I doomscroll. 

There, I admitted it. And honestly, it feels good to get it off my chest. I’m not proud of it—I know it rots my brain faster than RFK Jr.’s brain worm. It keeps me from doing things that are actually productive, like reading a book or even enjoying a quiet moment of reflection. But when my brain is too fried to string two thoughts together, and my energy has dipped to drooling levels, doomscrolling requires the fewest neurons and only exercises one muscle: my index finger. 

And since this is now a confessional, I’ll admit one of my favorite things to doomscroll: MAGA Karens and Kens losing their minds over things most people with a shred of civility would simply let it roll off their backs like morals at a Jeffrey Epstein party. 

Defining the Species
Before going further, let’s define a “Karen” or “Ken.” According to Urban Dictionary: 
*A middle-aged man or woman, typically white, who makes other people’s problems their inconvenience, even though they aren’t remotely affected.* 

Examples: 
– Karen sues the city council after it installs a stop sign that blocks her sunlight for two minutes a day. The sign was put up because a schoolboy was killed by a speeding driver. 
– Ken refuses to wear a mask for a five-minute grocery run during a pandemic, harasses the workers, demands the manager, and threatens to sue. 
– Karen complains that her favorite parking spot was replaced by a wheelchair ramp, parks there anyway, and films a vlog about it. 

If you think any of these Karens or Kens are on the side of righteousness, now’s a good time to stop reading and resume doomscrolling. 

A Banner Week for MAGA Karens and Kens
This week has been particularly horrifying—and entertaining—for doomscrolling MAGA Karens and Kens. 

First up: Tori Branum, a MAGA congressional candidate, decided to report workers at a Hyundai battery factory to ICE simply because they were Korean. She had no idea whether they were in the U.S. legally or whether they were specialists brought in for their skills. She just didn’t like that they weren’t white. The fallout? Eight thousand jobs lost, an international incident, and Korean companies now rethinking future U.S. investment. 

Then there’s Rep. Nancy Mace, who went full Karen by blaming Democrats for the horrific murder of Charlie Kirk. She said: 
> “This is what the Left has done to brainwash people who are already mentally ill, already mentally fragile… This is about fighting for what’s right. I mean, all he did, all he used, were his words, and he was murdered for his words.” 

When asked whether Republicans, by the same logic, bore responsibility for the murder of two Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota, she snapped: 
> “Are you kidding me? We don’t know what condition Charlie Kirk is in right now… Some raging, leftist lunatic put a bullet through his neck… And you want to talk about Republicans right now? No.” 

I’ll grant her some grace—it was the heat of the moment. Still, refusing to accept any responsibility while casting all the blame elsewhere is peak Karen/Ken. Worse, her comments made me think: had she herself ever said anything incendiary that might encourage her own “mentally fragile” supporters to commit violence against Democrats or progressives? 

Turns out, yes. Among her quotes: 
– “Democrats were completely unhinged.” 
– “Looks like Charleston County libraries are more interested in grooming kids than educating them.” 
– “This is about grooming kids and transitioning them when they’re young prepubescent kids.” 
– “You people on the Left are absolutely f—ing crazy. So I went off…” 
– “Some books in libraries are child porn.” 

And here’s the kicker: she was wrong about Kirk’s killer. Tyler James Robinson’s family described themselves as “100% MAGA.” Robinson had no party affiliation. His hatred of Kirk stemmed from believing Kirk spread hate and fascism. In other words, the very kind of disinformation Mace traffics in fueled the mentality behind Kirk’s murderer. 

A Personal Reminder
I grew up during a violent era in American politics. Before I turned ten, John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Medgar Evers had all been assassinated. For a child, it was terrifying—and it remains a brutal reminder that political violence has no place in a democracy. 

The Fuse of Intolerance
Whether MAGA Karen/Ken culture contributes to violence is for you to decide. But intolerance itself is an incendiary device waiting to go off. 

You see it all the time: 
– People insisting our culture be ruled by *their* religion, contrary to both the Constitution and basic humanity. 
– Folks believing someone else’s gender identity or sexual orientation is their business, though it has no effect on them. 
– Individuals convinced DEI is an affront, instead of a way to give long-marginalized people a fair shot—when in fact a representative society uses all its talent to the fullest. 

I could go on. But when you’re intolerant of others and believe your way is the *only* way, you’re not only betraying democratic principles—you’re lighting a fuse on a bomb. 

Which means doomscrolling these days isn’t just a guilty pleasure. It might actually live up to it’s name.