Karen went “Full Karen”

By mattyd | July 20, 2020 |

File this under “Making a bad situation worse.”

Remember Lenen? He was the San Diego Starbucks employee who refused to serve a customer who was not wearing a mask and whose photo was posted on Facebook with the caption:

“Meet Lenen from Starbucks who refused to serve me cause I’m not wearing a mask. Next time I will wait for cops and bring a medical exemption.”

You’ll also remember that a private citizen saw this Facebook post and decided to start a GoFundMe which he named “Tips for Lenin Standing Up To A San Diego Karen.”

His hope was to raise $1,000 for Gutierrez, but he ultimately raised more than $100,000, including $10 of my own money.

The money was presented to Lenen last week. He plans to use it to pay for college and pursue a passion for dance.

A feel-good story if ever you heard one. Right?

Not for Amber Lynn Gilles, the woman who posted the photo of Lenen on Facebook. Upon hearing that her actions resulted in a $105,000 payday for the young man, she took action. In a recent interview, Gilles said she wants half of the money donated to Gutierrez.

Apparently she feels entitled to it for acting like a jackass.

“It was discrimination, and everybody is okay with it and enabling and rewarding that behavior,” Gilles said. “I get shortness of breath, dizziness and it messes with the heartbeat. And I do have asthma as well, and I do get mask-acne. So there are several things going on. Not only that, but it doesn’t even work.”

“It doesn’t even work.”

There it is. The real reason behind all of this.

“It doesn’t even work.”

Gilles is a science-denying, self-serving loser and (forgive the assumption) probably a Trump supporter. This has nothing to do with a medical condition. In fact, more than 99 percent of all Americans, including those with asthma and underlying respiratory problems, can wear masks without a problem. This is just another idiot who refuses to follow the guidelines designed to protect Americans from a potentially deadly disease.

In order to support her supposed medical exemption, Gilles provided KGTV with two documents that she said proves her medical exemption from the face-covering mandate.

One document included the results from a 2015 pelvic exam, which listed “probable exophytic fibroid arising from the anterior wall of the uterus measuring 2.9 cm size” and “a simple 2.5 cm left ovarian cyst.”

I looked it up. This has nothing to do with the respiratory system.

The other paper was a handwritten note with a letterhead from a San Diego chiropractor who she asked not to be named. It reads:

“Amber has underlying breath conditions that prevent her from wearing a mask or any type of facial covering whatsoever. Please contact me if have any questions.”

I would’ve called the chiropractor and asked questions had the letterhead not been obscured.

But a chiropractor diagnosing an “underlying breath conditions.”

This sounds as likely as Trump being one pound under clinical obesity.

Gilles said that she has reached out to lawyers about pursuing a case, but legal fees would be too expensive, so she launched a donation page.

So far, the GoFundMe has raised $540 of its $5,000 target, but many donations are from people donating $5 each to be able to comment on the fundraiser and insult Gilles.

I considered it.

Amber Lynn Gilles could’ve simply faded into obscurity. She made a mistake, but happily, it resulted in a huge payday for a young man who was doing his job well.

Instead, she doubled down. Demanded half the money. Invented ridiculous excuses for not wearing a mask. Established a Go Fund Me page that has quickly become a joke.

Sometimes it’s better to simply say, “I was wrong. Sorry about that.”

Had Gilles apologized and contributed $10 to Lenen’s Go Fund Me page, she could’ve come out of this situation looking pretty good. Americans are nothing if not forgiving. We believe in second chances.

Instead, she’s looking worse than ever. Stupid and selfish and petty.

Kind of like the guy in the White House who also refuses to wear a mask.

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