The Call of the Karen

2020 saw the addition of many new words and phrases to our cultural lexicon - "social distancing," "herd immunity" (or "herd mentality"), "faithless electors," and many others, many related to the coronavirus pandemic, the election, or the racial justice protests of the summer.  One particular piece of online slang really jumped into the mainstream, to the point where I was even seeing it in headlines from major newspapers.

"Karen."

A "Karen", as defined by Urban Dictionary, is typically described as a middle-aged white woman who is insistent on getting her way and complains incessantly, often with a demand to speak to a manager.  Everyone who has ever worked in customer service (and yes, though we like to put on airs sometimes, we zoo and aquarium folks really do) has dealt with what could be described as a Karen.

The term has become fraught with charges of sexism (there is supposedly a less-often used male version, though no one can agree on what name it should be), not least of all from women who are actually named "Karen" (though I suspect we'll see far fewer of them in the future).  Tucker Carlson has indignantly called "Karen" an ethnic slur, likening it to "the n word," though to be honest if you can't even say "the n word," that to me suggests that that word is much worse.  Besides, Tucker Carlson is always indignant about anything... I digress.

Like many slang words that enter the public domain, this one can be distorted and overused, and some people go so far as to throw the label at anyone who raises any complaint or wants to speak to management, no matter how polite they are or how reasonable their concern is.

So, just throwing this out here for any zoo or aquarium visitors - it is okay to raise concerns and voices worries, dare I even say complaints.  Please be reasonable and polite, but if you see something that concerns you, you should be free to say it without ridicule.  If an animal looks bad, or an enclosure seems inadequate, it's fair game.  Sometimes things really are fine, and an explanation can be offered that satisfies everyone.  I had a woman who was very concerned one day that our turtles didn't have any water.  I explained that it was because they were desert tortoises and all they needed was some drinking water, not a pond that they could drown in.  Problem solved.  Or, a visitor raises a concern about an animal that is limping or seems worn.  Letting them know that the animal is just elderly and/or under veterinary care tells them that the situation is being taken care of and no one is being left to suffer.

Thank them for caring.  It's better than them not caring.  Sometimes, visitors who raise concerns are the first ones to let us know of a problem.  They have a lot more eyes than we do.

Not all concerns are animal related, either.  We may think that a facility is accessible, but a person in a wheelchair may let us know that no, it really isn't.  If that's their actual experience, who are we to argue with it?

Some complaints are ridiculous (no, I am not putting shock-collars on the animals to keep them from breeding in front of your kids - they have to learn sometime), some are delivered rudely, and some are downright malicious.  Those we can deal with one on one.  But we should never discourage visitors from making their voices heard.  Sometimes, complaints are the oil that greases the wheels of progress.