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Sunday 19 April 2015

Katie Hopkins - The Backlash

[Update at end of post]

What's the ugliest
Part of your body?
What's the ugliest
Part of your body?
Some say your nose
Some say your toes
But I think it's YOUR MIND
I think it's your mind, woo woo
- Frank Zappa
Not such a Jolly Good Sheow now, eh Dave?

Ignore professional motormouth Katie Hopkins, they said. Everyone will lose interest if you do, they said. Don’t feed the troll, they said. So lots of people ignored her, and as a result, er, the Sun was so pleased with her racist incitement against refugees that they put it out there on SunNation in a desperate bid to drive traffic. And LBC, to their eternal shame, gave her her own show, so she could Carry On Inciting.

So that went well, then. Yes, we now have the country’s (just) best selling newspaper so proud of a pundit who talks of refugees as “like norovirus … feral humans … vagrants … swarms … like cockroaches” that they want the whole world to know. And thus the problem: were Ms Hopkins just another rent-a-rant on Facebook or Twitter, she would only be one among many spouting bile while hoping for a bite on her particular line.
(c) Beaubodor 2015

As Simon Usborne put it, “In the environment that led to creation of the Third Reich in Germany, Polish people were seen as ‘an East European species of cockroach’, while Jews were rats. When Hutu extremists used radio propaganda to incite violence against the Tutsis during the Rwandan Genocide, they called on people to ‘weed out the cockroaches’”. That is how loaded her hate speech is.

And it’s being promoted, and therefore amplified, by the Sun and LBC.Thus the reality, that many are fleeing conflict and persecution and have little other hope, is ignored - until the grim news that a boat thought to be carrying 700 refugees has capsized in the Mediterranean Sea comes through, and it is believed that most of those on board have drowned. Katie Hopkins will be so pleased.
Katie Hopkins migration achieved in one shot ((c) Doc Hackenbush 2015)

Her chosen political party, the Tories, may not be so happy, though: the photo of Ms Hopkins with an equally smiling Young Dave is being widely disseminated, and in the meantime Pope Francis’ concern at the loss of life in the Med has been echoed by Mil The Younger, who has urged that EU countriesRestart The Rescue” in view of the refugee situation and recent loss of life. What does Dave do now?

He doesn’t: Cameron can’t condemn the Sun. To do so would go against Creepy Uncle Rupe. He’s stuck with Katie Hopkins. It’s now down to LBC to think whether their actions were appropriate, and the Murdoch press to answer why they are so desperate to drive traffic to SunNation that they post racial incitement there, the online equivalent of that fatal pile-up on the other side of the Motorway that everyone has to slow down and look at.

There is a petition asking the Sun to dispense with Katie Hopkins’ services HERE. You can sign the Save The Children petition to “Restart The RescueHERE.

[UPDATE 21 April 1850 hours: following a report to the Metropolitan Police from the Society of Black Lawyers - you can see the details HERE - the Police have stated "we can confirm we have received allegations of incitement of racial hatred following the Sun article dated 17th April. The matter has been passed to Assistant Commissioner Patricia Gallan (specialist crime and operation directorate) for consideration".

There have thus far been no arrests. So now the cops are involved. Meanwhile, Ms Hopkins' Twitter feed has been uncharacteristically silent - the last entry is from Sunday. Why might that be? You might wish to ask that. I couldn't possibly comment]

9 comments:

Sean Blake said...

Just circulate that photo of Dave in DJ alongside his fellow compassionate Conservative while the latest disaster in the Med.is still in voters' minds.
Katie Hopkins is to the right of virtually everyone (including UKIP) on this so Labour could start being the nasty party & use the shot in a party political or on billboards. That would really scare Crosby.

Anonymous said...

Rather than sign any meaningless petition which you know the Sun is going to milk as a stance for free speech (a stance I actually agree with), the far more damaging angle is the Hopkins = The Sun = Tory. Labour won't use it officially because it's far too crass - but everyone else can.

Sean Blake said...

Here we have Hopkins=The Sub= Cameron. Aren't there plenty of crass connections made by The Sun and The Mail where Labour's concerned - often, one suspects, with the approval of Conservative Central Office?
At this stage of the campaign it's important that "everyone else" actually gets to see it.

Darren said...

When the press were slavering for a Royal wedding, they adopted "Waity Katie" as a nickname for Miss Middleton. Time to recycle it as "Hatey Katie"?

Rivo said...

The trouble is, too many people gave her attention back when they should have been ignoring her. Every time she spouted her latest turgid brain-fart of an opinion it was inevitably met with columns in the Guardian and the Indy that while also decrying her also had a kind of voyeuristic "Oh look how awful she is" quality to them.

Not only did this give her even more publicity, but there is an inevitable knock-on effect where many otherwise normal, decent people who would otherwise find her opinions repugnant will have decided that anyone who winds up the likes of Owen Jones (or whichever other openly left-wing opinion writer they dislike the most) can't be all bad, normalising her bile as being acceptable to them.

rob said...

Good tweet:

" peterwalker99 @peterwalker99 ·

I share view that with Hopkins a borderline sociopath it's the people who publish her who maybe need a long think about their lives."

Je ne suis pas Katie Hopkins?

Bravenewmalden said...

First and hopefully last time Franz Zappa is mentioned on the same page as that hateful woman.

AndyC said...

It appears that plod are starting to take an interest in the outpourings of La Hopkins. Not before time.Hope they will be dropping in at the Sun as well.

Anonymous said...

And have LBC deigned to comment on her employment with them? Are their advertisers happy to be associated with someone happy to see thousands drown?