Doug's Blog: A Tale of Two Karens? The UAlbany Bus Case Continues…

party bus

The incident happened in January 2016. Arguments about one aspect of the case were heard in front of the Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court in February 2021. The world has changed immensely in that five year period, and it makes Ariel Agudio’s case all the more interesting. Agudio was convicted of making a false 9-1-1 call in which she claimed that she was jumped on CDTA bus by white men and women who made racial slurs against Agudio and her two friends. At issue is – was she convicted of that charge because she is African American? Her lawyer argued she was:

“The standard that the people wish to uphold in this case and solely in this case, apparently is that if a Black person calls 911 and alleges a racial incident, that they better damn well be 100 percent accurate in every single word that comes out of their mouth or they will be subject to prosecution.”

My take on her lawyer’s argument? That carried more weight in 2016 than it does in 2021. Why? Three words: CENTRAL… PARK… Karen. 

If I’m one of the appellate judges in this case, it gets harder for me to side with the “she’s being singled out because of her race” argument when Central Park Karen has appeared in court for the EXACT same reason - making a false 9-1-1 call. In fact, couldn’t Central Park make a similar argument in 2021 then - that SHE is being prosecuted because of her race (white)?

 Look, I have no sympathy for Central Park Karen, and I am fine with them prosecuting her for what she did. But then I feel like I should have the same feeling on Ms. Agudio. Agree?


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