Deputy Karen McMuffin: ‘I’m just so sick of people being mean’

KarenSlideshow

Yesterday, we talked about the bonkers viral video of “Officer Karen,” a white woman cop who filmed herself having a weepy breakdown because she had to wait for her egg McMuffin at McDonald’s. She cried because her McMuffin didn’t come out quickly, and she cried because she couldn’t “see” it being made, thus she felt like McDonald’s employees were going to poison her because she’s a cop. She ended the video by saying this through her sobs: “If you see an officer, just tell them thank you, because I don’t hear ‘thank you’ enough anymore.” Yeah. Here’s the video again:

Even if I felt generous (I do not) and said that this is just a woman having a really bad day or a really bad morning, that doesn’t excuse the fact that she is just another Karen weaponizing her white tears to attack overworked and underpaid service employees at a McDonalds. Officer Karen McMuffin knew what she was doing, and her “supporters” gleefully identified the McDonalds and began a hate campaign. Even Don Trump Jr. was tweeting about Officer Karen with sympathy, meaning this is some kind of MAGA cause now. And that’s just one part of it – the fact that this woman who got hysterical and weepy at her own IMAGINED persecution is startling and disturbing. She should not have a gun. She should not have authority over anyone.

Karen McMuffin’s real name is Stacy Talbert, and she’s a deputy with the McIntosh County Sheriff’s office in Georgia. The McDonalds she went to is in Richmond Hill, Georgia (outside of Savannah). In her Facebook post with the video, she posted this message: “Please share because no one should feel like this. Law enforcement or not, this is truly how we feel.” Yeah, WE KNOW. We know this is how cops truly feel: aggrieved over nothing, hysterical at the idea that someone, somewhere might be persecuting them, and incapable of waiting a few minutes for a McMuffin without throwing a tantrum. Deputy McMuffin also spoke to a local NBC affiliate about how her video went viral:

McIntosh County, Georgia, sheriff’s Officer Stacy Talbert told NBC News that she recorded herself in a Facebook Live video Monday morning after an overnight shift, not out of fear but to share her frustration.

“It’s not that people are waiting in the wings to hurt us,” she said Wednesday. “It’s that people don’t trust us.”

In an interview Wednesday night, Talbert said the video had nothing to do with McDonald’s, which she said she visits frequently.

“Everybody lost the whole point of the video,” she said. “I’m just so sick of people being mean.”

[From NBC News]

“I’m so sick of people being mean,” says the woman who had her White Fragility video amplified by the worst hate-mongers on the internet, all to get revenge on McDonalds’ employees who made her wait a few minutes for a McMuffin. AND THIS IS WHY PEOPLE DON’T TRUST COPS. Jesus.

The fact that this happened in Georgia too… my God. Last weekend, Atlanta cops murdered Rayshard Brooks, an unarmed black man who fell asleep in a Wendy’s drive-through. Yesterday, those cops were arrested and charged. Hours later, Atlanta cops did a “sick-out” and refused to show up for their shifts. This is what we’re dealing with. Entitled babies with badges and guns who want to kill everybody who inconveniences them in the slightest, and then when anyone questions them, they throw tantrums and refuse to do their jobs.

Photo courtesy of video.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

80 Responses to “Deputy Karen McMuffin: ‘I’m just so sick of people being mean’”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. BlueSky says:

    An exercise in white fragility. “Can’t we brutalize black and brown people in peace?” Entitled a$$holes. If only law enforcement showed sympathy for the black and brown people, but yeah sure. I will say “thank you” for police officers who won’t hesitate to kill me because they can and will get away with it.

    • whatWHAT? says:

      Their “thanks” is THEIR PAYCHECK. They CHOOSE to hold that job, and they get paid for it. out of my taxes.

      so there’s your “thanks”, Officer Karen Whitetears. if you were a volunteer, like so many of the fire fighters around here, I’d feel different.

      regarding the “sick out”…THAT is why people say “there are no good cops”. because when a cop murders someone and is charged appropriately, they close ranks and support the murderer. “good cops” don’t protect and support bad cops.

