Karen’s Diner/Katie Hopkins - cancel?

[RosaMoline]

Quick question:
In the words of Mumsnet, AIBU?
It’s my eldest’s 30th this year, and as a surprise I’ve planned a day out for us on March 17th. We’re going to Hello Kitty cafe, Priscilla the Party and ending up in Karen’s Diner in Islington.
Some of you might know Karen’s from Social media. You basically get insulted and it looks very amusing.
I see from their insta, they’re doing some kind of collaboration with Katie Hopkins in their Manchester and Birmingham restaurants I think.
I am horrified and have left comments to that effect.
I actually feel that I want to cancel, and it’s a shame as it’s something we’d wanted to do for ages.
I however, cannot give my hard earned ££ to an organisation that is giving a platform to a racist right wing Trump supporting bigot.
Am I being unreasonable to cancel our reservation??

Catching up on this OP and it was really nice to read your genuinely kind responses to some of the posters.
I'm sure you can organize a really great day in London.

I think many people assume its one of the light weight jokey places such as the Disney version.

In reality the concept is a couple of middle class white blokes exploiting mysogyny and ageism for profit. The cherry on the cake is the term they use is appropriated from groups who coined the term to describe a particular form of racism they experienced.

Lovely chaps, both of them I'm sure.

As for Hopkins - she is entitled to speak just like anyone else. We are entitled to ignore her and tell others why we are ignoring her. Where I draw the line is lobbying or threatening institutions/businesses in order to stop people speaking because they don't comply with "right think".

I just read more about Toby Young after mentions here, another vile character then.
YANBU OP, although I can't say I'd have enjoyed the concept of Karen's Diner, I certainly wouldn't be supporting somewhere giving a stage to Katie Hopkins.

Yes, lots of respect for OP's responses on here.

Personally I wouldn't want to subsidise Katie Hopkins or any other professional ragebaiter, either directly or indirectly.

Followed? I have had the misfortune to work with a couple of the founders and their front in academia.

I've seen their members coordinate the infiltration of community groups and local trade unions, watched them divert funding from where it might be useful to fund talks from eugenicists, climate sceptics and opponents of the NHS.

It's one of many fronts set up by a coalition including the ex-Living Marxism libertarians and they are insidious and well funded

My views are based on my own experience, not an ideology .

Either you're one of them, or you've been duped.

Cancel - can thoroughly recommend the Fawlty Towers Dining Experience

These are the same tactics used by other lobby groups from different areas of politics. That doesn't make them uniquely bad or good, it simply makes them effective with currently popular tactics.

There are plenty on the left who want to change the current model of state backed health care to something more effective for modern needs. That doesn't make those people right wing climate sceptics.

Katie Hopkins is to political commentary what The Sunday Sport is to investigative journalism.

I don't mind opposing views when they're well researched and thought through but she has zero conviction and will u-turn on the spot if she thinks it will get her a few more seconds of attention. I don't think even she knows what her actual position on any given subject is beyond 'whatever gets me in the spotlight'.

It's a wonder anyone gives her a moments credence considering how frequently her views change, but then again not all that surprising given how easily manipulated many people are.

Agree, it sounds an awful place,, I cant thing how people would go just to be insulted,,,wierd

Sigh.

Freedom of speech means the government doesn’t arrest you for it.

You can use your freedom of speech to be a bully or a cunt or a racist or a complete piece of shite or all of them put together.

But freedom of speech DOES NOT MEAN freedom FROM consequences.

So if you use your freedom of speech to be a bully, then people can choose to: make you a social pariah, not support your business, give you bad reviews, and bully YOU if that’s what they choose to use THEIR freedom of speech for.

That’s until any of it breaks the law, i.e. you’re racist and in a position to hire people and allow it to affect that, or you let your bullying cross over into harassment and stalking, etc. We do have laws.

Right, so what you are alleging here is that some people who are members of the FSU have done things you don’t agree with.

I am sure they are many people who are members of one group or another who do things as private individuals that is outwith the remit of that group.

So come back to me when you can evidence your claim that Toby Young is only interested in promoting right wing speech and right wingers. Because the Free Speech Union he founded is not limited to that. In fact, come to think of it, the only organisation I can think of set up to support freedom of expression that supports people across a range of beliefs, is the FSU. Those Organisations set up with left leaning people, such as Le Pen and the writers guild, have spectacularly failed to support free speech and expression across the board. So good on the FSU for genuinely holding firm to its principles and good on you for helping to bring me to this realization.

Yes, similar tactics to the SWP, but with international funding streams and support in parliament and the Lords.

Organising events such as, the battle of ideas, or inviting James Thompson, Richard Lynn or Toby Young to speak does.

Let's remind ourselves of mediabiasfactcheck's rating of just one of Toby Youngs websites

You can use your freedom of speech to be a bully or a cunt or a racist or a complete piece of shite or all of them put together

I actually don’t agree with this framing of the principle of freedom of speech. It’s important to have freedom of speech so that, through debate, society can discern the good ideas from the bad. It enables us to form consensus around well-critiqued and tested positions. If people think that when Voltaire said ‘ I don’t agree with what you say but I will defend to your death the right to say it’ , he would have laid down his life for someone who called someone else, ‘ a ginger minger speccy four eyes’ , they are undoubtedly wrong.

Just shown this to my eldest who went with his partner a while ago. He said to offer my services for free as I'm a shite cook and I can shout the odd obscenity/derogatory comment with a sneer...
#samethingbutcheaper
(He said it wasn't great)

that's a good summary, thanks

😁

I have to say I have seen video clips of people at KD, and it just wasn’t funny. Not in a ‘how offensive’ way but just in a ‘but what you are saying is not making me laugh’ way.

It’s just lame and try hard. Someone would have to have more wit than Oscar Wilde to turn a ‘go on then, insult me’ experience into something genuinely funny. I mean, most of OW wit was funny as it WAS unexpected, and therefore outrageous, in the context.

that thumb with a beard Andrew Tate

Haha! A perfect description of this living smear of excrement.

😂good user name

cant agree because i Love katie hopkins, she would hate me because ima lazy obese nothing of a woman :D But i agree with everything she says pretty much

Katie Hopkins only tells the truth. Don’t be such a snowflake.

However, I’ve got no idea why you’d want to go to Karen’s diner, it looks bloody awful. Why
pay to be shouted at and insulted?

Why on earth would anyone want to go to that venue in the first place?

Kate Hopkins isn't racist. You can be against how this government deals with immigration and not be racist you know.

So on a slightly unrelated note, what did everyone else do for their 30th and was it a happy memory?

I was pregnant on my 30th. Some friends came round for curry. Was nice.

On my 30th I had a bbq with friends. It was about 4 months before I met dh and I thought I’d never meet anyone. On my 40th sh and I had a joint big birthday. On my 50th I had lunch in a pub with dh and the dcs.