Fayette News

I am Karen.  Hear Me Roar.

It seems there is a new perjorative term used in the United States and other English-speaking countries for a woman perceived as entitled. She is demanding beyond the scope of what is appropriate or necessary. The common stereotypical woman is white and who uses her privilege to demand her own way at the expense of others. You might know her (or yourself) when you hear (or say) her demand to “speak to the manager”. Other negative characteristics of this woman is she has anti-vaccination beliefs, racist, or sports a particular hairstyle (a bob). In 2020, the term used to describe this woman is increasingly being used as a general-purpose term of disapproval for a middle-aged white woman.

The name for this stereotype woman? KAREN. Hopefully it didn’t seem as though I partially behaved like one the other day in the supermarket. The only descriptions in a KAREN that might apply to me are my age, the color of my skin, and my haircut. Oh, and I asked to see the manager of the store. Well, I didn’t actually ask for the manager but a partner in crime did and she looked like me, too.

Let me explain.

I drove from Newnan to Peachtree City’s Fresh Market because of the advertisement for one of their meal deals. This particular meal contained four boneless pork chops, a side of mashed potatoes, a side of mixed vegetables, chipotle sauce, and half an apple pie all for twenty dollars. It was sixteen dollars off! So, the twenty mile drive was worth it and I go once a week anyway, mostly on Tuesdays.

But when I arrived they were out of boneless pork chops and chipotle sauce. While standing at the meat counter and finding they did have a few bone-in chops, I was considering buying them that way. A woman beside me in line (we were wearing masks) was as dumbfounded as I was about not finding what was advertised. If they were out, could they not offer us a ticket to come back another time and find the product like other grocery stores do when they are sold out?

The gal next to me was more in a tizzy than I was as she was counting on serving this already prepared dinner to guests that evening. We began identifying with each other’s plight. We both saw the bone-in pork chops and I heard her say to the butcher, “Is it possible to put together another meal with these pork chops in your case?” I chirped in, “I’d like that, too!”

Of course he didn’t know if that was allowed. We probably both said at the same time, “May we see your manager?” After a few moments of discussion with the manager, we got our wish, and they put together another meal for us with bone-in chops. But, uh-oh, they were out of the chipotle sauce that would make this meal more delectable and because there were no more on their shelves either, nor this flavor by another company, we had to have help deciding from which new sauce to add to this meal and keep within the same cost of the ‘meal deal of the day’.

The other KAREN and I received help to pull it all together and we were very happy. And why not? We kept on keeping on until we got our way. Although we were very pleasant with the Fresh Market associates and they were very helpful meeting our needs, we certainly didn’t stop trying to be creative with solving our problem. In other words, I think we were pushy.

So, I’d like to write this letter to the kind folks at Peachtree City Fresh Market:

Dear Fresh Market,

My new acquaintance and I are most appreciative for you help and service to create a new variation of your pork chop Meal Deal of the Day. Thank you for taking care of us.

Sincerely,

Karen