Once A Karen… This B**ch!
No Me Digas. Op-Ed: Keith Price
Far be it from me to say “I told ya, so!”, but I told ya so. Central Park Karen once again reminds us that sometimes folks don’t really learn anything. As a country it is already hard enough to avoid the race conversation, but when people continue to dogpile their ignorance and unwillingness to accept THEIR role in creating situations, it becomes exasperating. For those who need to be reminded, Amy Cooper, aka Central Park Karen, was recorded on camera phone by Christian Cooper, no relation, as she called the police on him. She put a little more spice in the call to make sure that the police knew that she was a white woman being “threatened” by an African-American male. This happened within 24 hours of the George Floyd murder. She now claims that she really was in fear for her safety because of the big bad African-American man.
She skated past her charges and any jail time by taking a 5 day Race Relations workshop. Yes, she took a workshop to help her deal with whatever issues that she may have had, and now she allegedly has the tools to deal with race relations and conflict. She finally gets in front of a hot microphone and proves that she failed the class and still no jail time. She now purports that Mr. Cooper’s intimidating energy and tone is what was missing from the whole story. He threatened her, therefore what other choice did she have, but to call for help. I guess he must have put on his customer service voice when he started recording her, because y’all know we blacks folks can do that on cue.
Now as much as I want to take Miss Thing to task for her commentary, I must note that this would not be happening had Mr. Christian Cooper participated in the process that was designed to punish folks who break laws, instead of worrying about D.C. Statehood in those moments. He has gone on record as saying that he did not want to participate in any further humiliation of her, her character, nor her potential court case. I wonder if he is rethinking that now that she is blaming him for scaring her into calling the police in the first place?
This whole story reminds us that when people are not punished for the things that they do, nor held accountable for the things that they say, they just do it again and again. After the first Impeachment, Rep. Adam Schiff said that if we did not punish 45 for those transgressions that he would do it again, and we see how that turned out. Now we have the courts slowly filling up with the domestic terrorists from the January 6th Insurrection attempt, and it seems that they, too, are being given less than the recommended punishments that are on the books, nor the reasonable and relatively equitable options devised by the Prosecution. Do we think that this will help them see the errors of their ways and do better? Hell, no. One such terrorist had the nerve to purchase more guns while out on bail and awaiting trial for his Capitol rioting shenanigans.
Not to be that broken record, but until white people are held accountable as if they were people of color under said “equal law”, (unlike Ms. Cooper and everyone being charged for their behavior during the Capitol Riots), then we will never move forward on race in this country. When the punishment is spread equally for all, then we will see a change in the attitude of the reformed. Until this happens, many folks will never learn their lesson when it comes to race relations.
Wear a mask. Wash your hands. Stay Distanced.
