vox--2020-07-19--5 activists on how they’re carrying John Lewis’s work forward

Rep. John Lewis , a Georgia Congress member and icon of the civil rights movement , died Friday at the age of 80 .
Throughout his decades-long career , Lewis was known for his activism — from his roots as a Freedom Rider and firebrand organizer of the March on Washington , to the many times he was arrested , some as a member of the US House of Representatives .
In his time as a lawmaker , he became an advocate for LGBTQ rights , expanded freedoms for immigrants and refugees , and supported gun reform measures .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — just a month before he died of pancreatic cancer , he visited Washington , DC ’ s Black Lives Matter Plaza , one of many places reflecting the current wave of anti-racism protests sweeping the world .
He was known for encouraging people to become activists themselves , saying they should not hesitate to get in “ good trouble.
” And he inspired many to do just that .
Here , five activists reflect on what Lewis ’ s legacy meant to them , and how it may be carried forward .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ length , are below .
Tanya Washington , professor of law at Georgia State University and former director of the John Lewis Fellowship Program At 21 , he was one of the first Freedom Riders ; at 23 , he was the chairperson of SNCC , and helped organize the March on Washington , and at 25 , he was at the Selma protests .
I think it ’ s empowering for young people to recognize that their energy , their perspective is necessary .
It ’ s young people who moved the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ They were college students , high school students .
Some were even younger than that — the kids who integrated schools after Brown v. Board were little school kids .
I think younger activists will draw from his legacy a sense of power and responsibility : Their contribution can begin right now .
Everyone quotes him saying , “ Get in good trouble.
” I think what that really has meant to me is to not be afraid to make decisions that are unpopular .
What other people might call trouble , through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It ’ s inspired me to take risks when I ’ m guided by my moral compass .
I definitely see [ his influence ] when I look at the Black Lives Matter movement , and I see the young people in the streets , risking their lives and their health to enforce democracy , to make sure that we have justice as part of our criminal legal system , and that we eradicate racism .
I see the same spirit that motivated John Lewis as a young person to get involved @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in college to sign up to be a Freedom Rider , which is not going to end well , just in terms of the risk to life and limb that it entails .
But it was something he was willing to die for .
And I ’ m seeing that same commitment made by young people who have been protesting in opposition to the issues , racism , and xenophobia that are all too prevalent in society today .
I see that same spirit of youth activism , and that dedication and commitment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ really loved about John Lewis is that he understood that equality is not divisible .
He wasn ’ t just fighting for equality and just for Black people , but for everyone .
Unless everyone can enjoy equality , equality doesn ’ t exist .
… I hope we will continue to see people working across intersectionality .
It ’ s not just Black people , it ’ s trans Black women , it ’ s poor Indigenous men , it ’ s people from the LGBTQ community .
All across the spectrum @ @ @ @ @ @ @ equally , none of us are treated equally .
When he talked about the “ beloved community , ” he meant everybody .
He lived a life that set the example for how human beings can have an impact .
From very humble beginnings , he became an American hero .
I am so honored and humbled to have had a chance to work with him and to be inspired by his legacy .
And I ’ ll miss him .
Janai Nelson , associate director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational @ @ @ @ @ @ @ really underscored for me the power and the strength that it takes to do civil rights [ work ] , and really crystallized the role of Black people in shaping this nation on an ongoing basis , and forcing this country to live up to its ideals and to deliver on its promises .
It is truly by force that it happens — it ’ s by the force of will and stamina and strategy , on the part of people who have largely been nonviolent .
There ’ s a strength and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and he embodied that completely .
He was the epitome of that strength and power that could move mountains and destroy systems and force political hands , just through his tenacity and resolve and strategy .
And brilliance — he was absolutely brilliant .
When I look at the faces of protesters on the street today , I see John Lewis .
I see the Freedom Riders .
… When I see young people going up against police , in military gear , who will wantonly attack them , even though they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ freedom of assembly and freedom of speech , I see the bravery of people like John Lewis all over again .
He set an example of what it means to speak truth to power , to look evil in the face and not blink .
One [ way to carry forward his legacy ] is to continue the unfinished business of building this democracy by securing and protecting the right to vote on an equal basis for all people , and that requires the passage of the Voting Rights Advancement Act , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his life on the line for ( the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ) , and protect the right to vote during a period of history when it is under severe and pernicious attack .
And the other policy area is the protection of protesters : Ensuring that the methodology that he used to great success is one that continues to be among the tools and the arsenal of people who want transformative change .
If we can not protect protesters — if we allow law enforcement and white supremacists to attack and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ haven ’ t learned anything from the history of people like John Lewis .
It ’ s just remarkable to me how loving and upbeat and kind he remained , even toward his worst enemies .
… Every American owes a debt to John Lewis for his sacrifice and his lifetime of service .
He never seemed embittered by the fact that , even at 80 , he still had to struggle for the rights that he fought for 55 years ago .
He didn ’ t throw up his hands .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fight , and stood right there with them and helped to lead it .
To face those struggles , to still be so generous of spirit and optimistic , it ’ s remarkable , and it ’ s the true marker of a whole person , of someone who is so self-possessed and is too strong to have their character marred by the external frailties of this country .
In 2013 , I graduated high school and shortly afterward [ worked as ] an affiliate leader [ with ] United We Dream .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ pushing the comprehensive immigration reform bill .
We did a whole bunch of actions , but near the fall , as we ’ re wanting to escalate , members of Congress were demonstrating outside the Capitol , and Rep. John Lewis was arrested .
A couple weeks before that , I had gone down to DC , and we were strategizing how people were going to push [ for the bill ] .
I went to talk to the Congressional Black Caucus and was able to catch Rep. Lewis as he was walking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He was running late to a vote .
I was explaining the bill , and asked , “ Can we count on you ?
” He said , “ You can count on me , ” and gave the thumbs-up .
I was young in 2013 — I was 18 years old — and this was somebody who was in our history and AP Gov classes , with the PBS Eyes on the Prize series .
This is how the younger millennials understood him .
It wasn ’ t till the action where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ watching that ... from afar , [ where I ] got this sense of , “ This is his life ’ s work , in some ways : getting arrested for racial justice.
” He ’ s been doing this since he was my age ; he joined SNCC when he was young .
After news came down that he had passed , one of the things I was thinking about , and I ’ ve been thinking about the past few years — my family has been here for 20 years , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 17 — is what kind of country my parents thought they were immigrating to .
They were probably trying to come to a country where everyone was guaranteed a dignified life .
Jobs and justice .
That ’ s a country that John Lewis probably did not see when he was young ... but it ’ s one that he got to see the beginnings of by the time I met him , in 2013 , in the House , pushing for and alongside the new currents of movements .
[ In 2013 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for civil disobedience .
Part of that would include reading about SNCC , what did they do , what kind of actions did they use , how were they able to push things forward and build a movement that a lot of people could see themselves in .
You run into a lot of John Lewis ’ s work , and how he ran SNCC at the time , and that ’ s still common .
There ’ s still people from SNCC that advise young organizers now .
And that meant that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new , but in a lineage and a tradition of young people in general , and young Black and brown organizers , protesting and pushing to make sure that we grow up in the kind of country that John Lewis , C.T .
Vivian , and the rest were shaping .
He deeply believed in democracy .
There were American founders who believed in creating this new nation , and they had some ideas , and explored a philosophy with democracy , but their actions show that they didn ’ t believe in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were the founders of the country , but not of democracy .
They didn ’ t have the foresight to see John Lewis as a member of Congress , or to even see him as human enough to be able to vote .
