Karens, are they to be pitied, scolded, ridiculed , or ignored?

[ICTChris]

22 minutes ago, Alert Mongoose said:

I'm bemused by the explanation she would give for expecting a discount for cash? It's not the 1980s anymore unless the wine shop is offering some customers 'time to pay'.

Extremely bizarre and very embarrassing.  

I think that the role resentment plays in society now explains part of the whole phenomenon of people being dicks to customer service workers and also people immediately filming people and trying to 'Karen' them.

[Cosmic Joe]

10 minutes ago, ICTChris said:

Extremely bizarre and very embarrassing.  

I think that the role resentment plays in society now explains part of the whole phenomenon of people being dicks to customer service workers and also people immediately filming people and trying to 'Karen' them.

What possessed you to go Christmas shopping with her Chris?

[CarrbridgeSaintee]

4 minutes ago, Cosmic Joe said:

What possessed you to go Christmas shopping with her Chris?

Maybe he thought she could argue a discount for him

[CTQP1867]

47 minutes ago, Alert Mongoose said:

I'm bemused by the explanation she would give for expecting a discount for cash? It's not the 1980s anymore unless the wine shop is offering some customers 'time to pay'.

Tax?

[SlipperyP]

one for @BFTD

few years ago I was doing the tourist stuff, we had many, but one sticks in the mind

2 Irish woman about 45/50, we picked up from Bangkok, all good. I met them and told them they have room here in Singburi to shower have some food, then the group of 8 coming from BKK or other parts of Thailand meet up, then send you on a bus overnight to Mae Sot.

Well let's say the fuse was lit on one and was going apeshite. I DEMAND WE GET SENT NOW.

After a 15 minutes of one screaming in my face that she was being dragged into a scam. A FUCKING SCAM. She lay on the floor of the canteen, shouting "THIS IS A SCAM".

 The other just shouted, can we get the MANAGER....

I was the manger and called a few guides took some photo, sent to local police 10 minutes they were off.

What a holiday they had..

[Brother Blades]

12 hours ago, Boo Khaki said:

I've seen this repeatedly constantly on "that place", and while I disagree with the assertion, I think you could probably contend there is a misogynistic aspect to it simply because there is no male verbatim equivalent. "Arsehole", "gammon", "w****r" etc isn't quite the same, even though they are commonly used to describe similar behaviours in males, because there isn't an equivalent that is just a common male "boomer"-age christian name. 

I don't accept at all that the concept itself is misogynistic, because it describes an instance of someone acting in a specific and unreasonable manner, and is not a simply reference to the fact they are female.

Do we have any well known male "Karens" on P&B? We could start a trope and blow this "Karen is misogynistic" shite out of the water.

I have seen the male equivalent being referred to as “Kevin”, not sure how widespread or accepted that is tho. 

[BFTD]

13 hours ago, Freedom Farter said:

Ha! I don't think it good here, just not as bad as in USA. For example, folk shout abuse out their vehicle windows as they drive past homeless folk there. You're right, though, we still have more than enough division and hierarchy for Karen attitudes to exist.

It's common for the homeless to be verbally and physically abused here too.

The Americans are generally further down the hyper-capitalist path that measures people's worth by their income, but don't forget our Home Secretary has just been dog-whistling homelessness as a "lifestyle choice". We're working hard to catch up to them.

13 hours ago, Boo Khaki said:

I've seen this repeatedly constantly on "that place", and while I disagree with the assertion, I think you could probably contend there is a misogynistic aspect to it simply because there is no male verbatim equivalent. "Arsehole", "gammon", "w****r" etc isn't quite the same, even though they are commonly used to describe similar behaviours in males, because there isn't an equivalent that is just a common male "boomer"-age christian name. 

I don't accept at all that the concept itself is misogynistic, because it describes an instance of someone acting in a specific and unreasonable manner, and is not a simply reference to the fact they are female.

Do we have any well known male "Karens" on P&B? We could start a trope and blow this "Karen is misogynistic" shite out of the water.

It's entirely acceptable to refer to men as Karens too, although the internet's been trying to make "Kevin" a thing, which would just give female Karens a straw to clutch at with the whole misogyny angle.

Apparently it started as a term that African-American women used to describe entitled wealthy white women who treated them like subhuman garbage, so Karens could also cry racism to deflect from their own behaviour, much like the Gammons.

4 hours ago, Bairnardo said:

I know an extremely similar one, who constantly whines and moans about everything, is big on brands/status and has caused her husband to pretty much lose touch with all of his old pals. One of her worst traits is making a big deal about tiny little things in restaurants and demanding money off etc, then making a big deal about not tipping the server etc, who 9/10 times isn't at fault. Capable of being nice, but to the point of it coming across as terribly insincere. 

My ex-wife has an aunt who's awful for this. Never been to a restaurant with her where she wasn't manufacturing complaints and demanding discounts or freebies. She even checks with everyone else at the table to see if there's a water mark on their cutlery, or if their food is too hot/cold. Everyone gives a reflexive "it's fine!" as it's incredibly embarrassing, especially when some poor eager-to-please server on minimum wage has to drag the manager over for a performative apology and offer of comped drinks.

Big tips and quiet apologies whenever she disappears to powder her nose.

