We should pity the stereotypical “Karen”. These are women nursing a burning resentment at the world, with hearts full of hate, their only armor their massively over-inflated sense of entitlement. They look and sound deeply unhappy: the only thing that gives them a glimmer of joy is dragging others down into their misery.
But then we watch yet another TikTok of a Karen doing Karen things, and any pity soon dries up. This week’s candidate is a truly unpleasant incident at a Kansas Burger King in which a woman who identifies herself as Cathy Brown begins abusing staff before… you guessed it, demanding to speak to the manager.
@retail.nightmare I think the manager handled it great #burgerking #customerservice #retailnightmare
♬ original sound – Retail Nightmare#manager customer called an young employee sir (credits yt Author Schaper)
The incident stems from Cathy antagonizing a Burger King staff member named Lily by repeatedly calling them “Sir” and “young man”. It seems that Cathy is convinced that Lily is trans because she’s wearing a pride badge but – and I have to emphasize this – there’s absolutely nothing else in the video to confirm Lily is trans. All I can say is that if Lily is trans, she’s 100% passing as a woman.
Cathy has a bee in her bonnet because after Lily corrected her “multiple times” that she’s not a “Sir”, Lily apparently sarcastically called her “Sir” back. For Cathy, this cannot and will not stand: “You don’t get to correct me! I will address you as what I see!”
Lady, this is a Burger King. Just order your fast food, take the bag, and leave the hard-working staff alone.
Infinite patience
The manager is then summoned, with Cathy explaining she’s a “first amendment lawyer” who’s going to record this whole thing. The manager then calmly listens to Cathy’s rambling and self-entitled spiel with the utmost politeness and patience, pointedly telling her she’ll speak about the incident with “Miss Lily”.
Then Cathy is politely but firmly given both barrels:
“We just hope our guests don’t insult our team members either. … I’m going to ask you to leave. This is private property. I do have the right to ask you to leave.”
Realizing things may not be going to plan (the plan presumably being to get Lily fired on the spot), Cathy plays the only card she knows how to play. She demands to see the manager’s manager! The exasperated but calm manager says she owns this branch, insinuating that Cathy can then, as they say, ‘do one’.
The cherry on top of all this is that this video was shot by Cathy, who presumably was so proud of herself that she felt the need to post it online for the world to see. Well, the world has seen it! Their verdict? “Cathy Brown is a b***h”.
