{"id":2219,"date":"2013-08-08T09:29:25","date_gmt":"2013-08-08T15:29:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/?p=2219"},"modified":"2013-08-08T09:29:25","modified_gmt":"2013-08-08T15:29:25","slug":"an-affair-can-be-liberating-katie-hopkins-gives-just-about-the-worst-advice-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/paperbacktheology\/2013\/08\/an-affair-can-be-liberating-katie-hopkins-gives-just-about-the-worst-advice-ever.html","title":{"rendered":"“An Affair Can Be Liberating” Katie Hopkins Gives Just About the Worst Advice Ever…"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/iframe>So I\u2019ve never heard of Katie Hopkins, apparently she\u2019s well known in the UK for being part of their apprentice reality show. However, I\u2019m writing this book right now and in one of the chapters I talk about cheating and our ability to rationalize bad behavior. So I have a Google alert on the word \u201ccheating\u201d so I can watch what\u2019s in the news. <a href=\"http:\/\/uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com\/katie-hopkins-cheating-affair-revenge-apprentice-084918877.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">This article<\/a>\u00a0and the above clip came up yesterday.<\/p>\nDuring her stint on the celebrity apprentice show, Hopkins was asked if she had ever lied or cheated to get what she wanted. She answered, \u201cYes, to get somebody else\u2019s husband because I wanted him.\u201d When challenged she said, \u201cI don\u2019t apologize for stealing my husband Mark from his wife. Our affair was exhilarating, our time together has been a hoot and we\u2019re happy.\u201d She is on the record recommending an affair to other people, saying that cheating can be fun and we are all cheaters at heart.<\/p>\nThe main video clip is of Hopkins talking about how she judges other children by their names. She actually won\u2019t let her kids be friends with kids whose names suggest they are of a lower class. \u201cI don\u2019t like footballer\u2019s names, I don\u2019t like names after seasons of the year, I don\u2019t like geographical location names\u2026 Brooklyn, or London\u2026\u201d She was interrupted by one of the hosts who reminded her that her child\u2019s name is India. Interesting double standard.<\/p>\nThankfully Katie Hopkins is not a teacher, pastor, therapist, or even a celebrity with her own show or platform. She\u2019s not truly a thought leader, although I\u2019m sure some segment of British society probably sees her as a champion and rebel. However, she is on television a great deal. Just a cursory search turned up dozens of interviews, all with Hopkins\u2019 patent anti-wisdom.<\/p>\nI bring this up because it hits upon two things that I\u2019ve been pondering lately:<\/p>\nFirst, you are responsible for what you put out into the world.<\/strong> I used to say this to young bands when I was producing their records and they\u2019d bring this violent, dark, depressing, and sometimes gory stuff to me. I can\u2019t think of a single time the artists changed their lyrics per my advice. Nevertheless I believe it\u2019s true. You are responsible for what you put out into the world. What you say, what you do, what you write, where you work, what you produce\u2026 it all will have an impact, and you are on the hook for it.<\/p>\nMy guess is that most of what Hopkins is saying is for effect. She\u2019s being incendiary in order to get more viewers and web traffic, so that producers will keep booking her for daytime shows. Heck, I\u2019m implicated by virtue of linking to the interview and writing about it. But I can\u2019t help wondering if twenty years from now, when she starts to look back at what she\u2019s been telling people, she\u2019ll face a lot of regret. This principle is even more important for executives and producers of radio and television. Don\u2019t book people who do and say horrible things just for the ratings. You are responsible for what you put out into the world.<\/p>\nSecond, our ability to rationalize bad behavior is an evil super-power.<\/strong> Think of every comic book villain. At the heart of their story is the ability to rationalize killing and hurting others. Part of what Hopkins is doing that is scary, is she offers other people a playbook for how to rationalize hurting other people, and living a life that generates human suffering and contributes to the misery of others.<\/p>\nHopkins is certainly not alone in her ability to rationalize bad behavior, we all have this ability. But our ability to rationalize is not something to be nurtured, it\u2019s something we should fight against with all the virtue we can muster. When I listen to her speak, I\u2019m aware that although I think it\u2019s truly dangerous to become famous by being horrible and cruel to other people, the thing that really bothers me is that she is actively encouraging other people to rationalize bad behavior.<\/p>\nRationalization is the basis of so much suffering. As human beings we really do have the power to rationalize all kinds of terrible things from extramarital affairs, to white collar crime, to abusive behavior. This is not something of which to be proud.<\/p>\nThe ability to rationalize our bad behavior is one of the most powerful and dangerous abilities we have developed as human beings. One of the ways to counter it is to always remind ourselves that we are responsible for what we put out into the world. The other way is to never give the microphone to people who help us rationalize bad behavior. So I apologize for pointing you toward Katie Hopkins, and I won\u2019t do it again.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"So I\u2019ve never heard of Katie Hopkins, apparently she\u2019s well known in the UK for being part of their apprentice reality show. However, I\u2019m writing this book right now and in one of the chapters I talk about cheating and our ability to rationalize bad behavior. So I have a Google alert on the word […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1118,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[743,742,741],"class_list":["post-2219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-cheating","tag-katie-hopkins","tag-rationalize"],"yoast_head":"\n<title>"An Affair Can Be Liberating" Katie Hopkins Gives Just About the Worst Advice Ever...<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"So I've never heard of Katie Hopkins, apparently she's well known in the UK for being part of their apprentice reality show. 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