Sometime in your life, you might encounter an entitled insufferable controlling and abusive busybody, who has to intrude with overly judgmental accusations and deranged attempts to punish you over simple disagreements or nothing at all
There's a number of ways to deal with them
Some terrible, some ok...
Some spectacular:
😂
@benroyce I've found that behaving exactly as if they're not even there - as if they're both invisible and inaudible - also works, pushing their anger over the threshold past which it collapses into futile exasperation.
I've only once encountered a full-fledged Karen in the wild, and simply ignored her. Admittedly this was partly because I just didn't have the spoons that day for an argument, but it worked a treat!
that's one good way. the important thing is to *never* match their energy. they're irrationally angry. if you respond with anger it becomes a farcical bonfire of inanity, or something worse
@benroyce I think it depends on how good a snap judge of character you are. There are definitely some folks who'll be so surprised by your matching and/or exceeding their energy, they'll instantly back down.
But generally speaking you're right: it's a better bet to stay calm and rational with those who are angry and irrational.
or satirically irrational in a whole other direction like this guy 😂
I think some comedian once suggested engaging with these Ka*ens but with totally different issue/argument.
"You broke the law"
"GIVE ME BACK MY JACKET!"
I've never tried it, but I'm partly interested to.
i linked to the original source of the video in this comment:
https://mastodon.social/@benroyce/115009792126441235
it happened in seattle last year and the indication (from anonymous accounts, so not 100% certain and i can't find a news source) is that this woman and her husband are a menace to anyone who goes near their houseboat
@benroyce @populistensohn a close friend lived in a floating home in Seattle for some years. They did have a problem with people going out of their way to walk down their (dead end) dock, staring into everyone's homes. They called them 'looky-loos' and it wasn't allowed but folks invaded their privacy all the time anyway
So if it's that situation? I kinda get it. If it's a through way/the signs aren't clear/he turned right around and left without being nosey? Fair reaction.
yeah for all we know this guy did do something inconsiderate. i would tend to think no, only because someone of such demonstrated emotional intelligence would also not be the kind of person to transgress like that, but that is a highly speculative statement on my part
@benroyce it isn't entitlmenet, but a mental issue: the pandemic of loneliness can erode some people's self-control and the only solution is reestablishing a rich, serene social life. She needs to live in a better environment to get back healthy.
Do you feel miserable very often?
everyone is miserable to some degree. that's just life. frustration is normal
how we deal with it is the question
and putting personal frustration onto others is not acceptable
it would be nice if we had a magic wand to provide the solution you cite. but that's not possible. every fleeting interaction is not a scenario where the attacked person is responsible for the attacker's frustration
rather it's the responsibility of insufferable assholes to not be insufferable assholes
Lol, I wanna send this guy into a town hall our local GOP congressperson is *finally* having: "OMG, you're not even answering our questions, OMG you're so stupid!!!"
@benroyce I've known lots of people called Karen and they've all been lovely.
I wish people would start to use the word "cunt" if that's what they really mean
same, as to "karen"
as to c***, i know elsewhere like australia it's practically a term of endearment
but the word wouldn't fly in the usa though
@benroyce lmao. You gotta love the #Ozzie's
Same deal your mate might call your mate that British pub....
But wtf Americans?
Effectively calling everyone called #karen a cunt because it's less offensive than actually calling a cunt a cunt?!
It's not like they've a shortage of other words.
What a bunch of fannies ;)
@djstreethawk @benroyce I don't have an opinion on whether "Karen" should be renamed, but it is often used in relation to racial violence, especially given it took off after the bird watcher incident.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_(slang)
So I don't think it's synonymous with the c word.
no barking, no growling, no wagging tails, no excitement... this is their life 😵💫
Notably, the Karen had nothing more to say...😜
that's the best part. he completely shut her down. she was completely baffled by the reaction, because the absurdity of the reaction perfectly distilled her own absurdity
she wasn't in any danger. the guy was completely in control of his over the top performance
but you are correct that from the accusatory asshole's point of view- because they lack the emotional intelligence, they might view themselves under a dire threat
which is an interesting commentary on the fabulousness of his response- maybe not so fabulous if the accusatory asshole got even more upset. luckily in this scenario she was just utterly confused by his reaction
the poor dog LMFAO
@benroyce and the oscar goes to that man: 🏆 🤣
Genuine question: why the censored karen word? Is it considered an insult?
worse, the dogs look like they are used to this as a daily occurrence
@benroyce Seems like something Bugs Bunny would do! 👍
I believe it was Dear Abby who once offered similar advice to a man who had unintentionally jostled a woman who went ballistic. No matter how much he apologized, she wasn't having it. Abby suggested the next time sincere apologies don't work, to try apologizing as hysterically as the other party is behaving. "I'M 😭 SOOOOOO 😭 SORRRRRR-EEEEEEEE!!!"
@benroyce I had almost this exact k*ren interaction once about 15 years (minus the epic sarcastic freakout, which is a serious missed opportunity).
It was also a man and the dock was not actually private. The guy just claimed it was private because he felt entitled to do so for some reason. He also left his house to follow us to the dock and just walked around right next to us for about 15 mins occasionally repeating his initial claim.
25% of Americans are absolute freaks.
the dog is used to this 😬
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