Most of the country have taken at least baby steps in recent days to reopen local and state economies, New York City remains locked down for the most part. “Non-essential” businesses are still closed, mask mandates apply to nearly every New Yorker who steps foot outside their home, and residents are still encouraged to call the authorities if they suspect their neighbor may be violating social distancing rules by hosting a party or even doing some non-essential home repair.

One of the fiercest critics of New York’s belated response to the coronavirus, as well as Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill De Blasio’s performance in handling the crisis, is New York Post columnist Karol Markowicz, who joins me on today’s Bearing Arms’ Cam & Co to discuss life in the Big Apple in a time of a pandemic, and why she believes it’s long past time for the city to begin to reopen.

Markowicz, who was born in the Soviet Union and moved to the United States as a child, says she’s deeply concerned about a “culture of Karens” that is developing in the city. As a resident of the Park Slope neighborhood in Brookly, Karol’s used to helicopter parents and nanny-statism, but she says things are getting worse.

I knew I was dealing with a Karen when the police showed up.

We had only recently moved in and we had a serious leak in one of our bathrooms. We called a plumber for emergency repairs. A woman on our block confronted my husband about it and, despite his explanation that the work was essential, she called the cops.

Along with all the other problems coronavirus had wrought on our society, we are witnessing the rise of the ‘Karen’.

Pre-corona, the term ‘Karen’ was used to describe the neighborhood busybody, the woman in front of you at Target who gets into an argument at the check-out and demands to see the manager.

But coronavirus has given Karen a new role in life and more power than she’s ever had before.

In many cities across the US, people are encouraged to alert authorities if they see anyone breaking the government’s COVID-19 guidelines. In New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio introduced a tip line for the Karens of the city to call in when they see people not social distancing. Tell on your neighbors, New Yorkers! What could go wrong?

Markowicz tells me that she has noticed one interesting phenomenon: left-leaning New Yorkers who’ve previously been just fine with the city’s draconian gun control laws, but are now ticked off that the process of acquiring a firearm for home defense can take months and cost hundreds of dollars in fees. Even as the coronavirus has claimed businesses like John Jovino’s Gun Shop and left others like the Westside Range clinging to life support, Markowicz believes that the new demand for firearms among New Yorkers could ultimately have a positive impact on gun culture, and perhaps even gun laws in the city.

Be sure to check out my entire conversation with Karol in the video window above, and thanks as always for watching, listening, and spreading the word.