How to Save the Karens
Or Maybe the Problem is Us, Not Them?
- One can imagine that in the past, if there were an abrasive woman living in town who harangued residents and annoyed people, people would mostly just shrug them off, saying: “Well yes, that’s the town crone.” or “Little Jimmy, don’t go out of town, the old swamp hag is out there and she might take you away.”
- Maybe our problem is that we attempt to treat modern swamp hags as equals when, in reality, they are liminal beings
- They are not LESSER per se, but just of a different world
- What we should do, instead, is recognize their liminal role:
- That they are not responsible for anyone but themselves, and therefore not connected to society the way others are
- And therefore understand where they do and do not have power.
- What they’re sometimes good for is
- Sending warnings
- Enforcing discipline and order (though utter lack of “chill”)
- Healing
- Providing wisdom
- But we should be wary of them given their tendency to:
- Poison or curse
- Disturb the peace
- Steal children
For lack of a better way of putting it, maybe a better way of dealing with unmoored, liminal women is to just ask the same sort of question Glinda the Good Witch asked Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz: “Are you a good witch, or a bad witch?”
So we should be asking about single women: Are they a good hag, or a bad hag? A good witch, or a bad witch?”
Just like we should be asking ourselves about unmoored, liminal men: “Are they a wizard or trickster? A wildman or marauder?”
But we should broadly acknowledge that these people don’t:
- Belong in positions of command over society (Lord of the Rings shows us what happens when wizards get power hungry; loads of tales including Snow White, the Chronicles of Narnia, and Sleeping Beauty, tell of the evils of witches in charge).
- Play main character roles in society, as they are at best supportive, and most commonly, destructive