Can’t Cancel This ‘Karen’

The new online environment undermines the Left’s ability to punish “offensive” behavior

A white mother called two Somalis harassing her kid at a Minnesota playground the n-word last week. The act was caught on camera by one of the Somalis. The woman, Shiloh Hendrix, was quickly doxed and police, acting at the behest of the NAACP, are now investigating the woman.

In the past, it would be completely over for such a person. Recent years have witnessed a bevy of “Karens” get ruined over public disagreements with blacks. One could face unemployment and criminal charges just for arguing over a dog, so just imagine the consequences for saying the forbidden word.

But this story is very different. Hendrix is receiving a surprising level of support, earning nearly $700,000 for her GiveSendGo and becoming a hero to many on X. Obviously, she’s also earned a lot of condemnation. But, unlike Karens in the past, she has many defenders. It’s also for a greater “offense” against liberal dogmas. Arguing with a black person or calling the cops on them is bad, but using the n-word is worse than murder in progressive opinion. A black person can justify killing someone on this basis–and it’s worked in court before.

Hendrix’s support would have been impossible just a few years ago. Her story illustrates the new timeline we’re in and the relative weakness of “cancel culture.”

It’s worth remembering the Karen hysteria of the Peak Woke era. Karen became a popular slur to attack white women. Karens, for the most part, were women who confronted potential troublemakers in their community. Black activists and the press saw them as a plague that reinforced society’s alleged racism. As Time magazine put it, “the ‘Karen Meme’ confronts the violent history of white womanhood.”

A large number of white women saw their lives ruined merely for confronting a black person. The most famous example is “Central Park Karen.” Amy Cooper was a standard AWFL (affluent white female liberal) living in New York in May of 2020. She took her dog for a walk in Central Park when a black bird watcher (possibly the only one in the world) yelled at her and threatened her dog for messing up his activity. The bird watcher, Christian Cooper (no relation obviously), began recording Cooper as she pledged to call the cops on him. Since it’s considered a grave sin to call the cops on a black man “doing nothing wrong,” this Karen had her life ruined. This incident occurred the same week as George Floyd’s death. It was the biggest story in the country before riots broke out over the latter event. Every major outlet covered Central Park Karen and condemned her. She lost her job, she faced criminal charges, and her name was permanently ruined. There were no fundraisers for her or any real support. Nearly every American supported her cancellation. Her accuser ended up getting his own bird watching show as part of the publicity.

Amy Cooper’s story shouldn’t even have been local news, much less the biggest national news story. This was merely an argument between two strangers, something that happens every minute. The only reason why it became a matter of attention is to reinforce new social norms. If you’re white, you’re not supposed to argue or confront a black person. That’s racist to do so and you will be dubbed a “Karen” and have your life ruined. Cooper was a necessary sacrificial victim to our society’s racial cult.

But that’s not at play in Shiloh Hendrix’s story. While it has received a level of media coverage it doesn’t deserve (this is still just two strangers arguing in a public place), it’s far from the biggest story in the country. It’s a local news story that parts of social media have taken a deep interest in. Normies no longer care about these kinds of stories, and that’s for the better.

Hendrix benefits greatly from the new media environment. If this had happened four or five years ago, she would’ve never had a fundraiser. Her altercation would be treated as the worst thing since Emmett Till and there would be riots outside her house. (This happened in the case of Sgt. Jonathan Pentland.) The entire country would hate her, especially on Twitter. She would have a few voices defend her on the social media platform, but they would be drowned out by the seething masses.

Why is it different today than it was five years ago? One is the retreat of Peak Woke. Normies are much more apathetic and less tuned in to this kind of content. They’re focused on other things right now. This kind of stuff that would’ve made them apoplectic now just draws shrugs.

The second thing is the dramatically changed media environment. The new media outlets that promoted this content to the masses are in bad shape. BuzzFeed and others are either gone or shells of themselves. Far fewer people read them. These stories were perfect fodder for them during the first Trump term. Now they no longer have the ability to rile up outrage.

Most importantly, Twitter is now X and is effectively a right-wing echo chamber. It should be expected a white mother flicking off a Somali harassing her and saying the n-word would draw support. This is the same site where Hitler videos get 100k likes. Shiloh Hendrix is naturally going to be turned into a hero on this platform.

Not all conservatives support her and there have been strong disagreements about giving to her fundraiser. Some conservatives claim she’s the “white Karmelo Anthony,” which is idiotic. Karmelo Anthony killed someone for no good reason. His supporters think murdering a white teen over a seat is somehow self-defense. Hendrix just said an impolite word to a bigger kid bullying her child and an adult harassing her. She committed no crime, but the fact many would deem her word equal to murder illustrates our society’s ridiculous beliefs.

It’s always going to be considered rude to use the n-word. One doesn’t need to agree with Hendrix’s choice of words to defend her, however. The real outrage is the guy trying to be playground commissar and ruin her life over it. We shouldn’t encourage volunteer Stasi. People get into arguments all the time. People use bad words in these arguments all the time. That’s just life. For far too long, the media has used these clips to browbeat whites into looking the other way and not giving a shit about what happens around them. If a non-white is stealing from their kid, the media wants them to do nothing. It would be racist to do anything.

Shiloh did what a lot of mothers would do here: she intervened. Her word choice may not have been appropriate, but people don’t think straight when they feel their child’s safety is at risk. One can forgive her for that. She doesn’t deserve to have her life ruined.

While I think her support is primarily limited to the online sphere, it still reveals that people are tired of cancel culture. It’s also a reaction to the genuine outrage over Karmelo Anthony’s support. How can we pretend that it’s more justifiable to stab a white kid over a seat than to say the n-word in a moment of anger? Some whites would like to send a message that Hendrix deserves more support than Anthony. In truth, she does. She didn’t kill anybody. A sane society shouldn’t treat saying a certain word as a capital offense.

Many will think it’s wrong to donate to Hendrix, but they fail to understand the message. This isn’t about encouraging the use of racial slurs. This is about defending ordinary citizens from having their lives ruined over petty disputes. If we want free speech respected, we must undermine the power of cancel culture. Raising a million dollars for Hendrix gives a middle finger to this insidious force.

That alone justifies the support.