A viral video shows a male “Karen” using ableist slurs to mock children with developmental abilities, including at least one child with autism.
Twitter user @z0z0theb0z0 uploaded the video, which takes place in Brooklyn, New York’s Dyker Heights neighborhood, last Thursday.
“I am appalled by what I witnessed today,” she wrote. “This man decided to insert himself into a verbal argument (that did not involve him) against my family, which resulted in him referring to my autistic little sister as ‘r*******’ plus making fun of her stimming [self-stimulatory behavior] and self injury.”
The video begins just before the male Karen begins spewing offensive language at an unseen woman.
“Because you’re a weak-minded motherfucker, with a retarded fucking daughter, a retarded fucking son,” he says.
Another woman tells the male Karen to “cut it out,” while the videographer says, “It’s gonna get sent right to his job. You want to call people retarded.”
“She’s gonna bang her head on the wall with a helmet, right?” the male Karen continues.
“That’s sad that you have something to say about disabled children,” the videographer responds. “That’s really sad because we got it on video.”
Several prominent social media accounts have shared the video, including Twitter user @davenewworld_2. It also appeared on the r/PublicFreakout subreddit, where it has more than 500 upvotes.
“What a shame if his employer, the IRS, knew that they hired someone who likes making fun of innocent autistic children & calling them the R word….Not something I think a federal government agency would support,” @z0z0theb0z0 wrote in a follow-up tweet. She then tagged @IRSnews, @IRStaxpros, and @YourVoiceAtIRS.
Instantly, Twitter users were calling for the male Karen to lose his job and offering sympathy for the parent.
“God bless your little sister, your love for her will always cancel out the evil,” @jeproad tweeted. “And plus one day his words will lead him to a fierce right hook.”
Other Twitter users claimed to have identified the male Karen as Vincent Ventimiglia. They posted screenshots of his now-deleted LinkedIn profile and contact information at the IRS.
An IRS employee told the Daily Dot they would look to see if a Vincent Ventimiglia worked at the agency, or if anybody had filed a complaint against him.
Dyker Heights appears to have a history of terrible behavior and Trumpian attitudes. According to Gothamist, a pro-police rally in Dyker Heights this summer turned ugly when “some pro-police marchers yelled that they hoped protesters would be raped, calling them a c***, and made racist statements like saying Black lives were ‘garbage,’ among other explicit, racist, and sexist language.”
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