Not individually but as a function of society. These people keep standards high, even the ones who are unreasonable. I don’t like them and I would hate to deal with them but in contrast they make reasonable people appear reasonable. If there were no Karen’s you might get attitude for asking for a clean spoon. So have some appreciation for these horrible people.
There is an enormous gulf between a Karen and someone with standards. Karens don’t just have high standards. They have an overweening sense of entitlement, a disparaging attitude toward anybody not-them, an incredibly racist attitude toward non-white people, and are just generally the kind of sociopath you get when parents never introduced their children to the word “no” while growing up.
How does calling the cops on a child selling lemonade at a lemonade stand “keep standards high”?
How does calling the cops on someone (correctly!) telling her that her dog isn’t supposed to be in a park “keep standards high”? (In this case it seems directed at doing the opposite!)
How does accusing random (“coincidentally” black) people in a hotel lobby of stealing a phone “keep standards high”?
How does calling the cops on a 12-year-old for “sexual assault” when a backpack brushes her “keep standards high”?
Karens don’t do things to keep standards high. They do things to keep themselves high on their own egos.
I work at a restaurant, and I encountered great examples of this today. I was wiping tables, and a woman saw me walk past one table and stopped me to tell me that there’s was debris in the chair to which she was afraid someone would sit in it. That’s sensible!
I had another guest tell other guests that my restaurant was trying to steal from the guests because because a side of chips (crisps for you europeans) cost money. $1.50. A WHOLE $1.50 for an endless supply while you ate in the store!
Which would you call a Karen?
I’m not sure our definitions of a Karen are aligned. I would say they are overly entitled to a point that is unreasonable, there are many other aspects of people you can combine yes. I don’t think all Karen’s are racists though some are. My point wasn’t about them directly keeping standards high. I am pointing out that they keep the heat off those who do act reasonably by being over the top. If the highest standard was a person asking for a (completely) clean spoon, people may wonder what their problem is, that spoon is clean enough.