People Share Worst "Karen" Parent Stories
Ahhh, Karens...We've all had the misfortune of dealing with them at some point (especially if a person has ever worked in retail), but imagine how terrible it would be to have a "Karen" for a parent? Sadly, that's a reality for many people...
That's why when Redditor u/Character-Escape1621 asked "People whose moms are Karens, what was the worst thing she's ever done?" Individuals raised by "Karens" flooded the comments with stories of their parents' worst moments, and these are FAR beyond "I would like to speak to the manager." Without further ado, here are 17 of their most cringe-inducing tantrums:
"Years ago, I was at the mall with my mom and sister, and we saw a pretzel shop that sold lemonade, so we walked over and bought three lemonades, then went to the food court to grab some pizza. We sat down, began eating, and noticed the lemonade tasted bad. My sister and I were thirsty and drank it anyway, but our mother didn't drink hers and complained the entire time."
"When my mother didn't get her way after trying to return an item, she held her arms straight out to the side while walking out, so tons of merchandise fell off the racks and onto the floor."
"Years ago, my mother was acquainted with a neighbor who owned a local fast-food restaurant and constantly complained about how expensive the ketchup and sauce packets were."
"My mom is an extremely judgmental and condescending person, but cowardly. She used to love talking sh*t about people right in front of them by speaking Spanish and assuming they didn't understand her."
"One time we were in line at the grocery store, and she was making fun of the cashier's weight. I replied to her (in Spanish) and told her to stop talking about people that way, but she insisted the cashier couldn't understand her. I told her that if the cashier said something to her, I would not defend her.When it was our turn to check out, the cashier only spoke to us in Spanish! Just pleasantries like 'I hope you're having a wonderful day,' and 'Did you find everything you're looking for?' She never said a word about my mother's remarks, but she let my mother know, in a classy way, that she understood everything. We paid, and while leaving, my mother said she would tell my sister (also a Karen) about the situation so she could complain about the cashier."
"I took a hard turn towards the customer service desk, asked for the store manager, and gave a glowing review of the cashier — how efficient and polite she was, and how it was so kind of her to speak to us in Spanish when we lived in a town with very few Spanish speakers. I didn't discuss my mother's nasty comments or the cashier's classy response. The store manager smiled happily, told me it was nice to compliment someone, and thanked me."
"My mom once hit the bumper of another vehicle in a parking lot. She was going to walk away, but some people who witnessed it called her out and told her to do the right thing. She made a huge deal about writing her name and number on a piece of paper to leave under the wipers. The witnesses entered the store while she was doing this, and the vehicle's owners showed up around the same time, inspected the damage, said it wasn't a big deal, and drove off."
"This is the first incident that came to mind, but there are so many: My mother saw a puddle of water on the floor of a shoe store and took it as an opportunity to fake an injury and sue. She pretended to slip and fall and splayed herself on the floor in front of the store's entryway while moaning in 'pain.'"
"When I was 11 or 12, I won a 'science award' and a 'student award' because I had the second-best grades in the class. My mother was outraged that I received two awards while my twin sister didn't win any, so she went to the school and raised hell. The school created a new category just for my sister and gave her a 'music award.'"
"When I was young, I often accompanied my mom to the grocery store. One morning, she filled the cart with frozen pot pies. A store employee tried to stop her because they were on sale, and she didn't leave any for other shoppers."
"I played high school softball for exactly one season, and one season only because my mother's version of 'cheering' was more akin to yelling, 'Why did you miss that?' Or 'Do I need to come show you how to do that?' I hated when she showed up to my games."
"My grandfather, mother, and I went to a chain restaurant for cheap takeout when I was about six. My mother asked for an extra container of gravy, and when the cashier rang it up, they charged her $0.40. She lost it. She never asked if the price had gone up (it hadn't), she immediately started berating a teenager over literal pennies while she was buying $50 worth of fast-food chicken."
"My mother used to go into stores she deemed 'fancy' and make the sales assistants wait on her hand and foot, waste their time by demanding to be shown multiple items, try on jewelry etc., then say 'Well, I'll have to go home and think about it' and leave."
"My mom once requested a refund because her burger had one pickle instead of two. I just watched in embarrassment while she and the woman at the counter went back and forth."
"During Covid, my mom was an anti-mask 'Karen.' Towards the end of lockdown, she went to a local drugstore to pick up a prescription. Of course, she didn't wear a mask inside, so when one of the workers (she described him as a teenager) came over to ask her to put one on, she threw a fit and used the infamous 'I want to speak to your manager' line. The manager gave in to her demands and she grabbed her prescription and left. After the ordeal, she called me to tell me what she did, as if she were proud of herself."
"My mom has chronic health conditions, but she always yells and curses at the patient care techs in the ER. These techs aren't equipped to de-escalate conflict, so they often yell back at her, and then she tries to act like they started it."
"I'll preface this by saying that this happened during an already bad situation, but I don't believe it condoned this behavior: My grandmother had been sick while my mother and I were on vacation. We were getting ready to go to a museum when we learned she had passed away. We decided to go to the museum and enjoy our vacation as best we could because there was nothing else we could do."
"My mom has hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), which is easily managed by eating anything."
"When I was younger, there were signs that my mother was a 'Karen.' I remember her changing my sister's diaper on restaurant tables and getting mad at people who judged her. Situations like that were common."
Did any of these "Karen" stories surprise you? People who grew up with a "Karen" parent, what is your most embarrassing memory of their behavior? Tell us in the comments or answer using the anonymous form below!
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