Stroller Showdown: Who’s the Real Karen?
Tensions rise on the #99 bus as a stroller-wielding mom clashes with a senior and student. Who's the real Karen in this public transit standoff?
Public Transit Drama
By Elke Porter | WBN News Am I the Karen? | April 24, 2025
It’s one of the few sunny weekday afternoons in Vancouver, and the #99 B-Line is packed as usual. At the front of the articulated bus, near the designated priority seating area, a scene is quietly brewing — or perhaps not so quietly.
A senior woman — smartly dressed, silver hair neatly pulled back, and steady on her feet — is chatting animatedly with her elderly friend, who clutches a cane and clearly looks like she could use a seat. But there’s no room. Every designated seat is taken, and a few people are already standing. But the lady with the cane is staying in the area, as she hopes to get a seat as soon as somebody leaves, and her friend is staying with her.
Just then, a fit, no-nonsense mother boards the bus with a giant SUV-style stroller. You know the kind: four wheels of urban dominance, filled with toys, snacks, and… one rather mature-looking child. This kid is clearly around four years old, and not exactly fragile. In fact, he’s sitting with his legs crossed, chewing gum, and watching YouTube on a tablet like he’s in a private cinema.
Without so much as an “excuse me,” the mom barrels through, hip-checking the standing senior woman, luckily not the one with a cane, who stumbles but says nothing. The mom mutters something about “needing space” and begins wrestling her stroller into position, occupying a space that takes up four entire seats. She has displaced at least five people by now. As she locks the stroller wheels, she keeps glancing at the senior, annoyed, as if the woman had ruined her entire day just by existing.
“Can you move?” the mom finally snaps after her glares didn't work, nudging the senior with her elbow. “This is a priority area for people like me.”
The senior blinks, confused, and continues her conversation with her friend, now slightly turned away, possibly ignoring her or simply not catching what’s going on. The mom exhales loudly — the theatrical kind of sigh that suggests everyone else is the problem.
But it doesn’t stop there.
A nervous high school student, backpack nearly as large as she is, stands quietly near the front of the bus. She timidly explains that it’s her first time riding public transit alone and wants to stand near the driver “just in case.” The mom rolls her eyes and loudly accuses the girl of blocking the entrance.
"People need to get on and off. This isn’t your personal trauma zone!" she snaps. The teen’s face crumples with embarrassment.
And still, the senior woman remains mostly absorbed in her conversation, only occasionally glancing up as though everything around her is just background noise.
So, here’s the real question:
Who is the Karen?
- Is it the mother with the mega-stroller, treating the bus like her personal driveway and using her child as a justification for steamrolling others?
- Is it the senior, who fails to register the discomfort she’s causing others and doesn’t give up space to stay near her visibly frailer friend?
- Or is it possible the high school student was also in the wrong for occupying a “priority” area because of anxiety, not mobility?
Or maybe — just maybe — this is a classic case of clashing entitlements on public transit, where everyone feels like they deserve to be in the front… and no one wants to give an inch.
So… Am I the Karen?
Or are we all just a little Karen when we ride the 99?
#Public Transit Drama #Am I The Karen #Vancouver Transit #Stroller Etiquette #Senior Rights #Bus Stories #Urban Life Moments #WBN News #WBN Am I the Karen? #Elke Porter
Connect with Elke at Westcoast German Media or on LinkedIn: Elke Porter or contact her on WhatsApp: +1 604 828 8788
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