If any of this strikes a chord, it is because Kafka’s nightmare bears a strong resemblance to America of late: a world of arbitrary and ever-changing rules, enforced by petty bureaucrats, and presided over by a cadre of unaccountable decision-makers. And yet, somehow, the empathy of the general public has been directed, not at those who object to such a system, but at those who uphold it.
The term “Karen” is vague and nebulous, but this is what makes it such a slippery weapon. It has frequently been lobbed at individuals who chafe at the enforcement of overbearing rules: those who refuse to wear masks on planes, or who demand to “speak to a manager” about some perceived slight – that is, to try to reach a higher rung of the faceless bureaucracy.
Humans, with human concerns, are diminished, while the cold and merciless enforcers are elevated to the level of victims for having to put up with people who are not happy to be at the mercy of a system operating contrary to all principles of logic and rationality.
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