plus (2) | considered |
| meme | circulate | represent |
| range | specific | at that point |
| realize | sarcastic | say/said/said |
| at least | tape (2) | meet/met/met |
| nice | popular | stand-up (2) |
| annoy | step back | placeholder |
| county | point (3) | let’s face it |
| sign (3) | going on | connotation |
| drop | drop joke | comment |
| joke | dark turn | get/got/gotten |
| recently | slow down |
Video
Transcript
They’ve been caught on tape, ranting and raving — causing a scene.
Karen in Park: “I’m being threatened by a man. Please send the cops immediately.”
Complaing about what seems like nonsensical things.
Karen on Street: “Illegally selling water without a permit.”
Social media is dubbing them “karens”.
Social Media Person: “That’s a karen, and she’s called the cops.”
And the phenomenon even has a Wikipedia page: a woman perceived to be entitled or demanding beyond the scope of what is considered appropriate or necessary.
Karen Arguing: “I’m NOT a racist person.”
Man: “You just made a racist comment.”
Karen Arguing: “You need to go home.”
So why the name “Karen”?
As far as we can determine, the first woman to be tagged as a “Karen” was Kate Gosselin of the Kate Plus Eight fame.
This meme started circulating on social media in 2014.
Jamie Cohen is a new media expert.
Jamie Cohen, New Media Expert: “It’s a name that represents an age. And that age ranges from thirty-five (35) to fifty-five (55) at this point, and so it’s a specific age. Its like saying ‘Peggy’ or ‘Margaret’ but you won’t meet young people with that name, so you won’t really meet young people with the name ‘Karen’.”
Let’s face it: Karen, at least for now, is not the most popular name to have. Just ask these very, nice ladies, all of them named Karen.
Karen 1: “I’m Karen.”
Karen 2: “I’m Karen.”
Karen 3: “I’m Karen.”
This Karen is a stand-up comic.
Karen, Stand-up Comic: “In the stand-up world, Karen’s been a placeholder name for annoying women for years.”
This Karen is from Orange County, California.
Journalist: “At what point did you realize that the name ‘Karen’ was starting to have a sarcastic, and some would say negative connotation to it?”
Karen from California: “Recently, with everything going on in the news, it’s kind of darker turn, I think so. So it’s not like I could even be dropping jokes about it anymore.”
This Karen from Pennsylvania says it’s gotten so bad, she has stepped back from social media.
Karen from Pennsylvania: “Any time you make a comment, and your name is “Karen”, the response is ‘Oh, typical Karen.’ So it’s a no win situation for us.”
Unfortunately, at least for these nice Karens, the Karen phenomenon shows no signs of slowing down.
Questions
Screaming, Yelling, Shouting. “Karen” women have become famous because people talk about them. True or false?
Ranting and raving. Are karens nice and friendly people?
Complain, Criticize, Condemn. Karens are quiet, shy, passive people. They don’t talk much. Is this right or wrong?
Outburst, Going Off, Rude. Who was the first “Karen”? Was she a social media personality?
Hot Tempered, Quick Tempered. Are karens typically teenagers and young women?
Furious, Angry, Mad, Enraged. . All women named “Karen” are mean, nasty, loud and obnoxious. Is this correct or incorrect?
Swear, Cuss, Profanity, Obscene Language.. The three Karens in the video don’t have any problems on social media. Yes or no?
Nice and Friendly. I know some people who are “karens” or “darrens”. Yes or no?
Smiling, Cheerful. . Have you seen some karen behaviors in public (parks, shopping malls, on the street)? What did they do and say?
Open, Hospitable, Welcoming. Are “Karens” good, bad, both good and bad, or neither good nor bad?
Polite. Why are some people karens? Why are other people not karens (“normal”)?
Engaging, Flirtatious. What might happen in the future?
