When Karen Is A White Supremacist
CW: racial harassment mention
Graphic by Alexa Marie
On May 25th, Christian Cooper, a Black birdwatcher, asked Amy Cooper to put a leash on her dog as it’s required in the park. As this wasn’t appreciated by her, Amy Cooper decided to call the police on him, and in the recording of the incident you’ll hear her say “I’m going to tell them there’s an African American man threatening my life”. She said this fully understanding the violence the police inflict on Black people and knew the impact her action would have on Christian Cooper. She was knowingly putting his life in danger and was weaponizing her white womanhood to assert power.
When the video was released Amy Cooper was quickly made into a joke and in no time, she was no longer referred to by her own name. Instead, she was referred to as “Karen”. All of this while there were attempts to have a serious conversation about the dangers of calling the police on Black people. Cooper got consequences for her actions, she lost her job and she also had her dog taken from her. But as some are asking for these situations to be taken seriously- others aren’t listening.
Many nicknames referring to white people describe really specific personality types. A “Karen” is entitled, stubborn and privileged. She’s the person not treating retail workers with the respect they deserve and often thinks of herself as a better, smarter human being. But she’s not a white supremacist. Making funny nicknames for people in power isn’t problematic on its own, but to downplay serious situations by pushing nicknames onto violent racists- especially if you’re a part of the group in power- isn’t helpful at all. People often have a hard time comprehending racist white women as dangerous, and that lack of understanding is harming people of color, especially black people, who have to deal with their racism.
The face of racism has been the face of the white man for a long time, and white women have learned how to separate themselves from him. White women have always been complicit in white supremacy, their white privilege has made that possible for them. We know, not only from history but also from personal experiences, that white women are aware of their whiteness and how to weaponize it. They are not carrying the burden of white supremacy the way white men do, or at least it’s clear they don’t want to. While refusing to take any accountability for white supremacy, white women are made out to be victims of it, described as innocent bystanders or tools for white men. Made to be used, never able to work for themselves.
And as the conversations of social identities and how they intersect go further, it’s up to each and every one of us to understand how ours intersect, and what impact it has on the people around us. This means white women need to realize how their social identity differs from people of color, and especially women of color. While white women are oppressed as women, their whiteness allows them to navigate society in a way women of color can’t. When white women do something wrong it never reflects on white people or white women as a collective but on them as individuals who often have their actions excused. White women can separate their womanhood from their racial identities as white- women of color can’t. Women of color are not granted the freedom white women are in many aspects. When women of color act- and especially when they do something wrong, it’s a reflection on their racial community. Not only are you made to carry the burden of your entire community, but the community also carries the burden of your actions as well.
This becomes even more evident when we look at the way violently racist white women are treated. Jillian Wuestenburg, the woman who pulled a gun on a Black woman at the beginning of July was ridiculed the minute that video was published, with social media accounts that reach hundreds of thousands posting the video along with hashtags like #KarenGoneWild. Lisa Alexander, who tried to stop a man of color from putting up a Black Lives Matter banner by claiming he didn’t live in his house turned into funny art where she looked alien-like for people to laugh at. A white woman who was known in Torrance, California for harassing Asian Americans wasn’t held accountable as her son's work at the local police department was also made fun of. These all happened in the span of a month and a half, and they aren’t the only people to go viral for harassing people of color during that timespan. When white women weaponize their whiteness and show their place and power in a white supremacist world, it’s not taken seriously- instead, it’s joked about.
Joking away awful and uncomfortable situations, even if you’re not directly affected by them, is incredibly normalized on social media. This, and white women’s ability to separate themselves from whiteness and therefore from racism, has created an environment where calling out racist white women has become really difficult. When you downplay white supremacy by making it seem less serious than it is, you’re also enabling it. Serious conversations are needed, we need to stop coddling white people’s feelings and instead center people of color. When people of color are wrongfully treated, what can be done in the aftermath to allow them to recover from it? What can we, and especially white people do to make people of color feel safer in the spaces they live in? Would dealing with racism and racial harassment in a serious way, no matter who the harasser is, be part of the solution?
By Nilo Khamani
(she/her)
IG: @nilokhamani
Edited by Halima Jibril
Graphic by Alexa Marie
IG: @aleexamarie