John Lewis is one of the forefathers in this country of true democracy , who really internalized and believed in the expansion of the vote , not just for Black people but for all citizens .
He believed in equality for all people .
The forefathers didn ’ t believe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think he had an acute awareness of the work of young people , and of when young people are [ being ] marginalized in the movement .
He provided a lot of grace and space for young people , which is why one of the last things he did was go out to [ Washington , DC ’ s ] Black Lives Matter Plaza .
That was a message of “ I ’ m in solidarity with you.
” He was able to bridge this political world and this activist world , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ place .
The last time I saw him was this year in the Selma-Montgomery march [ at the Edmund Pettus Bridge ] .
I didn ’ t think he was going to come this year , because of his cancer .
… As we get to the top of the bridge , I ’ m standing there , the crowd stops .
… He walks up to the crowd , like Moses parting the sea .
I ’ m directly in front of him .
I knew that was his last speech .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ knew , but I knew .
As an activist , the weeks prior to that had been really tough .
… I was really feeling overwhelmed .
I ’ m looking at this man who is literally battling cancer , to actually have the courage , to actually get the strength , and you could tell he was weak .
He speaks to us , and it was just what I needed to feel affirmed .
Even in that moment , I knew that I couldn ’ t ever stop this work .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sweet Honey in the Rock ” : “ We who believe in freedom can not rest until it comes.
” Here ’ s this 80-year-old man who is in Congress , who could literally just go sit at home and do what he wants and just be loved .
He knew the importance of that moment , but he also knew the importance of that work .
I felt that I , along with millions of others , were knighted .
I felt affirmed and knighted in that moment , that our work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not good enough to go back to the place from which we came .
We are in a relay .
We ’ ve got to take it forward .
There ’ s a fragility [ to ] American democracy .
… When you ever have your citizens in a place where they can fully participate , fully engage , that ’ s where you build patriotism .
You don ’ t build patriotism by forcing people to acknowledge a flag that has been a symbol of hatred and racism .
You build patriotism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to engage , to be affirmed , and demonstrate their God-given agency .
Raquel Willis , director of communications of Ms. Foundation for Women ; founder of Black Trans Circles I met the congressman in 2016 .
He met with a group of organizers in Atlanta who were part of the Black Lives Matter movement .
It was a powerful experience .
He talked about his experiences and really gave us encouragement around the activism and the organizing work that we were already doing .
His lifelong commitment to liberation work is inspiring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of his organizing career .
It ’ s important to understand that , no matter what age you are , you can get into the fight , and this is really , like it was for him , a lifelong commitment .
So we can ’ t expect there to be quick , flash-in-the-pan fixes for these systems of oppression .
We have to be invested in the future .
The movement that is happening now is just the continuation of Black liberation work that has happened for centuries .
We like to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ completely separate , but really , a lot of what has fueled [ activists today ] has come from the movements before .
There ’ s a direct line to the civil rights movement from where we are now in the movement for Black lives .
Particularly in this election year , I think his work around strengthening folks ’ access to electoral power is important , but I also think that sometimes what ’ s more important is the organizing that happens on the ground amongst the people , just getting people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s so many different ways that people can transform society , and I think we often only , or mostly , focus on electoral power .
When it comes to organizing , you can organize around so many different things that what ’ s important is stretching the muscle .
I think of organizing as a creative endeavor , so we have to be thinking about ways that we can expand access in whatever instances or spaces that we ’ re in .
I think it ’ s important when any figure dies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have for them , but that we hold the hard critiques that we may have about their decisions or some of their rhetoric while they were here .
We do a disservice in trying to paint anyone as perfect .
I think we can hold complicated feelings about figures without throwing out their legacy .
We should certainly be grateful for the strides that a figure like the congressman made , and we can also think about the ways that we can hold those critiques , honor those critiques , and make a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and be better figures for generations to come .
I think a lot of what we can learn from any figure ’ s life is there ’ s so much more work to do , and there ’ s so many more ways to open doors for generations to come .
I hope that folks will continue to be invested in the organizers who are doing work on the ground today .
We have a society that loves to look at our history of organizing with rose-colored glasses .
Folks talk about the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but at the time [ those activists ] were very maligned , and there wasn ’ t a genuine support for the work that they were doing , and that still continues today .
I think we have to be reflective on the ways that we may critique current movements without really engaging with what they ’ re saying or what they ’ re fighting for .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
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Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia Congress member and icon of the civil rights movement, died Friday at the age of 80.
Throughout his decades-long career, Lewis was known for his activism — from his roots as a Freedom Rider and firebrand organizer of the March on Washington, to the many times he was arrested, some as a member of the US House of Representatives. In his time as a lawmaker, he became an advocate for LGBTQ rights, expanded freedoms for immigrants and refugees, and supported gun reform measures. He continued this work in his final weeks — just a month before he died of pancreatic cancer, he visited Washington, DC’s Black Lives Matter Plaza, one of many places reflecting the current wave of anti-racism protests sweeping the world.
He was known for encouraging people to become activists themselves, saying they should not hesitate to get in “good trouble.” And he inspired many to do just that.
Here, five activists reflect on what Lewis’s legacy meant to them, and how it may be carried forward. Their responses, edited for clarity and length, are below.
Tanya Washington, professor of law at Georgia State University and former director of the John Lewis Fellowship Program
At 21, he was one of the first Freedom Riders; at 23, he was the chairperson of SNCC, and helped organize the March on Washington, and at 25, he was at the Selma protests. I think it’s empowering for young people to recognize that their energy, their perspective is necessary. It’s young people who moved the needle in the civil rights movement. They were college students, high school students. Some were even younger than that — the kids who integrated schools after Brown v. Board were little school kids. I think younger activists will draw from his legacy a sense of power and responsibility: Their contribution can begin right now.
Everyone quotes him saying, “Get in good trouble.” I think what that really has meant to me is to not be afraid to make decisions that are unpopular. What other people might call trouble, through a historical lens will be called progress. It’s inspired me to take risks when I’m guided by my moral compass.
I definitely see [his influence] when I look at the Black Lives Matter movement, and I see the young people in the streets, risking their lives and their health to enforce democracy, to make sure that we have justice as part of our criminal legal system, and that we eradicate racism. I see the same spirit that motivated John Lewis as a young person to get involved. He decides while he’s in college to sign up to be a Freedom Rider, which is not going to end well, just in terms of the risk to life and limb that it entails. But it was something he was willing to die for. And I’m seeing that same commitment made by young people who have been protesting in opposition to the issues, racism, and xenophobia that are all too prevalent in society today. I see that same spirit of youth activism, and that dedication and commitment.
One of the things that I really loved about John Lewis is that he understood that equality is not divisible. He wasn’t just fighting for equality and just for Black people, but for everyone. Unless everyone can enjoy equality, equality doesn’t exist. … I hope we will continue to see people working across intersectionality. It’s not just Black people, it’s trans Black women, it’s poor Indigenous men, it’s people from the LGBTQ community. All across the spectrum, until all of us are treated equally, none of us are treated equally. When he talked about the “beloved community,” he meant everybody.
He lived a life that set the example for how human beings can have an impact. From very humble beginnings, he became an American hero. I am so honored and humbled to have had a chance to work with him and to be inspired by his legacy. And I’ll miss him.
Janai Nelson, associate director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF)
[Lewis] really underscored for me the power and the strength that it takes to do civil rights [work], and really crystallized the role of Black people in shaping this nation on an ongoing basis, and forcing this country to live up to its ideals and to deliver on its promises. It is truly by force that it happens — it’s by the force of will and stamina and strategy, on the part of people who have largely been nonviolent.
