Decoding America's Karen Syndrome
And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment. Isaiah 59: 14-15 KJV
Many conscientious citizens have caught the “Karen Syndrome” that has swept across the country in recent years on camera. Entire YouTube channels have been dedicated to revealing this unseemly side of human nature. The syndrome often involves an American White woman, but other genders and ethnic groups can be involved. The Karen becomes hysterical at a perceived threat, wrong, or injustice.
In most cases I have seen, Karen’s tirade is directed at a Black person who has offended her, but her angst has little or no circumstantial justification. The Karen becomes belligerent and out of control as she is confronted about her behavior. Many of the onlookers at the scene are shocked at her tantrum while they try to make sense of the situation and the justification for the display. In many cases, the confrontation ends in violence, which leads to charges and the conviction of a crime.
I have often wondered why “Karens” behave with such visceral vitriol. My knee-jerk reaction had been to assume that it was rooted in their nature stemming from their white privilege. I believe that is true, that it is a manifestation of the American culture of white privilege, but I knew there was more understanding to be gained with further inquiry. Understanding that the devil lies behind every cultural malady and that he incites human delegates to carry out his bidding, I knew that this pattern of behavior was part of his not-so-secret agenda.
My study of his methods, how Satan has used white supremacy as a tool to pit Americans of all ethnic groups against each other, showed that this was the case here also. The devil uses the same tactics over and over with minimal variation. My knowledge of his tactics directed my investigation as I uncovered several facts. What I discovered proved my initial reaction was genuine but also provided forensic proof of the hows and whys of such behavior. I learned:
White supremacy behavior is predicated upon white supremacy thinking, and white supremacy thinking in America was intentionally and specifically formulated to create prosperity and privilege for select white men based on the enslavement of African people in particular and the subjugation of all people in general.
Select White men, in the effort to maintain their privilege and prosperity, used every tool at their disposal, including White women.
Select White men manufactured lies that instilled fear, which in turn propelled behavior that eventually obtained the results they desired.
The lies those White men manufactured evolved into connecting myths that were embedded into the American psyche and then encoded epigenetically onto our genes so that we now carry the lies inside us.
Those myths, like cancerous cells, spread through the whole body politic of America – all Americans manifest the disease of racism in one form or another. We all have sinned.
So, what was done, and how was it done? Detectives look for three things: means, method, and motivations.
It starts with defining the “Other” as a problem and branding “It” as an enemy. The dehumanization process allows one to detach one's emotions from one’s actions. That other is imbued with exaggerated negative characteristics that are considered life-threatening. Fear results, and a righteous cause is provided to eliminate “It” by any means necessary. Finally, the method and means to eliminate the threat are provided without penalty of law. Let me sum this up in three statements.
Media promotes propaganda to create an irrational fear of the “other” and dehumanize them.
Vilify the other in preparation to eliminate them.
Provide the means and the method to eliminate the “It,” i.e., problem without penalty of law.
At this point, you might be thinking, “Nate, this is a great-sounding theory, but where is your empirical evidence?” I will be more than happy to provide it, but I must warn you that we must examine multiple locales where crimes have been committed. You need to take your shoes off so you will not track the muck of mythical American history over my yellow-taped crime scenes. Gloves and a mask are also mandatory so that the stench of lies, injustice, and death will not overwhelm you.
American history, not its history books, shows us how and why the process I postulated worked. Prosperity, privilege, gender, and race all collide at the intersection of American opportunity, politics, and fear. My investigation opens in Wilmington, North Carolina.
In the 1890s, Wilmington, North Carolina, was the seat of one of the most prosperous Black enclaves in the country. With its wealth came political power in the Fusion Party. The Fusion Party was a coalition formed by the Populist and Republican parties of the day. The Fusion Party defeated the Democratic Party in Wilmington. At that time, the Democratic party was the party of former slaveholders and the KKK. Although the Fusion party certainly had White racists, they united with Blacks because they both shared pressing economic interests. The Fusionists won the elections of 1894 and 1896, which placed a literal handful of African American men into positions of power.