      • Agirlandherdog says:

        Also, they’re choosing a job that is inherently stressful. Their lives could be threatened every time they put on the uniform and go to work, and they need to be able to handle highly stressful situations. I do not begrudge anyone their emotions or their need to cry. However, if you can’t keep your cool over a breakfast sandwich, I really think you should consider another line of work.

      • beccab says:

        Exactly-they chose this line of work and get a check. She also needs a mental health check in. Someone on the edge over a McMuffin and feeling not appreciated by the public she is paid to serve should not have a weapon.

  2. Piratewench says:

    Oh are you, officer karen? Are you sick of people being mean? Are you?
    My god.

    Black people are sick of being shot in the back. Black people are sick of being treated like outright criminals for just existing.

    Every white person who isn’t doing more, to the point where he or she feels uncomfortable and vulnerable right now, is doing it wrong. Every white person who is still being fragile as f*** (which as a white lady I’ve been very fragile but it’s time to toughen up and be of help, not a hindrance) is still part of the problem.

    • Lizzie Bathory says:

      ^^^all of this

    • Liz version 700 says:

      Amen. White people (of which I am one) need to learn to be OK with uncomfortable and hear the truth. We need to toughen up or step up to help our fellow human beings who are being shot in the back or kneed to death. She is hysterical about breakfast while her fellow human beings people are scared of being murdered just for existing! It shows glaringly how entitled cops feel. Bow down to us or we will throw the internet on you or maybe shoot you omg

    • Heather says:

      All I could think of, as she whined, was: she must have a reason to be nervous! What has Karen done in the “line of duty” to make her afraid of her McDonald’s order?

  3. SM says:

    If I was generous (trying) I would say there is also a difference in pressure for cops too, the pressure of encountering a criminal is just not the same as waiting in your car for a muffin, so sick of people projecting something into themselves just so they could excuse themselves from accountability and acting as victims with no reason whatsoever. I mean who is she? Is she just trying to inject herself into the current debate to feel important?

    • goofpuff says:

      no, she just enjoys being the victim. Makes her feel important in her own hero narrative. honestly if you don’t trust the employees maybe NOT go there?

      • Darla says:

        how about don’t go there in your uniform? come on! Yeah I do think some people spit in cops’ food. btw some racist aholes spit in black people’s food, so think about that. And they can’t leave their skin color at home. Shut up whiney, and put on a tee and jeans when you go get food. As for during their shifts, they have their friendlies, they know where they can safely go. So shut it.

      • greenmonster says:

        But Darla, how can people pay for her food and thank her, if she doesn’t pick up her food in uniform? Life is tough for Karen-Stacey.

  4. greenmonster says:

    People are also sick of getting killed because of the melanin in their skin. But please, Karen… go on. Tell us how people are mean to you.

    Also, she doesn’t hear the words ‘thank you’ enough? Thank you for what???? For doing her job? I can’t believe Officer Karen is actually demanding people to thank her. THIS is the mentality a lot of cops have – they don’t go into this field to help the community. They want others to bow down and praise them.

    • Wendy says:

      Weird that she specifically mentions that she bought her food through the mobile app so that no one else would try to buy her food, then she whines about not getting thanked enough. Like getting free meals all the time isn’t a thank you? God, she’s so dumb.

      • greenmonster says:

        Free food and an extra ‘thank you’ and don’t forget to bow down while moving away from her. This woman is ridiculous. She thinks people have missed the point of her McMuffin meltdown moment, while she is missing the whole point of the Black Lives Matter movement.

    • Liz version 700 says:

      Yes Greenmonster! I saw that weird show Live PD a couple of times and that cemented for me that exact attitude that you describe. And those were the cops they were willing to put on TV. They are entitled and expect hero worship.

  5. Wendy says:

    I like how the ad at the end of the post, for saggy white lady jowls, blended right into the post itself. Whewwwww.

  6. Andrea says:

    Honestly, did anyone else think this was an SNL skit?! It’s actually comical. BLM members are being murdered in the streets, but yes, McDonald’s employees are intentionally trying to poison you.

