Why are we yelling at one another?

Most of us are human; that is, we occasionally make mistakes, be it verbal, a misaction of some sort, or just about anything else. We're not perfect; not one of us is.

Most people are able to let go of a minor slip in judgment, intent, language or most anything else on the part of another who errs in some way. Such folks are kind and understanding and generally all around nice.

Enter "Karen." Not an actual person, but a persona that has sprung up in current culture. A "Karen" is a stereotypical nasty, complaining woman who isn't happy unless she's yelling at someone because she's not getting her way, usually in a public setting like at a grocery store, shopping mall, traffic/transit, etc. Sadly, innocent children aren't exempt from the wrath of a "Karen." Oftentimes any children involved are "Karen's" own. Men are not exempt from the "Karen" stereotype, and may also be referred to as a "Karen," but increasingly, I'm hearing the term "Ken" used instead. That's fine with me because I worked with a guy named Ken at my last job and he fit the image to a tee.

A little note before I go on: for the rest of this post, when I mention "Karen," I'm including "Ken," too. It'll save time, repetition, your nerves and repetition.

But stereotypes aside, there's a deeper issue here─why are we yelling at one another in the first place? Easy. It's a means of getting the attention that some of us need because apparentlly we didn't get enough as children. It's really a form of bullying. The louder you are and the harder you push increases the odds of getting what you want, whether you rightfully deserve it or not. Like bullies, Karens tend to target those who cannot fight back─people of physically smaller/weaker stature, employees who would lose their job if they confront a customer, someone who's disabled, and so on.

It is indeed a victory when a Karen is shut down. Not because s/he was defeated, but because what was right most likely prevailed over the probably unreasonable demand that Karen had. While it is normal to blow off some steam by yelling at someone who may deserve it, learning to let go of things that won't matter in an hour would benefit all of us in the long run. If all of us─Karens and Kens included─would simmer down and take a deep breath, we all just might enjoy life a little more.