[tamthebam]

5 hours ago, ICTChris said:

. She is someone who is hugely status conscious and it’s arguably what has lead to her estrangement from my part of the family, for reasons I can’t go into. 

 

3 hours ago, Bairnardo said:

 

You can talk

Basically his family live in septic tank on middle of rubbish heap.

Spoiler

Luxury. We got evicted from our septic tank 

 

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

5 hours ago, Bert Raccoon said:

I work with a Karen (actually named Karen) who has that haircut and is a total Karen. Seems nice enough most the time but you can guarantee any meeting, as soon as they want to start wrapping things up she will find something that just needs to ask/moan about. I can imagine outside work she would be the type to complain about absolutely everything 

Do they have some kind of quirk or catchphrase or ‘thing’ that is mildly inoffensive to start with but they rip the arse out of it too? Thats often a trait of an office Karen. 

5 hours ago, ICTChris said:

I have a family member, via marriage twice, who complains almost every time we have been in a shop of restaurant. A few years ago we all did our Christmas shopping together in Edinburgh and she asked for discounts for cash in every shop and had the whole ‘stainless steel underwear’ attitude when told no. We used to live near a really nice little independent wine shop and she asked for a discount with cash when buying wine, it was extremely embarrassing. The owner actually laughed at her nonsense request. She has also fallen out with just about every person in the family, all her children’s partners and, now, my family for reasons that I don’t even really understand. To use the psychological jargon, she’s a very disagreeable person.

She also spent most of her life working in customer service jobs, in exactly the same position as the people she treats like shit. I’m sure that has a bearing on her behaviour, she feels a need to distance herself from them and emphasise her higher status by behaving in this way. She is someone who is hugely status conscious and it’s arguably what has lead to her estrangement from my part of the family, for reasons I can’t go into. 

I refuse to believe that someone from the highlands was tight. Astounded by this. 

[ICTChris]

14 minutes ago, Inanimate Carbon Rod said:

 

I refuse to believe that someone from the highlands was tight. Astounded by this. 

They aren’t from the Highlands.

[Bert Raccoon]

24 minutes ago, Inanimate Carbon Rod said:

Do they have some kind of quirk or catchphrase or ‘thing’ that is mildly inoffensive to start with but they rip the arse out of it too? Thats often a trait of an office Karen. 

Will normally start with "can I just quickly point out something" then proceed to list around twenty things that have inconvenienced them this week

[Dundee Hibernian]

4 hours ago, Wacky said:

it’s the poor dog I feel sorry for. She should have been charged with animal cruelty IMO. 

I recall the dog was taken into an animal shelter following this incident. 

I've met quite a few 'ladies' like her, and several men too, who have souped up an incident trying to get someone else into trouble. It's child-like behaviour.

[RuMoore]

This is one of my favourite ones. 

 

[TheScarf]

I used to work with someone called Karen but it was pronounced 'Kayren' and she used to get well uppity with folk who dared to pronounce it the normal way. And I don't just mean with people who worked with us, I mean people who had never met her before and no idea she wanted it pronounced that way.

'Its Kayren actually?' Like that complete bitch tone of voice that you'd happily do time for.  Some guy proper called her out on it one day by saying 99% of people with that name pronounce it the normal way and does she expect everyone to ask her how she wants it to be pronounced before they address her.  It was very amusing.

[Cosmic Joe]

Is the correct answer scolded? 

I think that's the first time I've ever used the term. 

See also "feeling poorly" and "cross" 

[Loonytoons]

1 hour ago, TheScarf said:

I used to work with someone called Karen but it was pronounced 'Kayren' and she used to get well uppity with folk who dared to pronounce it the normal way. And I don't just mean with people who worked with us, I mean people who had never met her before and no idea she wanted it pronounced that way.

'Its Kayren actually?' Like that complete bitch tone of voice that you'd happily do time for.  Some guy proper called her out on it one day by saying 99% of people with that name pronounce it the normal way and does she expect everyone to ask her how she wants it to be pronounced before they address her.  It was very amusing.

 

Can't get past this.

 

[welshbairn]

9 hours ago, RuMoore said:

This is one of my favourite ones. 

 

They wouldn't get parts in a local amateur Christmas panto with acting like that.

Edited November 9, 2023 by welshbairn

[TheScarf]

31 minutes ago, Loonytoons said:

 

Can't get past this.

 

I've also worked with a Cheryl where the Ch was a hard Ch. The same sound as chat, of ching. 

Edited November 8, 2023 by TheScarf

[ICTChris]

I work with a guy who has an extremely common name, almost ridiculously so but he insists that it's pronounced in a slightly different way and literally any time anyone says his name he'll pull them up on it.

[TxRover]

6 hours ago, Michael W said:

Agree with this. There are obviously people here that have poor attitudes to service workers in particular, but nothing like what I've seen in America. 

Being on a cruise ship with mostly Americans was an eye-opener to the way that some of them treat people they presumably consider beneath them. Exceptionally rude is probably underplaying it. 

The most common element there is the mistreating individual is usually of similar societal status as the person they are berating, but on a vacation, and thus feels entitled to be the grand poobah and Lord over the minions. Very common here in ‘Murica. It’s a variation on the Republican theme of we won’t treat you any better, but we’ll provide some people for YOU to shite upon (welfare queens, gays, illegals, transgender, etc) and make you feel better about your wretched existence.