    • josephine says:

      If she ordered from a mobile app, how is that anyone knew she was a cop? I just don’t get that part of her meltdown/conspiracy theory. And has she really never had an order screwed up? Wow, privileged and charmed.

      The fact that that she thinks she works in the only industry where people are stressed out and not thanked enough, and that she thinks that NOW is the time to complain about it tells me that she’s just not bright enough or emotionally-evolved enough to handle the job. She is the poster-child for self-indulgence, for myoptic thinking. If she needs serious mental health intervention, I hope she gets it.

      • Erinn says:

        Not only that, but there’s not a scenario in which she’d see her food made because I’ve NEVER seen a McD’s that lets you see the people prepping your food other than a tiny glimpse here and there. And if she had ordered on the mobile app – she definitely wouldn’t have seen it made.

        My thing is – for all I know she’s an ‘okay’ cop normally, but she could just as easily be a crap one. But regardless of whether she’s good or bad – she SHOULD NOT BE WORKING. If she’s that paranoid and that scared, she’s a danger to herself and others in her role as a police officer. She should be placed on leave or on desk duty if her state of mind is this bad.

  7. JJ McClay says:

    This video still blows my mind — what the actual eff. There is just too much to unpack. This tweet from @lorixle summed it up so well:
    “Officer Karen, who feels persecuted having to wait for a McMuffin, also is part of a group that gets qualified immunity and gets to say she was afraid for her life if she shoots an unarmed black man. She’s afraid for her life in the drive thru line. See a problem here?“

  8. Stacy Dresden says:

    Conservatives are looking for any excuse not to see black and brown people as victims of an unjust system. Not surprised they are latching onto this lady cop crying video.

    • Melissa says:

      Sadly it isn’t just conservatives, I am surprised almost daily by a post or comment from someone I thought had a grip. If we acknowledge the unjust system, we have to acknowledge who created and benefits from it and that’s a step too far for many.

  9. joanne says:

    How can she be so disconnected from reality? How did she decide that being upset about her egg muffin needed to be filmed to illustrate how badly police are treated? Does she not watch the news? People are being brutalized at protests by police and she wants to be thanked more often. The whole I’m more important than you vibe is really unsettling. Part of the problem is that the police think they are other, they think they are better, they think we should thank them and mindlessly obey them all the time. I’m shaking my head at the audacity of this woman.

  10. YT says:

    She still has a badge and gun? Not good.

  11. Valiantly Varnished says:

    And Im so sick of cops killing black people. Defund the police. And they can begin with Officer Karen’s job.

    • Tiffany says:

      We are gonna see in the news real soon her murdering a Black person.

      Real soon.

  12. KellyRyan says:

    How old are you, 5? Mommy, x is mean to me. Fifteen years as a cop with a gun. Fifteen years too long. Where is the psychologist and sergeant in this situation?

  13. Cate says:

    I am a woman of color. I watched the video and my reaction was, this isn’t about a mcmuffin, this is about fear. This woman is afraid. Ironically, my brothers and sisters walk around in fear every day. This officer was tired after an overnight shift and made a bad decision to film herself venting her frustration. I’m not upset about it, she is human. Give her a break. Should she be held to a higher standard because she is a police officer? Absolutely. But she was off duty after a long night trying to get some breakfast.

    • josephine says:

      That doesn’t explain her appearance on a news show, keeping this story and her tantrum alive. Sure, it could have been a mistake caused by her exhaustion and fear, something she wished she could have pulled back, but she is willingly pushing the story further. And even if she was off-duty, she filmed in her uniform – that gives the story a very different context.

    • Who ARE These People? says:

      Fearful or more like hangry? She knew what she was doing. If she were truly fearful she could have cancelled the order and driven somewhere else. Who are the dominant workers in fast food in that part of town? Why would she assume the worst of them?

    • Rash'L says:

      We deserved a break from fear, harassment and being killed for just being born black. We have built this country through slavery and have yet to be thanked or acknowledged for our contribution. A lot of us are public servant and worked through COVID19 and seldom get a thank you or recognition. At this stage, if she is so afraid, she needs a vacation or time out from her duties. If you preorder and pay for the items!, how does the app identify you as a cop for the meal than to be poisoned upon pick up? I am still puzzled by this…. That is a dangerous and unsubstantiated narrative….

