Rowling, Potter Alumni Support Staying in the EU
By Ani Bundel
J.K. Rowling and other famous Potter alumni come out in vocal support of the United Kingdom staying in the European Union.
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Americans are probably semi-unaware of the this, but over int eh united Kingdom right now, there is a huge referendum being voted on if the country should stay part of the European Union or not. This is a bit like if one of our fifty states, say, California, were voting to leave the United States. It’s a really big deal.
With the voting under a month away at this point, British stars are beginning to come out and announce their positions on the matter. J.K. Rowling, who has never been shy about expressing her political opinions kicked it off this week with a long string of tweets discussing why she felt it was important for the UK to remain a part of the European Union.
It started out pretty emphatically:
In, in, in, in, in. https://t.co/EU5wRBazij
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 22, 2016
And just went from there.
Fact checked information on the EU referendum (i.e., independent of either campaign): https://t.co/j11cnTyXIr
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 22, 2016
She even tweeted a fact guide for those who are curious about the details, by the way. Servicey!
26% of NHS doctors are non-British. We are relying on immigrant health workers. https://t.co/hRFgN1Hvgj https://t.co/9F8WzqgJ4o
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 22, 2016
Rowling is a huge proponent of NHS (The UK health care system.) it’s not surprising she using it as part of her reasoning.
I don't think the EU's perfect. I simply believe its benefits (not only economic) greatly outweigh the negatives. https://t.co/OzQQoB1MsZ
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 22, 2016
People arguing with me on the EU: "you're rich" isn't actually an argument. https://t.co/rH4CdOorCm
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 22, 2016
The other 'argument' I'm getting. This is one of the more sophisticated versions. Lovely stuff. pic.twitter.com/RvzMeJrffm
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 22, 2016
WELP. Rowling’s not the only one coming out in favor of staying either. Several Potter alumni signed an open letter this week, urging Britons not to vote to leave the Union, including Helena Bonham Carter and Sir John Hurt. (Even Benedict Cumberbatch signed. I know he’s not Potter alumni, but I know we all love him just the same.) The letter says, in part:
"From the smallest gallery to the biggest blockbuster, many of us have worked on projects that would never have happened without EU funding or collaborating across borders. Britain is not just stronger in the EU, it is more imaginative and creative. Our global creative success would be severely weakened by walking away."
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The referendum vote in on June 23rd. I have a feeling Rowling will probably be tweeting about this quite a lot between then and now. Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe have not spoken out yet, but I would not be surprised if they do in the next few days.