Yes, I like Katie Hopkins- get over it!

Since I first confirmed that yes, I was a supporter of the infamous, ex apprentice contestant and mouthy columnist, Katie Hopkins, I have been faced with the same questions almost daily asking me to explain my reasons and to justify my choice.

"Have you even seen xyz comment that she made?"

"Did you see her insult so and so?" 

"Did you see her opinion on xyz?"

"Are you insane?"

No, I am not insane, and yes, as a keen social media user, I do follow her on twitter and see all of the comments that she makes. It has now reached the point where I have turned to my beloved blog in order to justify the reasoning behind my choice of being "pro- Katie", so that the next time somebody questions me and my decision, rather than type out the same old argument, I can simply send them this link. 

I'm not trying to alter anybody else's opinion, or justify Katie's insults, or insult anybody myself. I am simply explaining why it is that I like Katie Hopkins. 

1) Katie is a normal human being with opinions on different social groups, religions etc. etc. I refuse to believe that you have not once made a judgement on someone based on a specific part of who they are. I know that at least once in your life you are bound to have done this. The things Katie says are the things I have overheard people on the streets saying, people I was at school with saying...the only difference is that Katie has a public platform to say them on. Yes, of course, this means more people are exposed to her opinion- but you can bet your bottom dollar it's an opinion a large group of people share. I'm one of the few that can see past the "she is the only woman in the world who thinks that" veil and actually get that a lot of people see a certain situation the way that she does. 

2) People get so blinded by the "bad" things she says, they totally ignore the positives. Like when she stood up for women who didn't want to breast feed their children, or when she encouraged (and still does) several thousands of fat people to lose weight and lead healthier lifestyles. She isn't nasty to the core; like everyone else, she has good and bad qualities. 

3) She actually tries to set positive examples for people living with a disability of some sort. She herself suffers from epilepsy and dislocates her shoulders and passes out unexpectedly on a very regular basis. She also has a shortened life expectancy because of this. But rather than let her disability define her, she tries to show people how they should live- rather than let their disability be who they are, it should just be a part of who they are. She may not always word things correctly, but the right intentions are there.

4) She can stand her ground. Regardless of what she says, she should never receive death threats concerning her children. What sort of a sick person do you have to be to wish death upon somebodies children, or anybody at all? The abuse Katie receives on a daily basis absolutely blows my mind, but she deals with it all, embraces the flaws that people kindly point out (and even makes jokes out of them!) and doesn't let her "haters" break her. I respect and admire that in any person, not just Katie. 

5) She's never been anything but lovely to me. She has told me I'm beautiful when I have doubted my looks, she has complimented my writing, my blog and my column on numerous occasions and gave me wonderful advice when I met her face to face. I find her can-do, tough love attitude towards life inspiring and helpful. Having had so many people try to prevent me from expressing myself and my opinions, I find her very useful to look to when I am struggling to cope with that. People need to read the full story and the full columns behind her tweets, rather than just judging the few, 140 characters she is given. Nobody can communicate a full story correctly in one tweet. You have to read the whole story first before you pass judgement. 

Love from, 

Florence Grace