By now, the coastal impacts of Hurricane Erin are starting to simmer on the East Coast.
Over the past few days, and surely in the days to come, footage of seaside erosion, flooding, and moments of epic surfing conditions have been (and will continue) pouring in. So far, it looks like folks from North Carolina to New Jersey and beyond scored.
But this clip, this is something different. It shows a group of police officers in New Jersey, gathered on the shore, ordering a surfer to get out of the water due to the dangerous conditions, and allegedly, handcuffing the dude.
@juliannalipzzzz
As the internet does, it quickly jumped on the clip, calling out the “Karens” for calling the cops while this surfer was simply trying to enjoy the hurricane swell. In the video, posted from Juliannalipzzz on TikTok, she can be heard saying with concern:
“There is a surfer in the water. Police officers are trying to get him in. He’s crazy. This is insane. These guys have to with this. He’s coming in. They’re going to throw the cuffs on him.”
Related: Surfing Banned In Maryland and Delaware Ahead Of Hurricane Erin
Meanwhile, folks in the comments thought differently than old Julianna:
“I don’t understand what the problem is… he’s an east coast surfer and they live for hurricane swells because we finally get the bigger waves that we normally don’t see. They are clearly experienced and weren’t struggling. You should have seen the surfing in LBI and no one was calling the cops on them or arresting them. Why can’t people just mind their own business?”
And over on Reddit, another commenter wrote:
“My grandfather fought the Nazis so this guy could get pitted in a hurricane.”
And yet, Karens gonna Karen.
Related: Hurricane Erin Swallows Homes, ‘20ft Waves’ Incoming (Video)