‘Tell it like it is’ is a collection of (often) angry op-ed letters from various sources, some real and some highly questionable. But they amused us, so we posted them.
So, you walk into the public park to get some lush shots of the foliage and well kept grounds that our city workers have spent so much of our tax dollars to maintain. The community centre with the lovely stone wall is a great addition to the B-roll footage. The lake at the edge of the city can be breathtakingly beautiful. Still, no matter what you want to do, be it a government owned building or a pedestrian sidewalk, there’s a plague that’s been cast upon humanity. That plague, that makes Covid look like a rash……is called a “Karen.”
Every city, town, and country has them. With the advent of the internet and picture taking phone type devices, they’ve been well documented for their often ridiculous outbursts. While not solely limited to middle aged white women (all ages, colours, genders) with a particular hairstyle, they are everywhere. In my experience, there’s no better way to draw them out than to start filming or snapping photos in public.
I am a Canadian filmmaker. Well, sort of. I always find myself involved in some project that requires simple footage. An interview on a public street. Shots of a wooded area in public or from a public vantage point. Or, stock bits of a lobby in a public building. Notice how many times I said “public?” Yeah. Of course you did! Well, no sooner do I start on my work which I always do in a quiet and non-invasive way, than a goddamn Karen shows up! Sometimes, the Karen is a public employee. Sometimes they’re in uniform. But most often, it’s some entitled twit that demands to know why you are filming! Oh yeah, there’s also male Darrens and their silent bystander accomplice known as the “Standard Chad.”
It’s bad. They squawk, they demand, and they sometimes squeal so loud that a dog two towns over suddenly perks up and looks around. One such frappuccino chugging member of the species screeched so loud in the parkette two streets over, my cats stared out the window wondering what manner of bird could make such a blood curdling shriek! The men are just as bad sometimes, even worse. They stomp, cry, act like tyrants when they’re wearing badges, but man oh man….it’s not even about gender.
Don’t take my word for it. Go and look at the various types that harangue our brethren right here in Canada and across the US of A when they are merely out and about doing a wee bit of filming. Those Charter of Freedoms and First Amendment auditors get it even worse FROM THEIR OWN PUBLIC SERVANTS!
You know what? I have a simple exercise for these types; Instead of worrying about what artists or activists are doing with cameras, maybe count how many cameras are actually filming you each and every day. So, when I’m minding my own business and exercising my public rights, maybe you ought to flock off back to your anti vaxx chatroom, your passive aggressive “put down” wine social, or getting a god awful haircut! Leave me alone!
Oh yeah, don’t ask to speak to the manager; they’re dead! They died just to get away from you! Go to Hell!
Sincerely,
Print Stock Patrick
