遇到“卡伦”是什么感觉

When two strangers walking by accused James "Jaime" Juanillo of damaging private property, the California man quickly began recording¹ the incident. A short time later, he put the video on social media. Since then the video has gone viral, with people watching it more than 23 million times.

Juanillo told VOA he thought the two strangers were going to accuse him of a crime.

"I came up recording not because I thought there was a potential for a viral video," he said, "but because I believed that I was going to need to prove my innocence²."

His "crime" was chalking a Black Lives Matter message on the wall in front of his home in the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco. The 50-year-old Filipino American shares the home with his husband and some friends.

In the video, a woman and her male partner, both white, walk toward Juanillo and ask whether he lives at the property. They then say they know he does not live there and suggest he is breaking the law.

The woman is identified as Lisa Alexander.

In the video, Juanillo is heard calmly refusing to answer any questions. He told VOA that what he experienced is an everyday form of racism³ that demands "your acceptance of their superiority and their supremacy⁴." The people making the accusations⁵ believe they have the right to "whatever answers [to questions] that they feel like" asking any person of color in any situation.

Alexander, the woman in the video, has been called a "Karen." The term is used to describe an entitled white woman who tries to use her position in society to make demands or threats without concern for the effect on others.

Where the term Karen first came from is unclear. Some say it comes from the 2004 movie "Mean Girls." Others say it came from humorist Dane Cook, who did a short piece about a friend nobody likes, a girl named Karen.

Wherever it came from, the term has changed over time, says Matt Schimkowitz. He works for Know Your Meme, a website that documents popular social media terms, viral videos and internet celebrities⁶.

"I think that the term took on a more serious meaning in the past year," he told VOA. He said it has become a "white cop-caller nickname." In other words, it is for white people, usually women, "calling the police on people of color for just usually living their lives or doing their jobs."

The turning point for the term, Schimkowitz says, came in May. That is when a white woman called police after a Black birdwatcher in New York's Central Park asked her to leash⁷ her dog. In that area of the park, known as The Ramble⁸, dogs are required to wear leashes⁹.

The man, a 57-year-old Harvard-educated science editor, was Christian¹⁰ Cooper. He recorded the incident. In the video, the woman threatens to tell police there is "an African American man threatening my life."

Just who a Karen is continues to change with the times. The term is also now used for a white woman who tries to cough on people because she thinks the coronavirus is not real. Other people have used the term for a white woman reacting angrily in a store after being asked to wear a face mask.

No male comparison to the term Karen has grown popular yet. This leads many people to debate the sexist meanings of Karen, and why we use it, Schimkowitz says.

But he thinks the word has become such a part of American culture that its use will likely continue. It can describe a specific kind of person in just one word, he notes, and these days most people would rather read something short.

Back in San Francisco, the police who took the call about Jaime Juanillo recognized him as a neighborhood resident and left without incident. Alexander and her partner released a public apology after the video went viral.

Juanillo told VOA that racism doesn't only mean "being executed on the streets of America. Sometimes it means being questioned for why you exist and where you exist." Someone can call the police, who carry guns, on you for innocent actions, like making chalk art, on property that is not theirs, that they have no connection to, he said.

I'm Alice Bryant.

Words in This Story

viral - adj. spreading very quickly to many people especially through the Internet

potential - n. a chance or possibility that something will happen

chalking - v. writing or drawing something with a type of soft, light-colored rock

superior - adj. better than other people

supremacy - n. the quality or state of having more power, authority, or status than anyone else

entitled - adj. believing oneself to be inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment

cop - n. a police officer

nickname - n. a name that is different from your real name but that people call you when they are talking to you or about you

leash - v. to attach a a long, thin piece of rope or chain to a dog or other animal

cough - n. to force air through your throat with a short, loud noise often because you are sick

1 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

2 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。

3 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

4 supremacy   

n.至上；至高权力

参考例句：

• No one could challenge her supremacy in gymnastics.她是最优秀的体操运动员，无人能胜过她。
• Theoretically,she holds supremacy as the head of the state.从理论上说，她作为国家的最高元首拥有至高无上的权力。

5 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

6 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

7 leash   

n.牵狗的皮带，束缚；v.用皮带系住

参考例句：

• I reached for the leash,but the dog got in between.我伸手去拿系狗绳，但被狗挡住了路。
• The dog strains at the leash,eager to be off.狗拼命地扯拉皮带，想挣脱开去。

8 ramble   

v.漫步，漫谈，漫游；n.漫步，闲谈，蔓延

参考例句：

• This is the best season for a ramble in the suburbs.这是去郊区漫游的最好季节。
• I like to ramble about the street after work.我下班后在街上漫步。

9 leashes   

n.拴猎狗的皮带( leash的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• What! are the people always to be kept on leashes? 究竟是什么一直束缚着人民？ 来自互联网
• But we do need a little freedom from our leashes on occasion. 当然有时也需要不受羁绊和一点点的自由。 来自互联网

10 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。