      • Kate says:

        Maybe she thought when she arrived in the pickup line they saw she was a cop and then decided to mess with her food. But as someone pointed out yesterday, if they wanted to mess with your food they would spit in it or drop it on the floor and be done with it they wouldn’t make you wait for like 10 minutes while they concoct a witch’s potion. I agree with Who ARE These People, I think she is mostly hangry and also tired after an all night shift. Both of those together made her lose it and share her true feelings – that she, as a cop, is Special and does a Very Hard Job for which she deserves appreciation and special treatment. Any inconvenience is disrespect for her. Like, grow up Karen, sometimes you have to wait for food. Cry about it privately and then laugh about it later once you’ve had some sleep.

      • Liz version 700 says:

        👏👏👏. This! There is a pandemic! A lot of people find their jobs stressful fight now. But they don’t intentionally envictim themselves.

    • AMM says:

      You know who is fueling her fear? Cops. Every viral “Cop was messed with at fast food place” Video/pic ends up proven that the Cops did it for sympathy and attention. The real stories come out and apologies are made, but the original posts still circulate like they are true.

      I don’t feel bad for her. I feel like someone that emotional or paranoid needs to have her weapon taken away and taken off the streets

    • Mich says:

      A woman who has been given permission by the state of Georgia to shoot to kill any time she feels her life is in danger posted on social media that she was afraid fast food workers were going to poison her. That isn’t “venting frustration”, it is full on paranoia and before she is sent out to work with a gun and license to kill, she needs a full psych evaluation.

    • KL says:

      Aside from all the excellent points everyone else has made:

      You realize the minimum-wage, overworked employees at that McD’s are now being HOUNDED because of her video? Have YOU ever worked that kind of job? Do you understand how many screaming, angry people will confront their servers over “disrespect” to this woman, regardless of whether or not they were involved? Or even there that morning? Do you know how many workers will fear for their safety in those confrontations, in simply coming to work after? Not to mention whatever retribution comes from management. All because some woman had to wait a little longer for her McMuffin.

      Congrats on your excess of sympathy for the woman who weaponized her tears for social media, but no, I do not give her a break for punching so far down the ladder of power and ability that people are being harassed — genuinely harassed, as opposed to paranoid imaginations run amok — at their work, which barely pays enough to make it worthwhile in the first place. Come on.

    • anon says:

      Officer Mean said herself it was not fear in the interview… so, it was not fear. It was a tantrum. And now we’re watching White Tears Part II – People are Mean to Me, on TV.

      • NatureLover says:

        @KL and Anon, I agree with you both. And the fact that Don Jr has jumped on this crazy train to usher in racist and violent people to attack that McD’s should be held criminally for instigating violence. The employees should NOT be subjected to intimidation due to the Repugnunts usual threat of life!
        Krying Karen should be removed from duty and either resign or seek psychiatric treatment.

    • Jo73c says:

      Yep, I’ve been tired and stressed, felt a bit sorry for myself and had a cry about it. Didn’t record it and put it on the internet.

  14. Sean says:

    “thus she felt like McDonald’s employees were going to poison her because she’s a cop”

    PLOT TWIST: McDonald’s has always been poison.

    • tempest prognosticator says:

      lol…

    • KellyRyan says:

      🙂 Brings to mind, local LE promoting roach coaches and local eateries which have not been decontaminated and refusing food from neighbors because he thinks we might add mj. 🙂

  15. TheOriginalMia says:

    She wanted attention and affirmation and she got it from the MAGAidiots and DJT Jr who felt so bad for her. For what? She accused some minimum wage workers of singling her out & messing with her food. She still to this day hasn’t walked back the allegation. No, she’s doubled down and said we (the sane people) missed her point about kindness. We didn’t miss a thing. Office Karen weaponized her white tears. She needs to have a psych evaluation and desk duty because in her fragile state she’s likely to shoot someone because she’s feeling persecuted.

    • My3cents says:

      I was really hoping she’d get Twitter educated and apologize and pull that video down.
      I’m shocked people support this.

