Karens are more like Sundown towns (and suburbs and exurbs and counties) than a neighborhood watch.

Sundown towns were created to enforce white might thorough discriminatory laws, intimidation, or violence.

As an example, let's use Lisa Alexander who accosted someone who wrote "Black Lives Matter" on the chalk in front of his home on his retaining wall and accused him of defacing private property. Then she called the police on him.

So she actively tried to suppress the non-confrontational speech of the resident on his own property.

The position of privilege this person both held was class and race based because Lisa assumed the owner couldn't own a home in Pacific Heights.

Lisa was 'keeping an eye on the neighborhood' by assuming class and wealth status based on the appearance of the person she confronted. That is actual racism.