What Karens and Squid Game Players Have in Common
Would a Karen survive the Squid Games?
If you’ve ever worked in the customer service world at any capacity, chances are you’ve encountered a Karen a few times. If you’re lucky enough to have never encountered one, this YouTuber has got you covered:
The customer-facing world is an interesting one. It’s a professional environment in which people interact, and yet one group (Karens), can defy societal norms and manners with little to no consequences. Oftentimes, they are even rewarded for their behavior. Innocent bystanders are not safe either from the wrath of Karens. Everyone is fair game.
The videos often have the same themes: Karens cussing workers out, spitting on random people, threatening regular people doing regular things, calling workers names, refusing to leave establishments until they get what they want, the list goes on. And we only see the few that people happen to capture and put on the internet. There are tons of interactions people deal with, even remotely, that go unseen by anyone else.
In the worker and customer dynamic in particular, Karens feel free to unleash the worst in them. Besides the occasional viral video berating them, and general agreement among non-Karen folk that Karens are ludicrous, this is considered normal: A Karen causes a scene. Company is in fear of losing other customers or getting canceled as a result of said scene. Company compensates Karen to shut her up. Company doesn’t take a big hit. Karen gets a freebie. Everyone walks away happy. Everyone, except for the worker.
But they’re just doing what they have to do to get what they want, aren’t they? Karens are in a primal state! Doing what they need to survive! It’s a cold world out there! I mean, how could their Starbucks drink have not enough caramel drizzle? That’s a pretty serious matter.
Unlike with Karens, in a fictional show like the Squid Games, the characters are encouraged to bring out their worst qualities. Squid Games is a new Korean show that was released on September 17th of this year and quickly became Netflix’s biggest TV show ever. The show follows people who are in extreme debt playing deadly versions of kid games for an enormous amount of cash on an enclosed, unknown island, run by Jeffrey Epstein-like people.
Throughout the series, the players are pinned against each other in different scenarios to eliminate (kill off) as many players as possible. The people playing the game are in a constant state of survival. As Jang Deok-su said in the beginning of the show, “This is hell. There are no rules in hell.” While Karens are not out here killing others, in a way, there are no rules for Karens either. After all, the customer is always right.
To their own dismay, the players proceed to yell, threaten, hit, and kill one another and the staff. In one scene, the main character Seong Gi-hun, yells at Cho Sang- Woo, someone he’s known practically his whole life, for killing another man, implying it’s out of his character and evil. To which Cho Sang- Woo basically responds: to get what you want in this game, you must look beyond what is considered ethical (in a much nastier manner). Judging by Karens’ actions, to get what they want, they too, look beyond what is considered ethical.
According to Psychology Today, anonymity also makes it easier to do horrible things. This would explain why internet Karens are so brave and why, upon walking into a room of strangers, they may be more inclined to crank up the audacity and cause a stir.
It’s worth mentioning, however, that the players were fighting over roughly 38 million dollars, but I’ve seen Karens forgo moral values for as little as 3 dollars. So ironically, though Karens come from an inherently more privileged place than the Squid Games characters, their vibe is giving very much I-am-in-a-life-or-death-situation. This begs the question, would a Karen survive the Squid Games?
My guess is a Karen’s survival rate is lower than that of curly-haired Han Mi-Nyeo in the games. Perhaps Han Mi-Nyeo was our Karen of the show.
The show is a great portrayal of how some people switch moral sides when money is hanging over their heads, which one could say, is the exact depiction of most Karens.
This article is originally being published by me here on this platform: https://popoff.us/what-karens-and-squid-game-players-have-in-common-9df836a3c646
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