There’s a strength and power in that that is just immeasurable, and he embodied that completely. He was the epitome of that strength and power that could move mountains and destroy systems and force political hands, just through his tenacity and resolve and strategy. And brilliance — he was absolutely brilliant.
When I look at the faces of protesters on the street today, I see John Lewis. I see the Freedom Riders. … When I see young people going up against police, in military gear, who will wantonly attack them, even though they are only exercising their constitutional right of freedom of assembly and freedom of speech, I see the bravery of people like John Lewis all over again. He set an example of what it means to speak truth to power, to look evil in the face and not blink.
One [way to carry forward his legacy] is to continue the unfinished business of building this democracy by securing and protecting the right to vote on an equal basis for all people, and that requires the passage of the Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore the legislation that he put his life on the line for (the Voting Rights Act of 1965), and protect the right to vote during a period of history when it is under severe and pernicious attack.
And the other policy area is the protection of protesters: Ensuring that the methodology that he used to great success is one that continues to be among the tools and the arsenal of people who want transformative change. If we cannot protect protesters — if we allow law enforcement and white supremacists to attack and interfere with peaceful protest — then we haven’t learned anything from the history of people like John Lewis.
It’s just remarkable to me how loving and upbeat and kind he remained, even toward his worst enemies. … Every American owes a debt to John Lewis for his sacrifice and his lifetime of service. He never seemed embittered by the fact that, even at 80, he still had to struggle for the rights that he fought for 55 years ago. He didn’t throw up his hands. He just encouraged others to keep up the fight, and stood right there with them and helped to lead it.
To face those struggles, to still be so generous of spirit and optimistic, it’s remarkable, and it’s the true marker of a whole person, of someone who is so self-possessed and is too strong to have their character marred by the external frailties of this country.
Kamau Chege, manager of the Washington Census Alliance
In 2013, I graduated high school and shortly afterward [worked as] an affiliate leader [with] United We Dream. That summer was the big summer for pushing the comprehensive immigration reform bill. We did a whole bunch of actions, but near the fall, as we’re wanting to escalate, members of Congress were demonstrating outside the Capitol, and Rep. John Lewis was arrested.
A couple weeks before that, I had gone down to DC, and we were strategizing how people were going to push [for the bill]. I went to talk to the Congressional Black Caucus and was able to catch Rep. Lewis as he was walking. He was a fast walker! He was running late to a vote. I was explaining the bill, and asked, “Can we count on you?” He said, “You can count on me,” and gave the thumbs-up.
I was young in 2013 — I was 18 years old — and this was somebody who was in our history and AP Gov classes, with the PBS Eyes on the Prize series. This is how the younger millennials understood him.
It wasn’t till the action where he was arrested, and I was watching that ... from afar, [where I] got this sense of, “This is his life’s work, in some ways: getting arrested for racial justice.” He’s been doing this since he was my age; he joined SNCC when he was young.
I'm not the first to make this observation, but it's remarkable that for decades we had a sitting member of congress from the civil rights movement who regularly encouraged the public to break laws for the cause of racial justice.
10 days ago today: https://t.co/C5yT9pdH9O
RIP. https://t.co/nKCjq1kKhg — ☂Kamau (@Kamaumaumau) July 18, 2020
After news came down that he had passed, one of the things I was thinking about, and I’ve been thinking about the past few years — my family has been here for 20 years, and we’ve been undocumented for 17 — is what kind of country my parents thought they were immigrating to.
They were probably trying to come to a country where everyone was guaranteed a dignified life. Jobs and justice. That’s a country that John Lewis probably did not see when he was young ... but it’s one that he got to see the beginnings of by the time I met him, in 2013, in the House, pushing for and alongside the new currents of movements.
[In 2013,] we’d be training for civil disobedience. Part of that would include reading about SNCC, what did they do, what kind of actions did they use, how were they able to push things forward and build a movement that a lot of people could see themselves in.
You run into a lot of John Lewis’s work, and how he ran SNCC at the time, and that’s still common. There’s still people from SNCC that advise young organizers now. And that meant that we saw ourselves as not starting something new, but in a lineage and a tradition of young people in general, and young Black and brown organizers, protesting and pushing to make sure that we grow up in the kind of country that John Lewis, C.T. Vivian, and the rest were shaping.
LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter Fund
He deeply believed in democracy. There were American founders who believed in creating this new nation, and they had some ideas, and explored a philosophy with democracy, but their actions show that they didn’t believe in the fullness of American democracy. They were the founders of the country, but not of democracy. They didn’t have the foresight to see John Lewis as a member of Congress, or to even see him as human enough to be able to vote.
John Lewis is one of the forefathers in this country of true democracy, who really internalized and believed in the expansion of the vote, not just for Black people but for all citizens. He believed in equality for all people. The forefathers didn’t believe that. He believed that.
I think he had an acute awareness of the work of young people, and of when young people are [being] marginalized in the movement. He provided a lot of grace and space for young people, which is why one of the last things he did was go out to [Washington, DC’s] Black Lives Matter Plaza. That was a message of “I’m in solidarity with you.” He was able to bridge this political world and this activist world, and understand the evolution of how movements take place.
The last time I saw him was this year in the Selma-Montgomery march [at the Edmund Pettus Bridge]. I didn’t think he was going to come this year, because of his cancer. … As we get to the top of the bridge, I’m standing there, the crowd stops. … He walks up to the crowd, like Moses parting the sea. I’m directly in front of him. I knew that was his last speech. I don’t know how I knew, but I knew.
“We were beaten, we were tear gassed. I thought I was going to die on this bridge. But somehow and someway, God Almighty helped me here.”
This would be the last time John Lewis would visit the Edmund Pettus Bridge, 55 years after Bloody Sunday pic.twitter.com/BXqHyO0CQl — philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) July 18, 2020
As an activist, the weeks prior to that had been really tough. … I was really feeling overwhelmed. I’m looking at this man who is literally battling cancer, to actually have the courage, to actually get the strength, and you could tell he was weak. He speaks to us, and it was just what I needed to feel affirmed. Even in that moment, I knew that I couldn’t ever stop this work. There’s a song, “Sweet Honey in the Rock”: “We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes.”
Here’s this 80-year-old man who is in Congress, who could literally just go sit at home and do what he wants and just be loved. He knew the importance of that moment, but he also knew the importance of that work. I felt that I, along with millions of others, were knighted. I felt affirmed and knighted in that moment, that our work was necessary.
I think it is not good enough to go back to the place from which we came. We are in a relay. We’ve got to take it forward. There’s a fragility [to] American democracy. … When you ever have your citizens in a place where they can fully participate, fully engage, that’s where you build patriotism. You don’t build patriotism by forcing people to acknowledge a flag that has been a symbol of hatred and racism. You build patriotism by creating the space for American citizens to engage, to be affirmed, and demonstrate their God-given agency.
Raquel Willis, director of communications of Ms. Foundation for Women; founder of Black Trans Circles
I met the congressman in 2016. He met with a group of organizers in Atlanta who were part of the Black Lives Matter movement. It was a powerful experience. He talked about his experiences and really gave us encouragement around the activism and the organizing work that we were already doing.
His lifelong commitment to liberation work is inspiring, I think particularly at the beginning of his organizing career. It’s important to understand that, no matter what age you are, you can get into the fight, and this is really, like it was for him, a lifelong commitment. So we can’t expect there to be quick, flash-in-the-pan fixes for these systems of oppression. We have to be invested in the future.
