Whenever on FB, etc someone uses that term, I call them out on it. Several said they didnt realize that and would stop using it. Other have said they will go on using it, despite it being racist, sexist, misogynistic and classist.
I call people out on other things too, mostly racist things.
AFAICT the approximate British equivalent is “her ladyship/her nibs” or “his lordship/his nibs”, used by working-class people for middle-class types who were self-importantly bossy and controlling. (If you were an actual titled aristocrat, of course, your controlling bossiness tended to get less pushback.)
Isn’t that kind of essential to Karen-ness? Doesn’t the Karen (male or female, black or white) expect to have things done for him/her, at his/her command?
Karens don’t do the labor of pulling a weed, or making their own coffee, or abiding by rules requiring masks. They just become outraged when things are not done or arranged to their liking, or when they are challenged over their refusal to abide by rules.
That’s the point. Karens see themselves as the natural-born managerial class, supervisors by nature. They are genuinely outraged when the rest of humanity doesn’t know their place, and acknowledge the Karen’s rightful status.
I’m not saying anything about your mother, by the way. I’ve never met the woman and almost certainly never will. Just an observation about Karen-ness in general.
Yes, it is quintessential Karen-ness, which is why I relayed the story. I understand why people think it’s limited to white women who sic the cops on people. But I see “Karen-ness” among women of a certain age who would never call the cops. They are used to bossing people around so they think they can boss around everyone.
Of course in America, a Karen can get a black person killed. The most infamous Karen might be Carolyn Bryant who, in 1955 Mississippi claimed that 14 year old Emmett Till, who was black, whistled or flirted with her. Till was tortured and murdered by a mob of whites. I don’t know if the UK has the same kind of consequences with Her Nibs, but I could be wrong.