I know a few people named Karen. Without exception, they are delightful people. I'm proud to call them friends. It's unfortunate that their names, which no doubt were given to them by their parents for some special reason, have become linked to a stereotypical meme character of a chronic female complainer who gripes loudly when they're not pleased with something.
In this day and age, we're seeing an increase in the number of "Karens" who are easily offended by differing opinions and seek to do harm to anyone who thinks differently than they do. These "Karens" aren't just middle-aged females. They consist of people of both sexes and all ages. They cannot abide disagreement and seek to punish it.
The philosophy they promote has a name. It's called "cancel culture." It's applied to anyone who doesn't conform to the current politically correct narrative. Don't agree with a trending popular opinion? Hold a political position that conflicts with what's hot? Then you need to lose your job or have your business ruined, merely because you don't fall in line with the masses. It's almost as if First Amendment freedoms have been criminalized and weaponized. You don't even dare to defend yourself against verbal or physical assaults or unwelcome contact without it happening. A casual perusal of news stories from any state can confirm this. One of the most recent examples happened in Florida, when someone tried to shame a customer in a Costco for not wearing a mask, and he responded angrily. As a result of his taking up for himself, he lost his job. Since wearing a mask is the politically correct thing to do, under the current rules the mask-shamer was perfectly within their bounds, but the shamee was "canceled" because he argued back. Turn that scenario around, and if the person not wearing a mask jumped on the person who was wearing a mask for being a compliant sheep, then if the non-masked customer clapped back, they'd be hailed as a hero.
During his pro-America speech at Mount Rushmore on Independence Day weekend, President Trump mentioned "cancel culture" as something that runs counter to this nation's values. Dissent from acceptable viewpoints should never be punished if society truly treasures free and open debate. No matter how abhorrent the commentary, the answer to free speech is never silencing speech or punishing the speaker. The answer is always more speech. Provide counterarguments and reasoning to support why your position is right and the other side is wrong. If we claim to value diversity, then that claim rings hollow until diversity of thought is embraced.
No one condones the incitement of violence. That's certainly wrong, and there are laws against it. But if someone proclaims that one race is superior or inferior to another, shouldn't it be in society's best interests to find out why they hold that belief and try to present them with evidence that they're wrong? Instead of shaming, shouldn't we view this as a teachable moment?
Both sides have used "cancel culture" in the past, although sometimes it's taken other forms or names, such as boycotts of certain businesses. But in recent times, "cancel culture" has become almost exclusively a tool of the left. Every time Fox News Channel's Tucker Carlson skewers a liberal, there's an organized effort to get businesses to quit advertising on his show. They'd love nothing more to literally cancel Carlson's show because they don't agree with his viewpoints.
But you know "cancel culture" has gone too far when even liberals start decrying it. Just this week, Harper's Magazine published online a letter from a number of prominent liberals calling for it to come to an end. Names like Noam Chomsky, David Brooks, David Frum, Gloria Steinem, and Fareed Zakaria are the most recognizable signatories, along with others like author J.K. Rowling and musician Wynton Marsalis. They realize that nothing good can come from trying to silence those who disagree, and punishing that disagreement.
Instead of "canceling" those who hold differing viewpoints, we should instead "cancel" the "cancelers;" the "Karens" who yell and scream when someone doesn't think or believe exactly the way they do. Let people debate and disagree. If they seek to cause harm to another or advocate the same, then by all means they deserve to be called out for that. But if they're merely supporting an idea or policy you don't, or not supporting something you do, then live and let live. If you want to be a "Karen," be one of my friends with that name. Don't be the "Karen" of meme fame.
