# Imprison Katie Hopkins! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 24, 2017, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imprison-katie-hopkins/787328 "2017-05-24T07:12:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imprison-katie-hopkins/787328/41 "2017-05-24T20:32:05Z")
> [@Mikeisskeptical](#): > > Quite. I’m sure if she were a US citizen, she’d be a serious presidential candidate. > > Regrettably, “That’s not how we do things in the US” doesn’t carry the same weight it once did. > [@RobDog](#): > > Yes, yes. We’re all quivering with fear over here. It’s a dystopian nightmare. On the other hand, we tend not to get gunned down in the street by our police officers, which does offer a tiny crumb of consolation. Eh. I’m neither a Trump nor 2nd amendment supporter, and I think punishing people for saying something unpopular is stupid and counterproductive. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imprison-katie-hopkins/787328/42 "2017-05-24T21:01:21Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I know this is a UK issue and UK law governs it, but in the US we would cringe at the idea of arresting someone for such a tweet. We don’t have active Thought Police. Yet. Who needs Thought Police when we have bloodthirsty keyboard warriors? ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imprison-katie-hopkins/787328/43 "2017-05-24T21:18:04Z")
Were this in the US, then obviously she wouldn’t be punished. But she’s in the UK and is seems she’s broken the law, and thus if anyone has the interest and right to do so they should feel free to bring charges against her. Is the law a bad one? Maybe, but that’s not my business. As for calling for her death and/or wishing she would just drop dead on her own, well, first of all those are two different things with different levels of moral repugnance. And if wishing people would spontanously die is bad, then I guess my wish that anyone who cuts me off would suddenly be launched 100 feet into the air car and all to land where they will might be slightly problematic too. ---
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imprison-katie-hopkins/787328/44 "2017-05-24T21:24:12Z")
Has she broken the law? From my perspective it seems at least a tiny bit possible that she did not intend to refer to genocide. Would plausible deniability be an excuse under UK law? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imprison-katie-hopkins/787328/45 "2017-05-24T21:30:46Z")
It’s illegal to say “final solution” in Britain? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imprison-katie-hopkins/787328/46 "2017-05-24T21:37:50Z")
> [@Paranoid\_Randroid](#): > > From my perspective it seems at least a tiny bit possible that she did not intend to refer to genocide. See post 35. ---
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imprison-katie-hopkins/787328/47 "2017-05-24T21:45:59Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > See post 35. That doesn’t answer my question. Gassing the elites isn’t the same as genocide against muslims, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imprison-katie-hopkins/787328/48 "2017-05-24T21:54:05Z")
> [@Paranoid\_Randroid](#): > > That doesn’t answer my question. It’s not supposed to. Note I specifically responded to “From my perspective it seems at least a tiny bit possible that she did not intend to refer to genocide.” She has a history of wanting to gas people. Stands to reason that the original version was what had been really meant. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imprison-katie-hopkins/787328/49 "2017-05-24T21:57:11Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > It’s illegal to say “final solution” in Britain? Advocating it possibly could be, in some circumstances. But it’s Katie Hopkins. She’s not a well person, and she’s got some very large legal bills looming, so she needs the publicity. Best to ignore. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imprison-katie-hopkins/787328/50 "2017-05-24T21:58:24Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > It’s illegal to say “final solution” in Britain? I could answer you, but I just don’t know who might be listening. I think I might have said too much already. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imprison-katie-hopkins/787328/51 "2017-05-24T22:37:10Z")
She’s from The Mail. 'Nough said. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2017, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imprison-katie-hopkins/787328/52 "2017-05-25T02:13:26Z")
> [@Mikeisskeptical](#): > > Quite. I’m sure if she were a US citizen, she’d be a serious presidential candidate. > > Regrettably, “That’s not how we do things in the US” doesn’t carry the same weight it once did. > [@RobDog](#): > > Yes, yes. We’re all quivering with fear over here. It’s a dystopian nightmare. On the other hand, we tend not to get gunned down in the street by our police officers, which does offer a tiny crumb of consolation. Are you just completely fucking retarded? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2017, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imprison-katie-hopkins/787328/53 "2017-05-25T02:28:04Z")
> [@FloatyGimpy](#): > > No, there really isn’t at all. Wishing death on someone because you don’t like what they say? Hmmmmm, now who does that sound like? Oh, I know - ISIS! This is so wrong it’s stupid. It so mischaracterizes things it’s unbelievable you wrote it and before posting didn’t read it and say “wow, that’s pretty fucking stupid” and delete the whole thing. You don’t see a difference in a person who wishes ill on another because of what they _did_ and someone who wishes ill on another because of what they _are_? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2017, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imprison-katie-hopkins/787328/54 "2017-05-25T03:28:20Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > You don’t see a difference in a person who wishes ill on another because of what they _did_ and someone who wishes ill on another because of what they _are_? 😕 Sorry, I’ve read this a few times and I can’t figure out what you’re saying. Are you saying it’s OK to wish Katie Hopkins dead because of what she _did_ (wishing death on Muslims) or because of what she _is_ (a really terrible person)? Even though I’m not sure what you’re saying there, it’s painfully obvious to me that saying “Katie Hopkins is a terrible person because she wishes all Muslims dead. I wish she was dead” is the very height of hypocrisy. And yes, some white guy in the UK wishing death on someone because he doesn’t like what they say or what they believe isn’t very different than some ISIS guy in Syria wishing death on people when he doesn’t like what they say or believe. (I’m just assuming the OP is a “white guy in the UK” apologies if I’m wrong) The ONLY difference is that I assume when the OP said “I’d like to see her in an unmarked grave” he’s not actively plotting her demise. That young man who murdered 22 people and injured dozens more likely had a conversation with someone and said “I wish they were all dead!”. How is that so incredibly different than saying “I’d like to see her in an unmarked grave”? I don’t care if you think it’s stupid. I think they’re pretty similar. ---