Even this scant political power-sharing caused resentment and anger among many of the White democrats in the area. Some of the racists expressed their anger and resentment in the newspapers and political pamphlets of the day. To solve their “negro problem,” they struck upon the idea, which had worked so well in the past, and cast Black men as oversexed rapists with one purpose – to deflower White womanly virtue. The media attacks were brutal and relentless and came from all quarters.
Once the media spread the lies, others quickly accepted them as truth. Of course, the lies and the myths they created were not supported by facts, but that did not matter. Soon, select White women embraced the lies and called for immediate action. Like the Karen Syndrome of today, the women’s behaviors were not rational nor justifiable. The first “Karen” I will cite was eloquent in her hysterics.
Rebecca Latimer Felton, the wife of a Populist Georgia congressman, gave a speech to the Georgia Agricultural Society on August 11, 1897. This is what she said.
“When there is not enough religion in the pulpit to organize a crusade against sin; nor justice in the court house to promptly punish crime; nor manhood enough in the nation to put a sheltering arm about innocence and virtue----if it needs lynching to protect woman’s dearest possession from the ravening human beasts----then I say lynch, a thousand times a week if necessary.”
Her call to vigilante “injustice” is reminiscent of another mob famous for the words, “Crucify Him, crucify Him.” That cry, led by the Jewish high priest Caiaphas, resulted in the hanging of an innocent man, no less than the Son of God Himself, Jesus Christ. Satan incited his human agents to chant those words as certainly as he incited Rebecca to pen hers. What is so abhorrent is that Rebecca Felton’s call to vigilantism is directed at an entire ethnic group of men!
As did the Jewish mob, Rebecca, too, would have her way. Her “Karen” cry summoned racist men to an unjust cause that resulted in an American coup with the armed overthrow of the Fusion government of the state. It is the only overthrow of an elected American government we know of, and it was not recorded in our American history books! In that American Coup, hundreds of black families were displaced, and over 60 men and women were killed (The exact number is not known). No white person was ever brought to justice, nor was the displaced African American’s property returned. That is the “without penalty” means of the method I noted before in statement three.
In this instance, we see the American Karen pattern already formed and working. It would be perfected in later years; evil repeats itself. Two decades later, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a young white elevator operator, Sarah Page, placed her name in the Karen chronicles. This is what happened.
After May 31, 1921, Greenwood would never be the same. The tension mounted between the black and white communities over an incident that allegedly occurred in an elevator at the Drexel building in downtown Tulsa involving Sarah Page, a 17-year-old white elevator operator, and Dick Rowland, a 19- year-old black man. There are several versions of what supposedly transpired, but the most common being that Dick Rowland accidentally stepped on Page's foot in the elevator, throwing her off balance. When Rowland reached out to keep her from falling, she screamed. Many Tulsans came to believe through media reports that Rowland attacked Page, although no sufficient evidence surfaced to substantiate the claim. The incident was further escalated by a local newspaper headline that encouraged the public to "Nab Negro for Attacking Girl in Elevator." Tulsa City-County Library
The pretense of a Black man attacking a White woman resulted in the Tulsa White race riot. This was the first and only incident of a bombing by airplane of an American city on the mainland! Again, this incident has been omitted from American history books. An estimated 191 business locations were burned down, as well as churches, schools, a hospital, and a library. Reportedly, 300 people were killed, another 714 were wounded, and 1,256 homes were destroyed. No restitution was ever awarded to the victims, nor were any White perps brought to trial.
Miss Page’s reaction warns us, as Black men, that even our best intentions and efforts cannot overcome the myths formed against us in America. Such is the power of the Black “bogey-man” myth formulated on these shores. The stealing of our humanness and replacing “us” with “it” was complete and was so successful that it made even a look at a white woman impermissible. We meet our next Karen in 1951 in the small North Carolina town of Yanceyville, where:
A seventeen-year-old white woman named Willa Jean Boswell testified that she was scared when her neighbor Matt Ingram looked at her from a distance of about 65 feet. Prosecutors demanded a conviction of assault with intent to rape that was reduced to assault on a female by the judge, leading to a two-year sentence.
