Guy's decision to tell his dad about 'Karen' memes backfires after his aunt Karen finds out - and pulls a 'Karen' (2023)

A guy discovered that his aunt Karen was having an argument while shopping and said to his father:

"It's a Karen thing."

As a baby boomer, the dad had no idea about the popular meme, which happened to be called "Karen" — a pejorative applied to eligible white women making scenes in public.

When used as an insult, a "Karen' is typically characterized as a white woman in her 30s and 40s who is a mother with children, a likely anti-vaccination opponent and usually asks to 'speak to a business manager'.

Also Redditor"Bigringcycling' updated his father on the slang term.

In the Today I F*d Up thread, the OP detailed the dinner debacle that ensued after his father used the newly acquired knowledge for some meta-level antics.

“My family loves to share too much. This missing filter sometimes causes people to get into trouble because not all information is provided, even if it is meant to be harmless.”

"My parents are a bit older (primary 'Ok, Boomer' age). I was on the phone with my dad the other day because his birthday dinner was a few days later."

"I asked how mom was and he went on to tell me how my mom and my aunt (Karen) were at the store and the cashier made a mistake."

“My aunt went to the register and asked to see the manager. My mother was embarrassed and tried to calm her down, but she wouldn't let it."

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"Then I mentioned to my dad, 'It's a Karen thing.' He goes on, "Yeah, your aunt does that a lot." I tell him, 'That's the fun part, the Karen meme is a real thing.

Here are some examples of the Karen meme.

"It's when an entitled (typically white) woman gets angry at the slightest mistake and asks for the manager."

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"My dad thought it was hilarious and I'll explain in more detail. I'll send him some links to websites that explain it online."

"He thinks it's all hilarious and she even has the Karen hairdo."

Pandora's box was officially open.

"That sends him down the Google Images rabbit hole and over the next few days he'll randomly send me memes of 'Karens' doing Karen things and add 'Your aunt did that last week' or 'I think that this is about your aunt'.”

"That leads to his birthday dinner with the extended family."

"My father's birthday dinner is going well. Everyone is having a good time, good food and drinks etc. Suddenly my aunt (who is sitting a few seats away from me) leans forward and yells down the table loudly, 'Hey [my name], what's the deal with this on making a meme about me?'"

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"I answer 'Huh?' She then tells me that my dad sent her all these memes about things she did. He didn't give her the context that it was a generic internet meme and what it was about."

"Well my aunt thinks I made all these memes about her real life events."

"At this point the whole family thinks I created this meme on the internet about my aunt's antics in public. There's a back and forth argument that it's really rude of me. She pulls out a Karen and starts chewing me up.”

"In the meantime, I'm looking at my dad like W-T-F, support me up here."

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"My dad finally steps in and says this is just some random viral internet thing and that I didn't make this up behind my aunt's back."

"Even after explaining it, she's a bit irritated. It's obvious she's embarrassed that she's so much like a 'Karen' and couldn't tell the difference between the stories on the internet and her own encounters."

Redditors shared their observations of the Karen meme coming to life.

"She's embarrassed that she couldn't tell the difference between her life and the memes. The embarrassment. Karen becomes self-aware.” –Mdepietro

"I wanted to say that hopefully this will lead to a moment of self-reflection and behavior change, but we all know that Karen is currently trying to find the manager of the internet to have these defamatory memes removed." -Batman

"And when Karen finds the manager of the internet, Karen will let the manager know that Karen is friends with the owner of the internet."Seemed reasonable

"One has to wonder if the confidence that's kicking in her face like that would encourage her to pull herself together."

"A bit of 'Oh God, am I really acting like that?' Has potential” –jaris123

"Any Karen may become self-aware, but a real Karen will double down on her decisions, probably with a Bible verse embedded in them."I can not remember

"Release the Karen!"

"100-Foot Woman Rises Out of Ocean Demands to See Manager." –whatisbaggins55

If the meme fits.

"She couldn't tell the difference between the memes and her own life, that's amazing. I hope she had some kind of revelation afterwards" -Tiger_irl

"It's surreal like it's fucking funny. God this is so awkward for her to realize the memes weren't about her but she's just like all the other Karens and the way she was acting towards you solidified that. Damn it is Perfect" --SENDHELP-

A woman named Karen learned to embrace the meme.

"The first few times I saw the Karen memes or stories, I was a little offended. Now I love her!”

“I even used them to my advantage. I've joked with people by saying, 'Don't make me let Karen loose on you.' Yes, my name is Karen and I had the haircut that I have since changed."

"Now I'm asking friends and family to send me any Karen memes. I'm sorry your aunt doesn't understand." -karebear66

That goes deep.

"I think the Karen meme is getting a bit overused and losing its roots. On the other hand, if someone thinks every Karen meme is about them, maybe that's a clue to make them question at least some of their actions."

"What I take away from this post is that she's gotten a little bit more confident and maybe in the future she'll think about the situations a bit differently before she acts."

"But remember, for every Karen out there, there's an anti-Karen. Someone who will be fooled and will not raise a concern or seek compensation when it is perfectly reasonable to do sojto." -Money

“HAHA, a Karen being made aware of her own Karen-ness, she gains a level of confidence she didn't have before.

"This is the power of the meme, it has exposed itself, what will happen now?"

"Will she continue to be a Karen even if her entire behavior is so predictably portrayed by a meme?" –ehrlichanonym777

Aunt Karen may have shown her true colors, but our hearts go out to all the anti-Karens out there.