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What does it mean to be a ‘Karen’ or a ‘Chad’? Viral modern name memes explained
New York Post ^ | 05/14/2020 | Suzy Weiss

Posted on 05/18/2020 11:35:12 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

Are you the type of gal who demands to speak to the manager when you feel you’ve been wronged? You just might be a “Karen.”

Karen is the latest in a growing line of internet memes poking fun at real-life archetypes. Names such as Karen, Becky and Chad have been co-opted to call out social faux pas online, think: calling the police to shut down a kids’ lemonade stand because they don’t have a permit, or as slangy put-downs like, “Don’t be such a Becky.”

Other names have become so entangled in pop culture that they’ve taken on a new meaning: Who can think of anyone but the Kardashians when they hear “Kim”?

But while the internet directory is fun, real-life Karens (or Beckys, Debbies, Chads and Kyles) bear the brunt of the jokes.

Here’s some of the names ruined by the internet, where they came from, and what the people named before the meme think about their online personas.

KAREN

“Karen” has become social media shorthand meaning a middle-aged white woman — potentially with an asymmetric haircut a la 2009 Kate Gosselin — who makes a big fuss, and is not-so-blissfully ignorant. While the origins of “Karen” are oft debated, some point to Dane Cook’s 2005 bit about the lamest gal in a group of friends being named Karen, others to the “Mean Girls” character played by Amanda Seyfried who is admonished for asking pal Cady (Lindsay Lohan) how she can be from Africa if she’s white. Some view it as a righteous motivator for the creation of Black Twitter — the world wide web knows a Karen when it sees one.

One recent example of a Karen? A woman brawling with the Red Lobster staff, reduced because of the pandemic,

(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...


TOPICS: Humor; Society
KEYWORDS: chad; karen; memes
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To: SeekAndFind
Hanging Karen...


21 posted on 05/18/2020 12:09:06 PM PDT by Libloather (Why do climate change hoax deniers live in mansions on the beach?)
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To: kaehurowing

My favorite Karen is gone :(


22 posted on 05/18/2020 12:09:37 PM PDT by SeekAndFind (look at Michigan, it will)
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To: Governor Dinwiddie
What does it mean to be a "LeRoy", "Jamal", "Ta'quisha", or "Mo'nique'?

That your Dem Governor replaced your Father with a welfare check.

23 posted on 05/18/2020 12:10:04 PM PDT by 1Old Pro (#openupstateny)
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To: SeekAndFind

I find the whole thing annoying. Why call a pain in the a$$ a “Karen” when you can just call them a pain in the a$$?


24 posted on 05/18/2020 12:10:30 PM PDT by rlmorel (The Coronavirus itself will not burn down humanity. But we may burn ourselves down to be rid of it.)
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To: SeekAndFind

I remember Karen under the bleachers in high school. She was a lot of fun back then.


25 posted on 05/18/2020 12:11:47 PM PDT by Lurkina.n.Learnin (The Revolution Will Not Be Televised but It Will Be Livestreamed)
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To: SeekAndFind

We used to call them “Gladys Kravitz” after the busybody on the “Bewitched” tv show


26 posted on 05/18/2020 12:12:14 PM PDT by kaktuskid
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To: SeekAndFind

That woman did have a perfect voice, though.


27 posted on 05/18/2020 12:12:18 PM PDT by rlmorel (The Coronavirus itself will not burn down humanity. But we may burn ourselves down to be rid of it.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Meet a NJ Karen - Hamilton teacher caught on tape telling students she hopes they ‘die’ of coronavirus - https://www.trentonian.com/news/hamilton-teacher-caught-on-tape-telling-students-she-hopes-they-die-of-coronavirus/article_3f27faf8-8750-11ea-b87f-475554a8dffd.html


28 posted on 05/18/2020 12:12:58 PM PDT by RightGeek (FUBO and the donkey you rode in on)
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To: rlmorel

RE: Why call a pain in the a$$ a “Karen” when you can just call them a pain in the a$$?

I pity my friend whose daughter, a wonderful young woman, is named Karen.


29 posted on 05/18/2020 12:13:21 PM PDT by SeekAndFind (look at Michigan, it will)
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To: SeekAndFind

30 posted on 05/18/2020 12:13:49 PM PDT by RightGeek (FUBO and the donkey you rode in on)
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To: SeekAndFind

If you read closely, all of these tags come from the northeast metropolitan areas.

Down here, among the bayous, rivers, and rural-urban areas, you’d haves names all right, but not for print!


31 posted on 05/18/2020 12:14:32 PM PDT by Terry L Smith
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To: RightGeek
Shut up, Karen.


32 posted on 05/18/2020 12:15:37 PM PDT by RightGeek (FUBO and the donkey you rode in on)
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To: SeekAndFind

I grew up being a “Dick.”

I am all better now.


33 posted on 05/18/2020 12:15:56 PM PDT by Vermont Lt
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To: SeekAndFind

The best voice ever. I cried when she died — and when Andrew Breitbart died.


34 posted on 05/18/2020 12:17:48 PM PDT by MayflowerMadam (Nothing happens to a Christian that God does not allow to happen.)
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To: Vendome

“I still don’t get it....”

Like being a “Debbie Downer”


35 posted on 05/18/2020 12:19:06 PM PDT by EQAndyBuzz (Cloward-Piven is finally upon us.)
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To: SeekAndFind

20 years ago - good customer service was expected.
Today - not only is good customer service NOT expected, but those who seek it are dismissed as “Karens.”


36 posted on 05/18/2020 12:19:22 PM PDT by Demiurge2 (Define your terms!)
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To: SeekAndFind
The Queen of Karens


37 posted on 05/18/2020 12:19:31 PM PDT by RightGeek (FUBO and the donkey you rode in on)
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To: rlmorel

Whatever, Karen. :p


38 posted on 05/18/2020 12:21:12 PM PDT by ZirconEncrustedTweezers (Posting from deep within enemy territory - San Jose, CA)
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To: ronnie raygun
”I think chad should be changes to Todd”

I think you’re right, I grew up knowing a lot of Todd’s and one of them was actually named Todd. I swear that the Todd character in Beavis & Butthead was actually somehow ripped off from my own hometown.


39 posted on 05/18/2020 12:22:52 PM PDT by wildcard_redneck ("Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither.")
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To: RightGeek

40 posted on 05/18/2020 12:23:21 PM PDT by RightGeek (FUBO and the donkey you rode in on)
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