Karen’s Concern Porn: The Toxin Among You

Rifling through my notes that I had scribbled down the other day was a tidbit of humor; I found a potential title for an article; Not Outrage Porn But Karen’s Concern Porn. I knew that it was a worthy subject but I wasn’t completely sure on how I was going to “make a run at it”.

I, like most people, have seen the meme worthy videos of “Karen” (or “Todd”) and her/his being nosy. (Or just wanting to make herself feel important because she is secretly impotent in her everyday life). It is a not-so-comical thing to witness in real life. The underlying problem behind this toxic behavior is that many people (like Karen and Todd) get off on being concerned. They feel an overwhelming need to stick their nose in other people’s business.

I have told many people that this is a side effect of the “soccer mom” mentality of yelling “someone oughtta do something”. The weak minded find a reason to be peeved about something. The weaker minded depend on authority figures to bully other people into submission to their phony standards. This rabbit holes into a deeper sh*tstain:

If you find something to be that big of a problem; why don’t you do something about it? Without calling the cops. Is the crusade you have dreamed up really that big of a deal? I strongly doubt it has.

I find that the vast majority of people that engage in this level of stupidity refuse to fix many things in their own lives. Karen and Todd need to make themselves feel righteous, then they pick manufactured battles with random strangers.

The cure for “Karen and Todd-it is” is multi-pronged. It takes innocent bystanders standing up to them. It takes someone publicly shaming the people that empower them. It also takes everyday people minding their own business like it used to be. (During more honorable times, before the rise of HOA’s and soccer momism, people governed their behavior better because there was more to lose and often people received a physical negative reinforcement for asshole behavior).

We shouldn’t start accepting abhorrent behavior. Don’t find reasons to be concerned. Don’t undertake an unworthy crusade. Often, we have to let people fix their own problems. Don’t create concern porn and don’t accept it from others.

In the future, we can help eliminate the Karen’s and Todd’s out of existence.

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