Scott Greer: Can’t Cancel This ‘Karen’

In the past, it would be completely over for such a person. Recent years have witnessed a bevy of “Karens” get ruined over public disagreements with blacks. One could face unemployment and criminal charges just for arguing over a dog, so just imagine the consequences for saying the forbidden word.

But this story is very different. Hendrix is receiving a surprising level of support, earning nearly $700,000 for her GiveSendGo and becoming a hero to many on X. Obviously, she’s also earned a lot of condemnation. But, unlike Karens in the past, she has many defenders. It’s also for a greater “offense” against liberal dogmas. Arguing with a black person or calling the cops on them is bad, but using the n-word is worse than murder in progressive opinion. A black person can justify killing someone on this basis–and it’s worked in court before.

Hendrix’s support would have been impossible just a few years ago. Her story illustrates the new timeline we’re in and the relative weakness of “cancel culture.”

It’s worth remembering the Karen hysteria of the Peak Woke era. Karen became a popular slur to attack white women. Karens, for the most part, were women who confronted potential troublemakers in their community. Black activists and the press saw them as a plague that reinforced society’s alleged racism. As Time magazine put it, “the ‘Karen Meme’ confronts the violent history of white womanhood.”

A large number of white women saw their lives ruined merely for confronting a black person. The most famous example is “Central Park Karen.” Amy Cooper was a standard AWFL (affluent white female liberal) living in New York in May of 2020. She took her dog for a walk in Central Park when a black bird watcher (possibly the only one in the world) yelled at her and threatened her dog for messing up his activity. The bird watcher, Christian Cooper (no relation obviously), began recording Cooper as she pledged to call the cops on him. Since it’s considered a grave sin to call the cops on a black man “doing nothing wrong,” this Karen had her life ruined. This incident occurred the same week as George Floyd’s death. It was the biggest story in the country before riots broke out over the latter event. Every major outlet covered Central Park Karen and condemned her. She lost her job, she faced criminal charges, and her name was permanently ruined. There were no fundraisers for her or any real support. Nearly every American supported her cancellation. Her accuser ended up getting his own bird watching show as part of the publicity.

Amy Cooper’s story shouldn’t even have been local news, much less the biggest national news story. This was merely an argument between two strangers, something that happens every minute. The only reason why it became a matter of attention is to reinforce new social norms. If you’re white, you’re not supposed to argue or confront a black person. That’s racist to do so and you will be dubbed a “Karen” and have your life ruined. Cooper was a necessary sacrificial victim to our society’s racial cult.

But that’s not at play in Shiloh Hendrix’s story. While it has received a level of media coverage it doesn’t deserve (this is still just two strangers arguing in a public place), it’s far from the biggest story in the country. It’s a local news story that parts of social media have taken a deep interest in. Normies no longer care about these kinds of stories, and that’s for the better. …

Continues at Scott Greer’s Substack.