**Author:** ![Mikeisskeptical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@Mikeisskeptical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikeisskeptical)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2017, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imprison-katie-hopkins/787328/55 "2017-05-25T03:30:59Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Are you just completely fucking retarded? Well that’s an eloquent rebuttal. I’m not sure if you’ve heard about this, but just outside of the US, there is a sleepy little backwater known as the rest of the world. Here we find it amusing to be lectured that in a country dominated by ultra far-right politics, unchecked militarism, racial tension and religious fanaticism, a country which recently named a racist, illiterate sociopath as its leader, that publicly inciting violence against minorities is just fucking dandy. In what reality are Europeans looking to America as an example of moral virtue and cultural harmony? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2017, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imprison-katie-hopkins/787328/56 "2017-05-25T03:44:20Z")
> [@Mikeisskeptical](#): > > Well that’s an eloquent rebuttal. > > I’m not sure if you’ve heard about this, but just outside of the US, there is a sleepy little backwater known as the rest of the world. Here we find it amusing to be lectured that in a country dominated by ultra far-right politics, unchecked militarism, racial tension and religious fanaticism, a country which recently named a racist, illiterate sociopath as its leader, that publicly inciting violence against minorities is just fucking dandy. > > In what reality are Europeans looking to America as an example of moral virtue and cultural harmony? Because the U.K. and the rest of Europe are so innocent, right? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Mikeisskeptical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@Mikeisskeptical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikeisskeptical)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2017, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imprison-katie-hopkins/787328/57 "2017-05-25T03:50:56Z")
> [@FloatyGimpy](#): > > Sorry, I’ve read this a few times and I can’t figure out what you’re saying. Are you saying it’s OK to wish Katie Hopkins dead because of what she _did_ (wishing death on Muslims) or because of what she _is_ (a really terrible person)? > > Even though I’m not sure what you’re saying there, it’s painfully obvious to me that saying “Katie Hopkins is a terrible person because she wishes all Muslims dead. I wish she was dead” is the very height of hypocrisy. > > And yes, some white guy in the UK wishing death on someone because he doesn’t like what they say or what they believe isn’t very different than some ISIS guy in Syria wishing death on people when he doesn’t like what they say or believe. (I’m just assuming the OP is a “white guy in the UK” apologies if I’m wrong) > > The ONLY difference is that I assume when the OP said “I’d like to see her in an unmarked grave” he’s not actively plotting her demise. > > That young man who murdered 22 people and injured dozens more likely had a conversation with someone and said “I wish they were all dead!”. How is that so incredibly different than saying “I’d like to see her in an unmarked grave”? > > I don’t care if you think it’s stupid. I think they’re pretty similar. How is it hypocritical of me to wish someone dead? Have I ever criticised anyone for wishing someone dead? If ISIS was just some ‘wishing people dead’ club, I would have absolutely no problem with them. I’d probably pick different people to wish dead, true, but I certainly wouldn’t suggest punishing them for ‘thought crime’. And yes, there’s a yawning moral gulf between hoping some specific person dies and hoping that a whole ethnic or religious group dies, even if you’re not actually calling for it to be carried out, which she fucking did. The absurdity of your position most explicit when you compare me to a child murderer for passively wanting a hateful, dangerous individual to cease to exist. ---
**Author:** ![Mikeisskeptical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@Mikeisskeptical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikeisskeptical)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2017, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imprison-katie-hopkins/787328/58 "2017-05-25T04:05:00Z")
Missed edit window. \*_is_ most explicit… ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2017, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imprison-katie-hopkins/787328/59 "2017-05-25T04:05:05Z")
> [@Mikeisskeptical](#): > > How is it hypocritical of me to wish someone dead? Have I ever criticised anyone for wishing someone dead? Um…I’m pretty sure this thread is about your outrage at Katie Hopkins calling for a final solution. By the way, I agree with your outrage. She is a horrible person. I am in Canada and we also have hate speech laws. If she’s broken the law, she should be charged with a crime. > [@Mikeisskeptical](#): > > The absurdity of your position most explicit when you compare me to a child murderer for passively wanting a hateful, dangerous individual to cease to exist. Listen, I don’t think you’re a terrible person. I just wonder how is the world going to be fixed if everyone hates everyone who disagrees with them? ISIS hates the West and wishes us all dead, Katie Hopkins hates all Muslims and wishes them all dead, you hate her and wish her dead. Where does it end? How can there be dialogue? Protest outside her office, write a letter to the editor, ignore her (I’d never heard of her till this thread) but unless she’s committed a crime, calling for her to be locked up or wishing her dead is no better than she is. I know you were just blowing off steam but can’t you see that wishing your political opponent was dead is being just as bad as your political opponent? Don’t you think you’re better than her? Then _be_ better than her. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2017, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imprison-katie-hopkins/787328/60 "2017-05-25T04:13:03Z")
> [@Tranquilis](#): > > She’s from The Mail. > 'Nough said. I never heard of her until this thread and, when I found out she was a columnist, the first thing I wondered was if she worked for The Mail. Yup. Sure enough. “'Nough said” is right. (The Sun would have been my second guess.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imprison-katie-hopkins/787328.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imprison-katie-hopkins/787328.md?page=4)