Congressman John Lewis will forever be an example of a lifelong commitment to liberation.
I will never forget the time he took to share his insights and encouragement with Atlanta #BlackLivesMatter organizers in 2016.
His contributions are simply innumerable. #RIP, Sir. pic.twitter.com/7R7mXSGgtb — Raquel Willis (@RaquelWillis_) July 18, 2020
The movement that is happening now is just the continuation of Black liberation work that has happened for centuries. We like to have this idea that these movements are completely separate, but really, a lot of what has fueled [activists today] has come from the movements before. There’s a direct line to the civil rights movement from where we are now in the movement for Black lives.
Particularly in this election year, I think his work around strengthening folks’ access to electoral power is important, but I also think that sometimes what’s more important is the organizing that happens on the ground amongst the people, just getting people involved, beyond voting. There’s so many different ways that people can transform society, and I think we often only, or mostly, focus on electoral power.
When it comes to organizing, you can organize around so many different things that what’s important is stretching the muscle. I think of organizing as a creative endeavor, so we have to be thinking about ways that we can expand access in whatever instances or spaces that we’re in.
I think it’s important when any figure dies that we hold the honor that we have for them, but that we hold the hard critiques that we may have about their decisions or some of their rhetoric while they were here. We do a disservice in trying to paint anyone as perfect. I think we can hold complicated feelings about figures without throwing out their legacy.
We should certainly be grateful for the strides that a figure like the congressman made, and we can also think about the ways that we can hold those critiques, honor those critiques, and make a commitment to grow in our own work and be better figures for generations to come. I think a lot of what we can learn from any figure’s life is there’s so much more work to do, and there’s so many more ways to open doors for generations to come.
I hope that folks will continue to be invested in the organizers who are doing work on the ground today. We have a society that loves to look at our history of organizing with rose-colored glasses. Folks talk about the “civil rights movement” now, but at the time [those activists] were very maligned, and there wasn’t a genuine support for the work that they were doing, and that still continues today. I think we have to be reflective on the ways that we may critique current movements without really engaging with what they’re saying or what they’re fighting for.


vox--2020-07-21--How “Karen” became a watchword for racism

Karens are having a rough year .
Over the past few months , the “ Karen ” meme that started out as mocking a fairly specific brand of white woman — an anti-vaxxer mom with an entitlement complex and “ can I speak to the manager ” hair — has undergone several rapid transitions .
The name “ Karen ” has subsequently become virtually synonymous with more than just annoyed moms .
Now , “ Karen ” is a stand-in for 2020 ’ s fraught social politics .
When we first dissected the Karen meme in early February , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As it continued gaining popularity , however , it abruptly became a lot less funny and a lot more pointed .
Throughout the spring , calling someone a “ Karen ” morphed from a jab at someone ’ s self-absorption into a shorthand for social policing around Covid-19 .
Then , with the rise of nationwide protests over the police killing of George Floyd , what it means to be “ a Karen ” took on even more sober implications .
Swiftly and with perhaps utter finality , the Karen has become a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stand-in for 2020 ’ s intense , racially charged debate over human rights .
Each iteration of the meme has taken the “ Karen ” figure in a considerably different direction from its original satirical form — a barbed but humorous caricature of entitled white women .
While the meme ’ s meaning was still somewhat malleable during the first months of the pandemic , the national conversation around Black Lives Matter protests rapidly changed what many people meant by “ Karen.
” As the protests continue and political debate rages on , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with white supremacy shows no sign of loosening , nor does the meme look like it will revert to its original , mostly innocuous form .
And now , we need to talk about Karen .
Again .
The coronavirus Karen has always been with us , but never quite as visibly The origin of the Karen meme is nebulous .
As I previously reported , there ’ s a direct connection between the meme and a jokingly misogynistic subreddit formed in 2017 to poke fun at someone ’ s fictional , stereotypically @ @ @ @ @ @ @ claimed a similar 2005 Dane Cook joke as the meme ’ s origin , while some point to Karen from Mean Girls , Karen from Goodfellas , 2016 ’ s “ antisocial Karen ” Nintendo meme , and Karen from a 2018 SNL skit as possible sources .
But all these pop culture Karens have one thing in common : They ’ re officious white women ruining the party for everyone else .
The idea of naming those women is nothing new : Black culture in particular has a history of assigning basic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ See : the trend in recent years of social media users assigning alliterative nicknames to white women wielding their privilege in real life , from Barbecue Becky and Golfcart Gail to Permit Patty and Talkback Tammy .
In nearly all these instances , the women in question have been attempting to socially police their neighbors over minor inconveniences .
Before 2020 , the trend of nicknaming white women who call the cops on their neighbors and the Karen meme had never really joined forces .
The Karen meme ’ s original form hadn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a character trait ; instead , it emphasized Karen ’ s pushy behavior , classism , and anti-science views , styling the ur-Karen with Kate Gosselin ’ s famous haircut .
But Covid-19 inspired increased vigilance , which meant calling out people for how they were handling the virus suddenly became all the rage .
And so , too , did the social distancing version of the Karen .
One couldn ’ t , after all , give individual nicknames to everyone who was now trying to pandemic-shame their neighbors .
But because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an inflated sense of entitlement , the meme grew to include the white women who were complaining about Covid-19 .
Jada Calvin , who moderates the “ Karens Gone Wild ” Facebook group , told me her understanding was that the meme had always been a riff on the word “ care ” — that is , “ These women are called Karen because they are caring about other people ’ s business.
” And caring more than is appropriate , at that .
Covid-19 ’ s spread in March has yielded fascinating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is justified in the context of the novel coronavirus .
For a while , the public was squarely divided about which of the now-dichotomous types of Karens was worse : the people refusing to quarantine or wear masks in public , or the people who officiously reported their neighbors for such bad behavior on sites like the neighborhood watch forum Nextdoor .
The Karen meme was re-deployed in all directions .
In April , author Jennifer Weiner wrote in the New York Times of “ the fear of being Coronavirus Karen , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the shorthand of Karen as a matter of course when describing people being publicly shamed for their bad behavior : “ Coughing Karen outed online , ” “ 8 Karens and Kens [ the more rarely named male equivalent ] who threw huge tantrums instead of putting on masks , ” and so forth .
The onset of social policing around Covid-19 also exacerbated the class tensions often tied to white privilege .
The notion of white middle-class entitlement over the working class was already inherent to the Karen meme , with its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to “ speak to the manager , ” primarily to belittle the retail or service industry workers with whom she was interacting .
The spread of the pandemic , however , exposed other types of glaring class inequality across the nation , regarding necessities like access to adequate health care and affordable housing , and financial sustainability .
Karen ’ s anti-science attitude escalated , too : She now went from crusading against vaccines to crusading against masks .
In other words , many of the Karen-defining character traits that had previously been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ life and death .
The discourse around Covid Karens escalated the meme fairly quickly from a hand-waving , joke-making social commentary into a pointed and barbed insult .
In January , when I spoke to a woman named Karen from Mississippi about the meme , she told me she ’ d been taking the meme in good humor , laughing along with everyone else at its skewering of white privilege .
But as the virus spread , she told me recently in an email , the humor quickly wore off — in part @ @ @ @ @ @ @ meme with a dismaying but very Karen-ish lack of self-awareness .
“ A few weeks into the coronavirus lockdown , I became so sick of social media and Karen memes ( especially on Facebook ) that I actually chose to deactivate my social media accounts and take a step back , ” she told me , six months after we originally spoke .
“ At the beginning of lockdown , I saw so many of my Facebook friends posting Karen memes , and the people who were mainly posting were white women who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s what made me so disgusted .
