A video shows a white man near Portland, Oregon, spitting on a Black census worker and accusing him of being a member of antifa. He and his son have been dubbed “Male Karens” after the clip went viral overnight.
The video, initially uploaded to TikTok in two parts by @daughternature3, shows the census worker standing at the bottom of the homeowner’s steps as the homeowner verbally accosts him.
“I got a bike. You’re saying I look like antifa?” the census worker says, referring to the left-wing protest group. “Look at my phone, buddy. It says U.S. Census. It’s a whole pandemic outside.”
“You’re wearing a black fucking mask,” the homeowner responds. “You look like antifa, motherfucker.”
He continues: “I’m tired of people dressed in black masks, black helmets, burning down the city of Portland.”
The worker continues to insist that he’s a census worker riding his bike from house to house, hence the helmet. Nevertheless, the homeowner persists in grilling him.
“You’re not answering my question,” he says. “Are you fucking antifa?”
“You know what I did?” the census worker tells the homeowner. “All I did was just work, work in the area.”
At that point, another person—presumably the homeowner’s son—comes out of the house and starts harassing the census worker.
“Get the fuck out of here,” the boy says. “I don’t care what you have to say. Get the fuck out.”
“You’re a fucking idiot,” the census worker says as he prepares to leave. At that point, somebody offscreen—seemingly the son—spits on him, as he asks, “Who the fuck you spitting on?”
The video was uploaded to the r/PublicFreakout subreddit last night, where it has received nearly 7,000 upvotes. It has received 680 comments in the Karen-centric subreddit, “Fuck You Karen.” While some commenters wished the census worker had called the cops on the homeowner, others doubted it would have done any good.
“He’s Black, the cops would’ve just shot him and got a promotion,” one user wrote.