  16. elisabeth says:

    I am sick of all these ‘self reflection in my car’ videos for starters.

  17. JanaTHING says:

    Any police officer who is afraid of a McMuffin, shouldn’t have access to a gun…I don’t know how familiar she is with McDonalds, but they have been an absolute clusterfuck since this quarantine began, it’s just a crapshoot as to whether they will screw up half your order. But if a police officer is so worried about eating from a drive thru, they should pull up and immediately ask to have a manager complete their order, it’s that simple.

  18. Jaxonmeh says:

    If she was crying about anything other then police no longer getting the respect she thinks they deserve…say sexual harassment, or whatever…she would have been thrown to the wolves by her fellow officers, told she was too emotional and put on desk duty (because an emotional woman with a gun, cmon). They’re still saying that shit behind her back, but her tears support her cause, so they’re all in publicly.

  19. tomato8o says:

    Everyone has already spoken my thoughts about how unhinged and entitled and out of touch this woman is. One thing I’m stuck on — why was the coffee okay but the McMuffin not? It’s much easier to tamper with a drink than food!

    • AMM says:

      Even the fact that they tried to give her coffee and she had to remind them about her food is a sign they weren’t messing with it. They didn’t try to give her a poisoned McMuffin because they didn’t try to give her food period. They forgot about her, which happens at McDonalds. Especially during breakfast rush when they are taking orders in person, in the drive through and through mobile orders.

  20. Case says:

    My cousin is a cop, and his wife posted something last night about how “They’re not just ‘police,’ they’re spouses and parents and children!” And I just…am glad I have an excuse to not see my extended family for a while. I love my cousin. I think he’s a great guy and I’d be willing to bet he’s good at his job. I have no idea what his personal feelings are on all of this as we don’t talk much, BUT…this is the job he chose, and he can leave at any time. His profession is being called out for VERY valid reasons. If he is going the route of “oh poor me for being targeted for wearing blue” rather than understand the validity of the criticisms and standing up against cops who give his profession a bad name…I don’t know what to say. I KNOW there are people who become police officers with good intentions, who are kindhearted and trustworthy, but that doesn’t mean sh!t if they defend the murderers in their “family.”

    • Kate says:

      Right? I mean it’s the same situation as being a white person who is not racist (or at least who is aware of unconscious bias and who strives to be better) being able to march or post or support the BLM movement and accept the pain of black people without personalizing it about themselves. I am white and I can hear black people saying “I’m sick of being oppressed by white people” and not get angry and type NOT ALL WHITE PEOPLE! – so why can’t cops do the same thing? Jesus

  21. MellyMel says:

    Again, she should not be cop and have a gun on her if she is that unstable & paranoid! And she’s sick of ppl being mean?? Girl we’re sick and TIRED of y’all killing black people every damn day in this country! Give me a break….

  22. Girl with the Soup Tattoo says:

    No. No you don’t get a “thank you”. This is your JOB, you signed up for it, you are not entitled to gratitude. Same reason why many in the military feel uncomfortable with “thank you for your service”. Wearing a uniform does not mean you are a good person and respect is EARNED. there are plenty of terrible people who become cops or join the military. If you don’t like your job YOU CAN QUIT. I’m a therapist and clinical trainer and I often tell people new to the field never expect a thank you (and never ever ask for one!). It’s nice, but if that is your motivation – gratitude – or it’s what sustains you, you are not the person we need in this field….because it’s not about you. I’m so sick of police acting like they’re the victims. Do your effing job with dignity and integrity and if you don’t like it fuc***g quit. No one is forcing you to do this, and if you really cared about your community you would see how wrong this all is.

    • Rachel says:

      Perfectly said! I’m a retired police officer of 31 years, and never expected a thank you. It was my job…I chose to do this. I feel police officers should not be allowed to be on social media as a police officer.

    • molly says:

      Right? Not enough Thank yous?? THAT’S WHAT THE MONEY’S FOR!