The very people the memes were supposed to target had started to share them without even realizing people like them were the reason that my name has been given a bad reputation.
” Karen told me she ’ d lost patience with the tenor of the jokes as they went more mainstream .
“ I ’ m aggravated that people have begun to treat my name with such animosity , ” she said .
Because she ’ s placed a moratorium on social media , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had no idea how the meme ’ s definition had evolved over the past couple of months .
“ I ’ m assuming it has not been positive , ” she said .
Oh , Karen , you have no idea .
The Central Park birder incident instantly made “ Karen ” a politically charged watchword for white supremacy in action Karen might still just be a byword for bad pandemic behavior if not for a racist act caught on video on May 25 , 2020 .
That afternoon , Chris Cooper , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nature walk in Central Park when he asked a fellow Manhattanite , insurance agent Amy Cooper ( no relation ) , to leash her dog according to park requirements .
The subsequent video Chris Cooper filmed of Amy Cooper , who is white , calling in a false and increasingly histrionic report to 911 that “ there ’ s an African American man threatening my life , ” immediately went viral and drew national media attention , because of the nightmare scenario it depicted for Black Americans .
Caught on camera in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ white privilege that the “ Karen ” meme laughingly criticized , suddenly on display in the extreme : a white woman whose racially motivated fear prompted her to consciously lie about and potentially endanger a Black man .
Amy Cooper seemed to consciously escalate the panic in her voice to make the situation appear more urgent and dangerous , despite Chris Cooper making no apparent threats .
The encounter lasted just a few minutes , but its impact lasted much longer .
It was the most publicly blatant example yet of countless incidents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ called the cops on their Black neighbors for doing little more than existing .
Just hours later on the same day , halfway across the country , a similar nightmare scenario was also caught on video .
It would end in the killing of George Floyd by police .
That these two incidents occurred within hours of each other served to link the racism of women like Amy Cooper to the white supremacy that underlies police brutality .
“ These two storylines — the black man confronted by white fragility in Central Park @ @ @ @ @ @ @ brutality in Minneapolis — will forever be in conversation with each other , ” Michele L. Norris wrote for the Washington Post following both events .
Amy Cooper wasn ’ t the first white woman to weaponize her privilege against a Black man .
Far from it .
But the conjunction of the “ Central Park birder incident ” and Floyd ’ s killing viscerally and undeniably placed the entitlement of white women on a spectrum of racist violence with police brutality .
And handily , there was already a meme moniker for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ The way that people are using Karen now still has a connotation of the original Kate Gosselin soccer mom , ” linguist Kendra Calhoun , who specializes in the connection between language , race , and power , told me .
“ But the way that we ’ re seeing white women weaponizing white womanhood in a way that is so materially dangerous to Black people and other people of color and other marginalized people — I think that shifted the focus.
” All of this was inchoate in the original @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reminded me .
“ It ’ s a manifestation of the same sort of social practices , ideologies , or sense of entitlement , just on a larger scale , ” she said .
“ The impulse that ’ s going to tell someone , you don ’ t have the right to tell me to wear a mask , even though it was like a state-mandated thing — that ’ s the same sort of impulse [ as ] , ‘ You can ’ t tell me to put my dog on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s legally mandated to have my dog on the leash .
It ’ s that same sense of , ‘ I have the right to do whatever I want , ’ regardless of any sort of social expectation.
” Calhoun pointed out that the simpler idea of the Karen as a demanding white mom is still going strong — but she ’ s been overshadowed by a more urgent reading .
“ That ’ s not to say that Karens don ’ t still storm into Target and demand to speak with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s less important when Karens are now calling the police and essentially trying to get Black people killed.
” With the rise of Black Lives Matter protests and racial tensions ignited nationwide , examples of such Karen-ing from all genders were abruptly everywhere : In Connecticut , a white man called 911 over a group of Latino and Black men peacefully launching a boat at his marina ; in Michigan , a white couple pulled a handgun on a Black mother and daughter over a parking lot car tap ; in St. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pair of guns ( an automatic rifle and a pistol ) at peaceful protesters passing by their house .
“ It ’ s time to call ‘ Karens ’ what they are — white supremacists , ” argued an essay in Girls United .
So swiftly did “ Karen ” morph into a shorthand for white people calling the cops on Black people that when San Francisco lawmaker Shamann Walton proposed a city ordinance that would outlaw “ false racially biased ” 911 calls , he dubbed it “ the CAREN Act , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CAREN we need.
” Meanwhile , in the Karens Gone Wild Facebook group , there are still more Covid Karen memes than Black Lives Matter or protest-related Karen memes .
But most of the discussion is political , and Jada Calvin described the meme as “ a great meme that explains how Karens use harassment against people of color as a way to justify their racism.
” The Facebook group was formed on May 15 , mere weeks before the protests began — and though it ’ s only the latest in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Karen meme , it ’ s one of the most active , racking up more than 10,000 members in just over two months .
“ We use humor as a way to cope with these women and men , ” Calvin said .
Calvin told me she joined the group and became a moderator explicitly to “ be a part of something great which is exposing Karens and their ignorance.
” She ’ s not alone .
In fact , as George Takei recently noted , “ exposing Karens ” might be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s hard to say what impact all this has had on actual people named Karen , but it ’ s caused one fictional Karen character to veer in a wild new direction .
One YouTuber , Rachel , better known by her pseudonymous handle , CrinkleLuvinASMR , has a popular satirical “ suburban moms ” ASMR series on YouTube .
Among the most popular of Rachel ’ s characters is one named “ Karen.
” But with the sharp politicization of the Karen meme , Rachel told me , she decided to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In her most recent installments , Rachel ’ s Karen has let go of much of her “ speak to the manager ” anger and embarked on a new relationship — as a cat-owning lesbian .
“ The idea was to take the parts of these stereotypical white women that are so hateful and weaponize it against them with humor — like , take the power away , ” she told me .
“ But then with everything that happened with George Floyd and Breonna Taylor , I felt like I needed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pushing away from that line .
[ ... ] Anything that could possibly be misinterpreted as hate speech or racism or truly harmful homophobic stuff like that .
Now I ’ m pushing away from it.
” Like Karen from Mississippi , Rachel told me she was wary the meme might be allowing people to point the finger at anyone but themselves .
The Karen “ is the social boogeyman , ” she said .
“ Karen already had so much anger attached to it and resentment , because people need something to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on their own responsibility in perpetuating systemic racism , they want to demonize and stereotype this white woman.
” Calvin suggested a blunt solution for restoring the name Karen to its normal , nonpartisan state .
When I asked her if it was possible for the name Karen to shed its reputation as a stand-in for entitlement , she said yes — but only “ if those women who are called Karens would mind their own business.
” It ’ s tough to argue with that logic .
Trying to push back on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can ’ t think of the word .
I ’ m sure it ’ ll come to me .
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Karens are having a rough year. Over the past few months, the “Karen” meme that started out as mocking a fairly specific brand of white woman — an anti-vaxxer mom with an entitlement complex and “can I speak to the manager” hair — has undergone several rapid transitions. The name “Karen” has subsequently become virtually synonymous with more than just annoyed moms. Now, “Karen” is a stand-in for 2020’s fraught social politics.
When we first dissected the Karen meme in early February, it was seen as a giant joke. As it continued gaining popularity, however, it abruptly became a lot less funny and a lot more pointed. Throughout the spring, calling someone a “Karen” morphed from a jab at someone’s self-absorption into a shorthand for social policing around Covid-19. Then, with the rise of nationwide protests over the police killing of George Floyd, what it means to be “a Karen” took on even more sober implications. Swiftly and with perhaps utter finality, the Karen has become a searing symbol of white supremacy and a stand-in for 2020’s intense, racially charged debate over human rights.
