Boosting Karen

“Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain.” » Lily Tomlin

One of the things I was cautioned against, in my pre-retirement prep, was "surfing the net." This was identified by my SME as a "waste of time" and "you will never fix stupid." Aha! It's not a waste of time if I get a blog out of it, and can suggest you buy one of my novels.

There is a continuing saga of memes politely called "Shut up, Carl," or sometimes "Shut the f*ck up, Carl." By the situations in which Carl has made some pronouncement, only to be shouted down by someone else, Carl is not the brightest bulb in the string.

One often finds Carl inadvertently firing a rocket ("Hey, what does this button do?"), at the range ("Pew, Pew") or as a RIO in an F-14 ("Highway to the danger zone..."). One need not see too many of these to draw the conclusion - if someone calls you "Carl" and your name is...I dunno...Jim, that's not a compliment.

Fast forward to yesterday. Looking for blogging material, or mindlessly surfing the net (take your pick) I came across a site that specializes in cop humor, cleverly titled "Cop Humor." As one can imagine, the jokes are a bit edgy. We... Well, I guess now it's they, employ remarkably dark humor to maintain something of an even keel in difficult situations.

Which brings me to the point...finally. There is apparently a branch of "STFU Carl" that features "Karen" as some kind of prototypical annoying female. Go ahead, Google it. I'll still be here when you get back.

Hello, again. The meme I posted here certainly is subject to interpretation. One is the call we've all been on where "Karen" can actually be almost anyone, including "Ken." They called for the police to solve a problem of Karen/Ken's own making and are aghast that the officers do not immediately implement their suggested solution.

The other - I'm sort of wondering here if Karen is a co-worker, or supervisor. Those of you who know me, or have read my stuff, know that I count among my best friends and most trusted colleagues a number of women police officers - street cops, detectives, supervisors. We've worked together on SWAT, bike patrol, on complex investigations and in critical situations where their excellent judgment and decision making kept everyone safe. I've put my life in the hands of women cops, and recently retired in one piece.

And then, there is Karen Sorenson. Anyone who's read Out of Ideas or The Heart of the Matter knows Karen - bright, athletic, tough and talented. She's the kind of police officer I loved working with because I wrote her that way. Her character is derived from real-life people - women I've watched close up, and from afar. From a reviewer:

 In addition to all of the above, James A. Greer gives readers insight into the soul of a female law enforcer and by so doing enlightens us on the trials and tribulations of real-life females who devote themselves to protecting us.

So, folks. Every time you see a Karen meme - it's telling you subliminally "Buy a Karen book!" by clicking on the above links. It's all good.

Trust me on that.