    • GreenTurtle says:

      Thank you! Came on here to say this. I’m a vet and the first time I heard “thank you for your service,” I was so weirded out, I said “uh, you’re welcome” because I was honestly so dumbfounded. I got a paycheck and made a pretty good living as a mid-level enlisted person, so it’s not like I was making some huge sacrifice. Also, I enlisted during the early 90s when the military still had a bad connotation because of the history of the whole “you can go to jail or you can join the military” thing that judges would do back in the day. I don’t think being fetishized as part of someone’s political platform is an improvement, frankly.

      I agree with @Rachel on not going on social media in the “police persona.” Especially here- holy crap, how unprofessional and tacky! She is representing all police officers when wearing that uniform, and I’m pretty sure most police don’t want their image to be represented in the form of “sobbing on camera in a drive-thru while having some sort of paranoid episode.” Wow, way to promote a positive image of police being strong, calm, and able to serve and protect (I know it’s not the reality). Way to promote a positive image of women in macho career fields by openly crying and whining about feeling victimized because you’re stressed out and hangry. Way to use your power to dox a specific branch of McD’s because you’re having some deluded victim fantasy of being poisoned.

      No thank you, Stacey. Not now, not ever. This woman can F off all the way to the ends of the earth. Sorry for the novella length rant, everyone.

      • NatureLover says:

        @Green Turtle, thank you so much for giving us your two cents!! It’s very enlightening to hear you call her out as the rest of us do as well! Thank you for joining the conversation!!

  23. David says:

    Stopped by that Mickey D’s last week. NO way in hell does anyone working there have time or money to poison food and face those repercussions. Not to mention it is the tiniest space.
    Hopefully none of the staff was fired or reprimanded for this video and maybe Stacey will get some time to gather herself.
    I did see where she did not complain about the service to the owners but that’s exactly what she did in the video so I guess it’s all perception.

  24. Mumbles says:

    There’s a great piece in the New Republic about this phenomenon of cops claiming bad treatment at fast food restaurants, which has been going on for years. Remember all those false claims of Starbucks workers writing “pig” on cups? Then they all lost their minds last week when a Rhode Island donut shop discontinued a police discount. Anyway the author concluded that the cops who complain about (or make up) this stuff want their superiority affirmed, and moreover, they’re picking on low-wage, powerless employees to do so.

  25. Rachel says:

    Hand in your firearm, and go to town on social media. An officer is suppose to be a trusted public figure…not a crying clown with delusional thoughts. Any police officer should not be allowed to express their feelings on social media. You are paid to protect.

  26. Rapunzel says:

    So…this twit is scared of McDonald’s workers poisoning her egg mcmuffin, but thinks she doesn’t get enough thank yous for being a brave, heroic cop? Irony, they name is Officer Karen.

  27. Sarah says:

    As a Brit I find the ‘thank you’ thing interesting. One thing I’ve noticed on trips to the US is the attitude to the military, I’ve been on planes when we’ve been asked to applaud serving members who are flying with us and then left the airport to see a welcome committee (not family members) plus there’s the whole thing with the flag/anthem being revered. Now here in the UK the majority of us respect and appreciate the risks that they take on our behalf but I’ve never been asked to applaud. Does this lady think that she should be thanked in the same way that she sees the military being thanked? Is it envy? There’s clearly huge entitlement here and I’m wondering if some of that goes being being white and having a gun. Either way its scary.

    • Eugh says:

      Also not American and the US military/cop circle jerk reverence for violence is insanity.

      The US’s participation in/starting up almost all wars after WWII have been useless so why do we celebrate that?

  28. Hope says:

    This lady probably has a chifferobe she needs busted up too.

  29. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    And I’m so sick of people crying wolf. And I’m so sick of attention seekers. And finally, I’m so sick of benign apologies.

  30. Prana says:

    This a$$hole. No, this is not how cops feel. And if it is, they have no business in the job. If you became a police officer so that you can be all “thin blue line” (gag me) and expect to be fawned over and held on some pedestal, then you became a police officer for the wrong reasons. This officer is a real part of the problem- her and too many like her who took the job for “power”, accolades and drama instead of HELPING and SERVING their community.

    • NatureLover says:

      @Prana, sounds like someone else we all know and discuss with disgust on a regular basis! Maybe Krying Karen should join him this weekend for his biggly rally? All the while contracting COVID-19!?!