Each iteration of the meme has taken the “Karen” figure in a considerably different direction from its original satirical form — a barbed but humorous caricature of entitled white women. While the meme’s meaning was still somewhat malleable during the first months of the pandemic, the national conversation around Black Lives Matter protests rapidly changed what many people meant by “Karen.” As the protests continue and political debate rages on, the Karen’s newly evolved association with white supremacy shows no sign of loosening, nor does the meme look like it will revert to its original, mostly innocuous form.
And now, we need to talk about Karen. Again.
The coronavirus Karen has always been with us, but never quite as visibly
The origin of the Karen meme is nebulous. As I previously reported, there’s a direct connection between the meme and a jokingly misogynistic subreddit formed in 2017 to poke fun at someone’s fictional, stereotypically bossy ex-wife named Karen. Others have claimed a similar 2005 Dane Cook joke as the meme’s origin, while some point to Karen from Mean Girls, Karen from Goodfellas, 2016’s “antisocial Karen” Nintendo meme, and Karen from a 2018 SNL skit as possible sources.
But all these pop culture Karens have one thing in common: They’re officious white women ruining the party for everyone else. The idea of naming those women is nothing new: Black culture in particular has a history of assigning basic nicknames to badly behaved white women. See: the trend in recent years of social media users assigning alliterative nicknames to white women wielding their privilege in real life, from Barbecue Becky and Golfcart Gail to Permit Patty and Talkback Tammy. In nearly all these instances, the women in question have been attempting to socially police their neighbors over minor inconveniences.
Before 2020, the trend of nicknaming white women who call the cops on their neighbors and the Karen meme had never really joined forces. The Karen meme’s original form hadn’t explicitly included social policing as a character trait; instead, it emphasized Karen’s pushy behavior, classism, and anti-science views, styling the ur-Karen with Kate Gosselin’s famous haircut. But Covid-19 inspired increased vigilance, which meant calling out people for how they were handling the virus suddenly became all the rage. And so, too, did the social distancing version of the Karen.
One couldn’t, after all, give individual nicknames to everyone who was now trying to pandemic-shame their neighbors. But because of the Karen’s association with an inflated sense of entitlement, the meme grew to include the white women who were complaining about Covid-19. Jada Calvin, who moderates the “Karens Gone Wild” Facebook group, told me her understanding was that the meme had always been a riff on the word “care” — that is, “These women are called Karen because they are caring about other people’s business.” And caring more than is appropriate, at that.
Covid-19’s spread in March has yielded fascinating discourse around what kind of public shaming is justified in the context of the novel coronavirus. For a while, the public was squarely divided about which of the now-dichotomous types of Karens was worse: the people refusing to quarantine or wear masks in public, or the people who officiously reported their neighbors for such bad behavior on sites like the neighborhood watch forum Nextdoor. The Karen meme was re-deployed in all directions.
In April, author Jennifer Weiner wrote in the New York Times of “the fear of being Coronavirus Karen,” while media headlines began to roll with the shorthand of Karen as a matter of course when describing people being publicly shamed for their bad behavior: “Coughing Karen outed online,” “8 Karens and Kens [the more rarely named male equivalent] who threw huge tantrums instead of putting on masks,” and so forth.
Related The appeal and futility of mask meltdown videos
The onset of social policing around Covid-19 also exacerbated the class tensions often tied to white privilege. The notion of white middle-class entitlement over the working class was already inherent to the Karen meme, with its portrait of a fussy white woman wanting to “speak to the manager,” primarily to belittle the retail or service industry workers with whom she was interacting. The spread of the pandemic, however, exposed other types of glaring class inequality across the nation, regarding necessities like access to adequate health care and affordable housing, and financial sustainability. Karen’s anti-science attitude escalated, too: She now went from crusading against vaccines to crusading against masks.
In other words, many of the Karen-defining character traits that had previously been merely annoying abruptly became a matter of life and death.
I just had a (middle aged, white) woman yell at me that I can't tell her to wear a mask because I make less money than she does and am therefore nothing, if you were wondering why everything is a class war — Jay the Himbologist (@therobotjay) July 18, 2020
The discourse around Covid Karens escalated the meme fairly quickly from a hand-waving, joke-making social commentary into a pointed and barbed insult. In January, when I spoke to a woman named Karen from Mississippi about the meme, she told me she’d been taking the meme in good humor, laughing along with everyone else at its skewering of white privilege. But as the virus spread, she told me recently in an email, the humor quickly wore off — in part because Karens themselves joined in on the meme with a dismaying but very Karen-ish lack of self-awareness.
“A few weeks into the coronavirus lockdown, I became so sick of social media and Karen memes (especially on Facebook) that I actually chose to deactivate my social media accounts and take a step back,” she told me, six months after we originally spoke. “At the beginning of lockdown, I saw so many of my Facebook friends posting Karen memes, and the people who were mainly posting were white women who tend to overreact. I think that’s what made me so disgusted. The very people the memes were supposed to target had started to share them without even realizing people like them were the reason that my name has been given a bad reputation.”
Karen told me she’d lost patience with the tenor of the jokes as they went more mainstream. “I’m aggravated that people have begun to treat my name with such animosity,” she said. Because she’s placed a moratorium on social media, however, she also told me she had no idea how the meme’s definition had evolved over the past couple of months.
“I’m assuming it has not been positive,” she said.
Oh, Karen, you have no idea.
The Central Park birder incident instantly made “Karen” a politically charged watchword for white supremacy in action
Karen might still just be a byword for bad pandemic behavior if not for a racist act caught on video on May 25, 2020.
That afternoon, Chris Cooper, a Black birdwatcher, was enjoying a nature walk in Central Park when he asked a fellow Manhattanite, insurance agent Amy Cooper (no relation), to leash her dog according to park requirements. The subsequent video Chris Cooper filmed of Amy Cooper, who is white, calling in a false and increasingly histrionic report to 911 that “there’s an African American man threatening my life,” immediately went viral and drew national media attention, because of the nightmare scenario it depicted for Black Americans.
Caught on camera in the 69-second video was all the entitlement and white privilege that the “Karen” meme laughingly criticized, suddenly on display in the extreme: a white woman whose racially motivated fear prompted her to consciously lie about and potentially endanger a Black man. Amy Cooper seemed to consciously escalate the panic in her voice to make the situation appear more urgent and dangerous, despite Chris Cooper making no apparent threats. The encounter lasted just a few minutes, but its impact lasted much longer. It was the most publicly blatant example yet of countless incidents where white people have racially profiled and called the cops on their Black neighbors for doing little more than existing.
Just hours later on the same day, halfway across the country, a similar nightmare scenario was also caught on video. It would end in the killing of George Floyd by police. That these two incidents occurred within hours of each other served to link the racism of women like Amy Cooper to the white supremacy that underlies police brutality. “These two storylines — the black man confronted by white fragility in Central Park and the black man confronted with police brutality in Minneapolis — will forever be in conversation with each other,” Michele L. Norris wrote for the Washington Post following both events.
Amy Cooper wasn’t the first white woman to weaponize her privilege against a Black man. Far from it. But the conjunction of the “Central Park birder incident” and Floyd’s killing viscerally and undeniably placed the entitlement of white women on a spectrum of racist violence with police brutality. And handily, there was already a meme moniker for just that sort of entitled white woman.