So effective had the Karen Syndrome become that even a look at a white woman from sixty-five away could cause arrest and imprisonment. Matt Ingram’s crime fell under a Jim Crow statute called “Recklessly Eyeballing,” and he was charged with assault and attempted rape. Ingram spent two years in jail with hard labor before being exonerated after three criminal trials. What was Matt’s, also called Mack, real crime? He dared to prosper by hard work and honesty in a country founded and ruled by white supremacist men.
Mack, was a forty-four-year-old tobacco farmer. He was married, the loving father of nine children, and economically independent. He owned his own mules, tools, and “ramshackle jalopy.” He was also known in his community as an upstanding citizen with no prior criminal record. Mack was living the American dream until he became part of the Black man’s American nightmare. Although he lost all his possessions while fighting for his freedom, he at least escaped with his life. Not all victims of the Karen crime are as fortunate.
We will visit our next Karen crime scene as a point of fact. It was the summer of 1955, and the place was Money, Mississippi. This Karen, Carolyn Bryant Donham, holds a singular place in the halls of infamy. Her victim was a teenager, 14-year-old Emmet Louis Till. At the time, Karen, excuse me, Carolyn claimed that Emmett made lewd advances and then grabbed her while she was working at a store in Money. While leaving the store, after he had done the deed, she claimed, he wolf-whistled at her. Of course, it was all a lie, and Carolyn later recanted her accusation, but the harm had been done.
Emmett Louis Till was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered while America watched. I say while America watched because the white men who murdered him were exonerated and, in some circles, celebrated for their atrocity. American society, law, and culture are complicit in crimes against humanity. Only a demonically controlled legal system would twist justice for centuries without remorse or recompense. I cannot salute a flag held high by Satan. By the time of Emmett’s murder, the Karen pattern is cast cement. Black men or boys were accused by White women or girls and murdered, and then their communities were destroyed as American law turned a blind eye.
Our next stop on the Karen tour takes us to New York City in May 2020. If you Google Central Park Karen, you will get webpages explaining what happened. So, finding the truth will not be hard, as there are videos of the encounter between Amy Cooper, a White woman, and Christian Cooper (no relation), a Black man. Their encounter was brief but revealing.
Amy was walking her dog in an area of Central Park called the Ramble, but the dog was unleashed in violation of the posted signs. Christian asked Amy to leash her dog in a tone and manner she did not like. Amy refused, and Christian began recording the rest of the encounter on his cell phone. Amy called 911, and these are her exact words.
“There is an African-American man, I am in Central Park. He is recording me and threatening myself and my dog. (Her voice pitch increases) I’m sorry I can’t hear you either. I’m being threatened by a man in the Ramble. Please send the cops immediately.”
Christian's sister posted Christian’s video on social media. It went viral. That same day, George Floyd was murdered by a racist White cop in Minneapolis in broad daylight while people watched, constrained by American law and history. It, too, was caught on video. Together, those videos circled the world and shone a light on how deeply and systematically racist America truly is.
For a moment, America was called to task for her racial politics of the last four hundred years. Around the world, people marched, protested, prayed, and demanded change, but their actions resulted in little earthly good. American laws did not change and I venture to say nor did American attitudes about race. However, I did change. I would no longer waste my hope on the vacuous promise of American justice and equality. I placed my hope on the solid Rock and His promise of justice and eternity. Further, I chose to believe God’s word and our historical testimony. They asked me.
Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil. Jeremiah 13:23 KJV
If we believe the Bible, Amy Cooper could not change herself, and neither could America. Amy could not change her skin color, nor could America change her epigenetic privilege. God gave those words to His prophet Jeremiah as an apostate Judah trembled in fear of Babylonian judgment. I fear America also anxiously waits in the jury room for God’s justice. Indeed, after four hundred years of horrendous injustice, a verdict is due.
