A young man drew the wrath of a “Karen” in Florida earlier this week after holding up a protest sign on a street corner.
The incident began when Phyllis Kahn and her daughter Angelina, two Black women, witnessed a young white man at an intersection in Wellington.
The man, who was by himself, was holding up a sign that stated, “Black Lives Fucking Matter” in an “affluent white suburb.”
Kahn, according to BuzzFeed News, circled back with her daughter to thank the man for his lone protest.
“It was just so touching to see a white male standing out on the corner and actually trying to protect a cause and support the community,” Kahn said. “Angelina and I were in tears. We had to go back and support him.”
While driving up to the man, Angelina rolled down her window.
“All it takes is one,” she said.
But just moments later, the protester, 23-year-old Shane Meyers, was met with a much different reaction.
A woman referred to only as Karen, a slang term used to describe a middle-aged white woman who throws public tantrums, approached Meyers after calling the police.
Footage filmed by Meyers shows the woman complaining to deputies that the sign is “going to crank up the wrong people.”
“I don’t want to be driving and have bullets shot at me because they’re upset,” the woman said.
The deputy on scene goes on to explain that “unfortunately” Meyers’ sign is protected speech.
“Unfortunately, he’s allowed to stand here with a sign that says whatever he wants to say on it,” the deputy said.
But Karen wasn’t having any of it.
“I’m just upset because I don’t want to get caught if there starts rioting because of your sign,” she added.
Meyers responded by stating that he’s “upset because black and brown lives are at risk every single day in this country.”
The video ultimately ends with Meyers calling the woman a “snowflake” for being offended by the profanity on his sign.
With nothing else to be done, the deputies left the scene. The incident went viral after both Angelina and Meyers posted their footage to TikTok.
The encounter quickly spread online, leading many to call for more protesters on the street corner.
“Damn. Let’s not all go to the corner of 441 and Forest Hill Blvd in Wellington FLon Friday June 5 at 10AM and March west into the village,” Twitter user @Unfiltered_Cole sarcastically said. “Let’s not do that.”
The call to action appears to have worked. On Tuesday, around half a dozen people showed up. By Friday, dozens were standing on the street corner.
That wasn’t all. A group of the protesters even went to city hall to meet with the mayor.
Some estimates claim that over 100 people had joined in by Friday, all thanks to one protester and the internet’s disdain for Karens.
The incident is one of many in recent days as widespread protests and the coronavirus pandemic have brought Karens out in full force.
READ MORE:
- ‘Karen cops’ ask to speak to restaurant worker’s manager after she allegedly said ‘Black Lives Matter’
- What does it mean to be a ‘Karen’?
- Meet Qaren, Karen’s conspiracy theorist cousin
H/T BuzzFeed News