For Karen-haters, color trumps gender. Different people have different priorities for their grievances. Who knew?

The "ask to see the manager" problem is telling because too often the employee being questioned is Black and Karen hopes (or so the Karen-hater implies) that the manager is White. Instead of seeing an assertive woman not taking crap from a lousy employee, Karen-haters see a White woman putting down a Black employee.

Apparently, asking to see the manager is not in the Black skill set yet. It should be. Changing how cops act is one thing, but changing how oneself acts is easier and more effective. I can understand why some Black people may be not want to ask to see a Black employee's manager. But that does not make doing so any less necessary. Assertive PEOPLE ask to see the manager. If Black people cannot be assertive, they cannot be free.

One of my favorite movies about race is "Devil in a Blue Dress." In it, a Black detective faces problems that cause any White person to think "Just tell someone." But in 1946 LA, a Black man could not "just tell someone." There was no one to tell. Karen can tell someone. Black customers must ASSERT their right to do so, too. And, here's the painful irony: if you won't ask to see the manager because you don't want to get a Black employee in trouble, you should understand why cops don't snitch on cops. ("Snitches get stitches" is as much a Black thing as a blue thing.)

As in so many projects, the devil of achieving equality is in the details. That “Karen asks to see the manager" meme is one of those details. Pull on that thread, and a whole lot of assumptions unravel.