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Entitled Mom Won’t Move Her Kid Out Of The Way Of An Inflatable Slide, Ends Up Regretting It
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Entitled Mom Won’t Move Her Kid Out Of The Way Of An Inflatable Slide, Ends Up Regretting It

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No matter who you are, most people have encountered a person who is so entitled and delusional, that they really think they always know better than someone else. Unfortunately, more often than not, this means making it everyone else’s issue. But, every now and then, upstanding folks have an opportunity to make them experience the error of their ways.

A man shared a story of his past experience as an inflatable slide attendant when a “Karen” decided that the normal rules don’t apply to her kid. We reached out to the man in question via private message and will update the article when he gets back to us.

Some people think they are entitled to special treatment at all times

Image credits: Peter Corbett (not the actual photo)

But one man decided to show a “Karen” exactly why one needed to get out of the way of an inflatable slide

Image credits: Liza Summer (not the actual photo)

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Image credits: Stevan Sheets (not the actual photo)

Image source: Bass-Overflow

The “entitled and rude” customer or client has been around for hundreds of years

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Image source: Alex Green (not the actual photo)

The first thing some might notice is that the man in the story decided to label this mom as a “Karen.” For those who are unaware, a “Karen” is, generally, a woman who is particularly entitled and demanding, often towards service workers. It’s worth noting that a “Karen” doesn’t have to be a woman, for example, Elon Musk has, at times, been referred to as a “Space Karen.” The internet is already littered with stories of “Karen’s” of all shapes and sizes shooting themselves in the food.

There have been attempts to substitute “Karen” with “Ken” or “Kevin” for men, but none have stuck as much as the original. However, if you are named Karen, do not fear. As maligned as this name might seem now, there is a decent chance that some incident might end up changing it.

For example, the originally entitled difficult person in the US was “Miss Ann,” specifically referring to white women in the antebellum south. This term died off after the Civil War, while the 1990s equivalent was “Becky.” You’ll notice that Becky does not at all carry this pejorative meaning anymore.

Between “Becky” and “Karen,” there was the more non-specific term of a “Soccer mom.” There is some evidence that this term has been around since the 1980s, after the (male) treasure of the “Soccer Moms booster club” of Ludlow, Massachusetts stole some funds. However, the more “modern” meaning, commonly found in the 2000s, refers to an upper-middle-class woman with strong opinions.

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The current iteration of Karen isn’t even a decade old

Image source: The Karens (not the actual photo)

The idea of a Karen only solidified in around 2016 or 2017. One possible origin is a character in an ad for the Nintendo Switch whose behavior was deemed quite unlikable. She ended up being referred to as the “antisocial Karen.” A year later, a dedicated internet group was established to share stories and experiences dealing with every sort of “Karen.” Interestingly, it only took on racial connotations in 2020, after a white woman called the police on a black man who was birdwatching in Central Park. However, American American writer and journalist Karen Attiah argues that it should not be considered a racially-charged term, as it lacks the history. Others have argued that “taking a stand” against the term is just undermining actual fights against real slurs. Similarly, as stated before, this term is likely to change or be replaced at some point anyway.

It’s telling that most people can almost immediately identify a “Karen” through the combination of behavior and a pretty distinctive hairstyle. Kansas State University professor Heather Suzanne Woods describes them, much like the mom in this story, as people who “demand the world exist according to her standards with little regard for others, and she is willing to risk or demean others to achieve her ends.”

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In this particular case, she was risking her child while also impeding all the other folks who wanted to use the slide. Similarly, she had decided that she understood the inner workings of the slide and that all the other kids would simply have to wait because asking her kid to move a few feet away to jump around was inconceivable. Like most of the “Karen” stories one can find online or from personal experience, it raises questions about how these people manage to navigate the real world at all.

While it’s a bit unfortunate that the child had to suffer for his mom’s hubris, but, as some commenters (more of which can be found below) noted, this could be a fantastic learning moment. The sad reality is that the mother is unlikely to learn much from this experience and will no doubt mentally spin it to make herself the victim. But at least there is a chance that her child won’t suffer the same fate. Because at some point, being entitled and rude will end up hurting you in the end.

People shared their thoughts and the man gave some more details

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Justin Sandberg

Justin Sandberg

Writer, BoredPanda staff

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I am a writer at Bored Panda. Despite being born in the US, I ended up spending most of my life in Europe, from Latvia, Austria, and Georgia to finally settling in Lithuania. At Bored Panda, you’ll find me covering topics ranging from the cat meme of the day to red flags in the workplace and really anything else. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, beating other people at board games, cooking, good books, and bad films.

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Justin Sandberg

Justin Sandberg

Writer, BoredPanda staff

I am a writer at Bored Panda. Despite being born in the US, I ended up spending most of my life in Europe, from Latvia, Austria, and Georgia to finally settling in Lithuania. At Bored Panda, you’ll find me covering topics ranging from the cat meme of the day to red flags in the workplace and really anything else. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, beating other people at board games, cooking, good books, and bad films.

Ieva Pečiulytė

Ieva Pečiulytė

Author, BoredPanda staff

Read more »

I'm a Visual Editor for Bored Panda. I’m also an analog collage artist. My love for images and experience in layering goes well with both creating collages by hand and working with digital images as an Editor. When I’m not using my kitchen area as an art studio I also do various experiments making my own cosmetics or brewing kombucha. When I’m not at home you would most definitely find me attending a concert or walking my dog.

Read less »

Ieva Pečiulytė

Ieva Pečiulytė

Author, BoredPanda staff

I'm a Visual Editor for Bored Panda. I’m also an analog collage artist. My love for images and experience in layering goes well with both creating collages by hand and working with digital images as an Editor. When I’m not using my kitchen area as an art studio I also do various experiments making my own cosmetics or brewing kombucha. When I’m not at home you would most definitely find me attending a concert or walking my dog.

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annaekberg avatar
Anna Ekberg
Community Member
4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ugh, reading the third comment of this story. How was OP negligent? He warned the mum and she didn't care or wanted to make a point, who knows but the poor kid ended up paying for her stupidity. 🤷‍♀️

zoe_x_ avatar
Zoe Vokes
Community Member
4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

OP was probably a teenager / young adult with very little training and just instructions to keep the ride flowing smoothly. It’s not like he’s running the park. There might not even have been security there to remove the mother if needed. What is he supposed to do? “Everybody else go home. This mother has said no to leaving so the ride is now closed.”

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21khan6573 avatar
AKA AKA
Community Member
1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

i really wish the 'bigger' kid had hit the karen instead, sent her flying back to planet karen.

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annaekberg avatar
Anna Ekberg
Community Member
4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ugh, reading the third comment of this story. How was OP negligent? He warned the mum and she didn't care or wanted to make a point, who knows but the poor kid ended up paying for her stupidity. 🤷‍♀️

zoe_x_ avatar
Zoe Vokes
Community Member
4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

OP was probably a teenager / young adult with very little training and just instructions to keep the ride flowing smoothly. It’s not like he’s running the park. There might not even have been security there to remove the mother if needed. What is he supposed to do? “Everybody else go home. This mother has said no to leaving so the ride is now closed.”

Load More Replies...
21khan6573 avatar
AKA AKA
Community Member
1 day ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

i really wish the 'bigger' kid had hit the karen instead, sent her flying back to planet karen.

Load More Comments
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