I submit my final “Karen.” She is genuinely not a Karen at all but a real victim of rape. Her name is Trisha Meili, and she was assaulted and raped in Central Park, New York. I mention her because she as a real victim became complicit in America’s long history of victimization of the other. Six Black men were accused of her rape, one would go free, the other five would serve time in prison. They were all innocent.
The real Karen in this case, i.e., criminals, and in all the previous Karen cases, have been select White men with privilege and power who have no regard for the God of heaven or the rights of fellow human beings. They are the true face of an unrepentant America, embodied in America’s newly elected President, Donald J. Trump. Trump, with little evidence, hastily concluded that the accused black men were guilty. (Years later, Trump would be accused of rape and found guilty of assault.)
Donald Trump took out a full-page advertisement calling for vigilante justice. Caiaphas and Rebecca Felton had screamed it before, but Trump wrote it on parchment and spread it through the media so millions could hear it. All Black Americans should heed his unfiltered words. I now quote part of his ad.
Mayor Koch has stated that hate and rancor should be removed from our hearts. I do not think so. I want to hate these muggers and murderers. They should be forced to suffer and when they kill, they should be executed for their crimes. They must serve as examples so that others will think long and hard before committing a crime or an act of violence. Yes, Mayor Koch. I want to hate these murderers, and I always will. I am not looking to psychoanalyze or understand them, I am looking to punish them. If the punishment is strong, the attacks on innocent people will stop. I recently watched a newscast trying to explain the anger in these young men. I no longer want to understand their anger. I want them to understand our anger. I want them to be afraid. How can our great society tolerate the continued brutalization of its citizens by crazed misfits? Criminals must be told that their CIVIL LIBERTIES END WHEN AN ATTACK ON OUR SAFETY BEGINS.
Trump’s published confession ran on May 1, 1989, in Newsday. It ran 102 years after Rebecca Felton’s harangue. They called for the “lynching” of innocent Black men; the first suggested, “a thousand a week if necessary.” The second went further, branding the entire group as “them” and signaling “them” as a menace to society. They both displayed a sociopathic bloodlust for the lives of innocent Black men. Such hatred and rage are inexplicable unless you understand Christ’s words to the men who sought His death.
For you are the children of your father, the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44 NLT
Christ did not need to psychoanalyze them to understand them. Christ understood that the unwarranted hatred and murderous rage in the Jewish leaders of His day was of satanic origin. He explained that the character traits of the children come from the father. Subsequently, the father's acts will be the children's acts. That is true of all people who hate, it is a curse from their spiritual father. In America, hate was never about color; it has always been about character. Nothing has changed in America; if you believe in Christ and the Bible, nothing can change in America. Donald Trump’s words reveal that truth and his true character.
In his document, those 172 words explained American politics and practice for African Americans better than any instrument put toward the task before it. Unlike our Constitution and Declaration of Independence, Trump’s words were not duplicitous. He said what he felt, and he meant what he said. He has never repented even though he was convicted, and the men he convicted were proven innocent. Trump’s was the most sagacious summation of this country’s real history and future intentions I have ever read; it is simple, informing, and truthful. We should applaud his candor and heed his warning, for when it comes to race relations in America, history will repeat itself.
My forensic file has been submitted, and my investigation is closed. My summation is simple: the Karen Crime Syndrome is as American as apple pie. It is baked into our culture and our genes. It has been with us from America’s start and will be with us until Jesus comes. Trump expressed his feelings and the depth and scope of his hatred of his fellow human beings; no psychoanalysis is needed. He reflects America.
Trump’s words and actions were a red flag, yet America rewarded him with its highest honor. Trump is genuinely a White American President. I pray America does not regret her decision. I offer her God’s promise if she does.
For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. Two Corinthians 7:10-11 NLT
Additional Resources
For a deeper understanding of the topic I just discussed, please read Unit Four: Understanding Satan’s Deceptions and Tactics, page 307 of my book: My Story His Glory (Book 2) Decoding Daniel, Revelation, and America’s Destiny.
Click this link to my Amazon page.
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