By: Chuck Miller
Writing

Karen, in 11 episodes

I’m not sure if we’re dealing with a mental health breakdown in this country, or if there are people who bottle up their huite privilege to attack others who are not huite, then try to apologize for their actions, then go completely nuclear when their apologies are not immediately accepted.

Take, for example, this instance of a Karen attacking another woman in a Victoria’s Secret. Watch this whole thing play out. Episode 1. Karen takes a swing at a customer, then apologies and begs to not be recorded.

Episode 2. Karen continues to have a meltdown, the customer tries to take care of other business, then the Karen, her body completely overcome with emotion, starts chasing the customer around the store.

Episode 3. As store employees try to de-escalate the confrontation, Karen pulls out her phone and calls the police on the customer. Wow. I’ve seen this story before, it took place at a Central Park bird sanctuary. Classic line in Episode 3: “It’s to protect me, once the law gets here, who are they going to believe, her white ass, or my black ass?”

Episode 4. After Karen lunges at the customer a second time (and flinches for a lunge for a third), she continues to call the police, claiming that she is threatened and that the customer is threatening her by recording her mental breakdown.

Episode 5. After Karen finally leaves, the customer tries to explain the situation with security and with the local constabulatory, who seem to be more dismissive than supportive.

Episode 6. You can see the difference in communication between the police towards the customer (who is black) and the Karen (who is white).

Episode 7. We get to the point where the customer sends the video to the police, and there is a follow-up with a police report.

Chapters 8, 9, 10 and 11 are below.

Yep. Here’s the thing. You have all the video evidence here. The woman went nuts. She chased the customer around the store. She called the cops. And even in the end, you can tell there’s a major difference between how the cops treated the customer, and how the cops treated the Karen.

Now, there could be some mitigating factors in all this. Perhaps we’re dealing not with an angry Karen, but with someone who has a possible mental health issue. Or perhaps that 60% off sale at Victoria’s Secret will make anybody go nuts. The other argument is that we’re in 2021, and there are still people who are worried about being accosted for shopping while black, and that even with video evidence, they’re still not 100% sure that they’ll be treated with respect.

Yeah. Welcome to the world of 2021.

As David Byrne said … same as it ever was. Same as it ever was.