  31. kimberlu says:

    the cops little “sick out” basically justifies what everyone is saying about them.

    Officers are the biggest group of entitled princesses out there. They truly think they are above everything and their mass God complex is infuriating.

    • Liz version 700 says:

      Could not agree more. That officer shot a man in the back and then kicked him as he lay dying. His partner stood on him. And you LEOs thought that deserved a sick out. Thanks for helping prove the BLM movement’s points for them.

  32. The Recluse says:

    Jeez…and they call US snowflakes.

  33. Elizabeth says:

    I know I’m mean, but Officer Karen McMuffin needs to put the tweezers away.

    • NatureLover says:

      @Elizabeth, that is brilliant!! I completely forgot about her Dietrich looking eyebrows!!

  34. Valerie says:

    I’ve no sympathy for her at all.

  35. Gabs says:

    I always get my McDonald’s order hot, on time, and just the way I ordered it. Said no one ever.

  36. Marigold says:

    You know why police discounts have always been a thing? Because the community really felt their cops protected and served them for limited pay. Like with fire fighters, teachers, and nurses, in most towns, people looked at cops as civil servants. They were “helpers,” as Mr. Rogers called them, and unless you lived in a city with overtly violent police, you felt a sense of duty to help them and appreciate them.

    As the reality of how black Americans and other Americans of color felt and have been routinely treated by law enforcement became something more white Americans were exposed to/understood, and as the country in general watched the militarization of civil police and the weaponization of cops on the whole…the attitude has changed. For good reason.

    Story after story for more than a decade has demonstrated the lengths that police departments will go to for excusing, covering up, or even praising the constitutional violations, the bad behavior, the excessive profiling, and the racism obvious from their worst members. The police started calling the populace “civilians” at some point as a form of epithet, and the mindset followed. The community is no longer something they serve. It’s an enemy they fight against. So if the discount on coffee and donuts and fast food disappeared, it’s not because people are being mean. It’s because police have lost their place in society as a benevolent helper.

    That isn’t society’s fault. It’s the fault of every “good” cop and every “good” department, who allowed a bad cop to brutalize, frighten, overstep, abuse, or even murder people and did nothing. The good cops who get lumped in with the bad ones are the result of distrust…that police departments have earned by playing deaf, blind, and dumb.

    It puts good officers at tremendous risk, and it puts society at odds with even the best of them. Only the police can improve their reputation, and they do it with actions. With deeds. They do it by condemning and firing the ones who break the law, break the rules, or make it clear they are not fit for their office. They do it by ignoring these teams of good ol’ boys who pitch tantrums when one among them has been punished justly and just fire them all. They do it by removing the military equipment and the mindset that they’re all training for war (because they aren’t). They do it by punishing racism in the workplace, misogyny in the workplace, and intimidation in the workplace. They do it by reforming police unions so that it isn’t like brokering an international treaty to get rid of violent or dangerous cops.

    So much they could do to progress toward earning the trust of the public. Americans are always ready to embrace the helpers. All they have to do is demonstrate that they “get it,” and that their goal is to be helpers again. Community cops are universally and roundly praised by both the communities they serve AND the internet at large. You see it all the time.

  37. RobbyDobby says:

    Nearly 400 years later and NOTHING has changed in the South. I’m seriously questioning whether Lincoln made the right call. Then again, we would have had a hostile dictatorship (because that’s where the South was going to end up) on our Southern Border. Officer Karen McMuffin is the poster child for the American South. Whiny, self-entitled morons with persecution complexes who have breakdowns over the general public not trusting the police. It’s so frightening and absurd at the same time that I can’t begin to figure out what we actually do about this sh8t…

    • David says:

      This chick is most definitely NOT a representation of us in Georgia. We are not all one person. Please don’t generalize.

  38. yinyang says:

    I thought that was taylor swift. Omg Karens at food places are the worst!!! Feel sorry for anyone serving them. Everything is changed, rearranged and nitpicked. Like how indulgent have you been to have every little thing catered to in the middle of rush hour!! Give me a break lady.