Racist Karen of the day… “I know EVERYONE in this neighborhood..” Smh https://t.co/PLtxGJ65eR — ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) July 8, 2020
“The way that people are using Karen now still has a connotation of the original Kate Gosselin soccer mom,” linguist Kendra Calhoun, who specializes in the connection between language, race, and power, told me. “But the way that we’re seeing white women weaponizing white womanhood in a way that is so materially dangerous to Black people and other people of color and other marginalized people — I think that shifted the focus.”
All of this was inchoate in the original version of the Karen meme, Calhoun reminded me. “It’s a manifestation of the same sort of social practices, ideologies, or sense of entitlement, just on a larger scale,” she said. “The impulse that’s going to tell someone, ‘You don’t have the right to tell me to wear a mask,’ even though it was like a state-mandated thing — that’s the same sort of impulse [as], ‘You can’t tell me to put my dog on a leash in the area where it’s legally mandated to have my dog on the leash.’ It’s that same sense of, ‘I have the right to do whatever I want,’ regardless of any sort of social expectation.”
Calhoun pointed out that the simpler idea of the Karen as a demanding white mom is still going strong, but she’s been overshadowed by a more urgent reading. “That’s not to say that Karens don’t still storm into Target and demand to speak with the manager. [But] that’s less important when Karens are now calling the police and essentially trying to get Black people killed.”
With the rise of Black Lives Matter protests and racial tensions ignited nationwide, examples of such Karen-ing from all genders were abruptly everywhere: In Connecticut, a white man called 911 over a group of Latino and Black men peacefully launching a boat at his marina; in Michigan, a white couple pulled a handgun on a Black mother and daughter over a parking lot car tap; in St. Louis, another white couple pointed a pair of guns (an automatic rifle and a pistol) at peaceful protesters passing by their house.
“It’s time to call ‘Karens’ what they are — white supremacists,” argued an essay in Girls United. So swiftly did “Karen” morph into a shorthand for white people calling the cops on Black people that when San Francisco lawmaker Shamann Walton proposed a city ordinance that would outlaw “false racially biased” 911 calls, he dubbed it “the CAREN Act,” noting, “This is the CAREN we need.”
Racist 911 calls are unacceptable that's why I'm introducing the CAREN Act at today’s SF Board of Supervisors meeting. This is the CAREN we need. Caution Against Racially Exploitative Non-Emergencies. #CARENact #sanfrancisco — Shamann Walton (@shamannwalton) July 7, 2020
Meanwhile, in the Karens Gone Wild Facebook group, there are still more Covid Karen memes than Black Lives Matter or protest-related Karen memes. But most of the discussion is political, and Jada Calvin described the meme as “a great meme that explains how Karens use harassment against people of color as a way to justify their racism.”
The Facebook group was formed on May 15, mere weeks before the protests began — and though it’s only the latest in a horde of similar Facebook groups devoted to the Karen meme, it’s one of the most active, racking up more than 10,000 members in just over two months. “We use humor as a way to cope with these women and men,” Calvin said.
Calvin told me she joined the group and became a moderator explicitly to “be a part of something great which is exposing Karens and their ignorance.” She’s not alone. In fact, as George Takei recently noted, “exposing Karens” might be a “new national pastime.”
My favorite new national pastime is blowing up Karen and Corey videos on social media. You’re on notice, folks. — George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) July 8, 2020
It’s hard to say what impact all this has had on actual people named Karen, but it’s caused one fictional Karen character to veer in a wild new direction. One YouTuber, Rachel, better known by her pseudonymous handle, CrinkleLuvinASMR, has a popular satirical “suburban moms” ASMR series on YouTube. Among the most popular of Rachel’s characters is one named “Karen.” But with the sharp politicization of the Karen meme, Rachel told me, she decided to drastically alter Karen’s character. In her most recent installments, Rachel’s Karen has let go of much of her “speak to the manager” anger and embarked on a new relationship — as a cat-owning lesbian.
“The idea was to take the parts of these stereotypical white women that are so hateful and weaponize it against them with humor — like, take the power away,” she told me. “But then with everything that happened with George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, I felt like I needed to be a little bit more proactive about pushing away from that line. [...] Anything that could possibly be misinterpreted as hate speech or racism or truly harmful homophobic stuff like that. Now I’m pushing away from it.”
Like Karen from Mississippi, Rachel told me she was wary the meme might be allowing people to point the finger at anyone but themselves. The Karen “is the social boogeyman,” she said. “Karen already had so much anger attached to it and resentment, because people need something to hate or blame. Instead of fixating on their own responsibility in perpetuating systemic racism, they want to demonize and stereotype this white woman.”
Calvin suggested a blunt solution for restoring the name Karen to its normal, nonpartisan state. When I asked her if it was possible for the name Karen to shed its reputation as a stand-in for entitlement, she said yes — but only “if those women who are called Karens would mind their own business.”
It’s tough to argue with that logic. Trying to push back on it might make you a ... I can’t think of the word. I’m sure it’ll come to me.


vox--2020-07-21--This week in TikTok: When “fashionable” really means “skinny”

Hello from The Goods ’ twice-weekly newsletter !
On Tuesdays , internet culture reporter Rebecca Jennings uses this space to update you all on what ’ s been going on in the world of TikTok .
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Email rebecca.jennings @ vox.com , and subscribe to The Goods ’ newsletter here .
TV shows about fashion have mostly flopped for the same reason Fashion Week is dying : For so long , the high fashion industry was only relevant to those who were rich , white @ @ @ @ @ @ @ feed , however , is absolutely full of memes like “ what I ’ d wear if I were a character on Stranger Things ” or “ loungewear that will make you look rich.
” It ’ s like a Pinterest board come to life , if Pinterest were full of cool teenagers instead of braided updos and bridesmaid font .
Lately there ’ s been a revolt — albeit a polite one — to these videos in the comments section .
“ Sometimes I don ’ t know if the outfit is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and pretty , ” reads the top-voted comment on a video of Carrie Bradshaw-inspired looks .
The outfits were indeed fire , but it ’ s a sentiment shared by many commenters on TikTok : Am I seeing this video because they ’ re genuinely talented or entertaining , or am I seeing it because the person is gorgeous ?
User @ senorapattinson started a series called “ skinny or fashionable ” where she posts photos of people like Kendall Jenner and Hailey Baldwin in T-shirts and mom jeans and asks the obvious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interesting , as they ’ re so often hailed , or whether what we ’ re really praising is their bodies .
It ’ s a backlash to the dominant culture on TikTok of workout tips , “ what I eat in a day ” videos , and general thinspo , which thrives on an app whose demographic includes millions of young women and girls .
At least some are self-aware about their privilege : “ Here ’ s a question to consider , ” said one model-thin woman wearing a plain white @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Do people dress well or are they just wearing kind of neutral tones and are skinny ?
Like , I look so stupid and people compliment me.
” When I saw this viral tweet last week , I thought immediately of the TikTok discourse .
“ As always , ” wrote Rayne Fisher Quann next to a photo of two anonymous larger people wearing T-shirts and shorts , “ fashion is judged exclusively by the bodies that wear it.
” That thin people are praised for wearing “ unflattering ” clothing while fat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ same trends — think tiny sunglasses , mom jeans , normcore — is one of the many hills I will die on ; in 2017 I wrote a blog post called “ Everything You ’ re Wearing Is Because Someone Hot Did It First , ” and every time I see an $ 800 oversize beige smock dress from Acne Studios or something , I get mad all over again .
I ’ m thrilled that people are talking about the double standard and taking it seriously , especially because TikTok , like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ poisonous platform for those of us who struggle with body image .
While there is a delightful subculture of celebrating mediocrity and ugliness on TikTok , so much of the experience of scrolling through the feed is symmetrical faces and flat stomachs , and it ’ s impossible not to compare .
Breaking news : Might social media actually … harm your self-esteem ?
!
Someone should look into that !
• TikTok is still on deathwatch : As the White House maintains that it continues to investigate potential national security risks , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that “ we are looking at weeks , not months , ” to take action .
With TikTok ’ s dominance of shortform video content newly vulnerable , Facebook announced that its TikTok competitor Instagram Reels is coming to the US in August .
• About those national security risks : While surveillance , censorship , and foreign intervention from the Chinese government are extremely real threats , much of the conversation around it amounts to little more than xenophobia and Silicon Valley exceptionalism .
At the New York Times , Kara Swisher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ want the app on her phone .
• Mooptopia is the queen of “ alt TikTok , ” even though no one knows her name .
Her videos are weird and creepy and I ’ m not even going to bother to try to explain them , but much like Charli D ’ Amelio , nobody ’ s really sure why so many people watch her videos .
Read this helpful rundown at No Filter .
• There ’ s a war between the “ baby witches ” of TikTok and the Actual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Longer , because the TikTok witches banded together to put a hex on the moon .
The Actual Witches are not pleased .
If something weird starts happening with the tides , we ’ ll know who to blame .
I must have stumbled into horror TikTok , because last week my feed was filled with jump scares of what users have deemed to be the most terrifying image imaginable : Lin-Manuel Miranda cringily biting his lip .
The selfie in question is from 2018 but has been raised from the dead on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ average videos and then suddenly slapping the very cursed image on them .
According to Know Your Meme , “ LinTok ” began in earnest last week after a few videos making fun of the selfie went viral .
I think the larger forces at play here — straight men having absolutely no idea how to take a photo without being embarrassing — is the real story .
Having done my own investigation into dude selfie face , it ’ s sort of charming to know that even though the internet can be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ women , men don ’ t always know what they ’ re doing on here , either .
Three potentially triggering POVs : First , your guidance counselor has a meeting with you about your parents ’ recent divorce .
Second , your toxic bullies film a YouTube video .
Last , your teacher is disappointed in how you treated the substitute teacher yesterday .
Every day at Vox , we aim to answer your most important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
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Hello from The Goods’ twice-weekly newsletter! On Tuesdays, internet culture reporter Rebecca Jennings uses this space to update you all on what’s been going on in the world of TikTok. Is there something you want to see more of? Less of? Different of? Email rebecca.jennings@vox.com, and subscribe to The Goods’ newsletter here.
TV shows about fashion have mostly flopped for the same reason Fashion Week is dying: For so long, the high fashion industry was only relevant to those who were rich, white, and thin. My TikTok, feed, however, is absolutely full of memes like “what I’d wear if I were a character on Stranger Things” or “loungewear that will make you look rich.” It’s like a Pinterest board come to life, if Pinterest were full of cool teenagers instead of braided updos and bridesmaid font.
Lately there’s been a revolt — albeit a polite one — to these videos in the comments section. “Sometimes I don’t know if the outfit is fire or the person is just skinny and pretty,” reads the top-voted comment on a video of Carrie Bradshaw-inspired looks. The outfits were indeed fire, but it’s a sentiment shared by many commenters on TikTok: Am I seeing this video because they’re genuinely talented or entertaining, or am I seeing it because the person is gorgeous? User @senorapattinson started a series called “skinny or fashionable” where she posts photos of people like Kendall Jenner and Hailey Baldwin in T-shirts and mom jeans and asks the obvious question of whether these outfits are actually interesting, as they’re so often hailed, or whether what we’re really praising is their bodies.
It’s a backlash to the dominant culture on TikTok of workout tips, “what I eat in a day” videos, and general thinspo, which thrives on an app whose demographic includes millions of young women and girls. At least some are self-aware about their privilege: “Here’s a question to consider,” said one model-thin woman wearing a plain white tank top and soccer shorts, “Do people dress well or are they just wearing kind of neutral tones and are skinny? Like, I look so stupid and people compliment me.”
When I saw this viral tweet last week, I thought immediately of the TikTok discourse. “As always,” wrote Rayne Fisher Quann next to a photo of two anonymous larger people wearing T-shirts and shorts, “fashion is judged exclusively by the bodies that wear it.”
a tweet making fun of these women has 100k likes but i swear to god if bella hadid wore this exact outfit it would be on a million "80s casual inspo ❤" pinterest boards bc, as always, fashion is judged exclusively by the bodies that wear it pic.twitter.com/eBZ6P3Zrmh — rayne fisher quann (@raynefq) July 14, 2020
That thin people are praised for wearing “unflattering” clothing while fat people are mocked for hopping on the same trends — think tiny sunglasses, mom jeans, normcore — is one of the many hills I will die on; in 2017 I wrote a blog post called “Everything You’re Wearing Is Because Someone Hot Did It First,” and every time I see an $800 oversize beige smock dress from Acne Studios or something, I get mad all over again.
I’m thrilled that people are talking about the double standard and taking it seriously, especially because TikTok, like Instagram or Tumblr, can be a poisonous platform for those of us who struggle with body image. While there is a delightful subculture of celebrating mediocrity and ugliness on TikTok, so much of the experience of scrolling through the feed is symmetrical faces and flat stomachs, and it’s impossible not to compare. Breaking news: Might social media actually … harm your self-esteem?! Someone should look into that!
TikTok in the news
TikTok is still on deathwatch: As the White House maintains that it continues to investigate potential national security risks, Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said that “we are looking at weeks, not months,” to take action. With TikTok’s dominance of shortform video content newly vulnerable, Facebook announced that its TikTok competitor Instagram Reels is coming to the US in August.
About those national security risks: While surveillance, censorship, and foreign intervention from the Chinese government are extremely real threats, much of the conversation around it amounts to little more than xenophobia and Silicon Valley exceptionalism. At the New York Times, Kara Swisher explains why she still doesn’t want the app on her phone.
Mooptopia is the queen of “alt TikTok,” even though no one knows her name. Her videos are weird and creepy and I’m not even going to bother to try to explain them, but much like Charli D’Amelio, nobody’s really sure why so many people watch her videos. Read this helpful rundown at No Filter.
There’s a war between the “baby witches” of TikTok and the Actual Witches Who Have Been Doing This Way Longer, because the TikTok witches banded together to put a hex on the moon. The Actual Witches are not pleased. If something weird starts happening with the tides, we’ll know who to blame.
Meme watch
I must have stumbled into horror TikTok, because last week my feed was filled with jump scares of what users have deemed to be the most terrifying image imaginable: Lin-Manuel Miranda cringily biting his lip.
The selfie in question is from 2018 but has been raised from the dead on TikTok, where people are filming otherwise average videos and then suddenly slapping the very cursed image on them. According to Know Your Meme, “LinTok” began in earnest last week after a few videos making fun of the selfie went viral.
I think the larger forces at play here — straight men having absolutely no idea how to take a photo without being embarrassing — is the real story. Having done my own investigation into dude selfie face, it’s sort of charming to know that even though the internet can be an incredibly toxic and fraught place for women, men don’t always know what they’re doing on here, either.
One Last Thing
Three potentially triggering POVs: First, your guidance counselor has a meeting with you about your parents’ recent divorce. Second, your toxic bullies film a YouTube video. Last, your teacher is disappointed in how you treated the substitute teacher yesterday.