Petition urges LondonMayor to scrap Harry Potter Christmas lights over transphobia

[IwantToRetire]

Thousands of people have signed a petition calling on London Mayor Sadiq Khan to cancel Harry Potter-themed Christmas lights planned for Oxford Street this year.

The display is intended to promote the forthcoming Harry Potter TV series, but campaigners object to the promotion of JK Rowling's work due to what they argue are here anti-trans views.

Signatories to the petition, which was organised by the Good Law Project, also say the lights will leave trans people feeling unwelcome and unsafe in one of London's best-known festive locations.

Article continues at https://www.localgov.co.uk/Petition-urges-Khan-to-scrap-Harry-Potter-Christmas-lights-over-transphobia-/65071

How much more bizarre does the trans activist world get than to claim they are threatened by a set of twinkling Christmas lights depicting wizards and other fictional characters from a children's book?

I feel like I'm stuck in an episode of The Day Today sometimes

I can just imagine Chris Morris reading this out while a protester cries real tears behind him

Yep. You couldn't make it up. I hope they don't give in. There must be millions more HP fans than there are people offended by JKR's views. Besides, it's probably all ready, and would be a right pain to change now. I wonder if there's a counter-petition to keep them?

I think there are millions more people offended by "JKR's" views that she hasn't actually ever expressed than those genuinely offended by anything that she has said.,

also say the lights will leave trans people feeling unwelcome and unsafe in one of London's best-known festive locations.

Could someone explain to these people that others are not responsible for how they react to things? I mean, I found the LBTQ etc flags in Regent St pretty threatening, but suspect that had I said so that sympathy would have been in short supply

Signatories to the petition, which was organised by the Good Law Project, also say the lights will leave trans people feeling unwelcome and unsafe in one of London's best-known festive locations.

I rolled my eyes so far back in my head, I can practically see my brain.

How pathetic. If they don't want to see them can I suggest they don't go?

They’ll have already been bought and possibly installed, too late now! The HP shop opens soon too, maybe they should just avoid Oxford Street…and Kings Cross…and TV in December…just to be safe.

Good grief. Presumably all these poor souls can never travel via Kings Cross station?

Is there anything that this bunch of loons don’t find triggering. They appear to be made to feel unwelcome and unsafe by very mundane and every day occurrences. Perhaps a nice uninhabited island somewhere that has no twinkly lights or pesky women to traumatise them is the way to go.

If they're reduced to fear and trembling by electric lights I suggest they stay out of central London, where decorations (of all things) making them feel unsafe are going to be the least of their worries.

For most of us they come a long way down the list after electric bikes, phone snatchers and colour blind cyclists (the ones who can't see and understand red).

I nearly didn't post because I thought we shouldn't acknowledge their stupidity.

But then I saw it was another GLP scam, and I really think they need to exposed.

And then I thought what will the Mayor do?!

Of course it would be great to have a pro Harry Potter christmas lights petition. And sadly, I thought even if someone set it up, I doubt it would get as many signatures.

Whatever else you might want to say about TRAs there is no doubt their social media campaigning is well organised.

The history books will have a field day writing about how people totally lost their minds in the first quarter of the 21st century!!

Thousands my arse

Absolute babies. I'm fed up of hearing people bleating that they 'don't feel safe,' or they 'don't feel welcome.' Grow the fuck up.

Me too. As a lesbian those flags made me feel extremely unwelcome & I work in that area so I couldn’t even avoid them.

The petition is on the GLP web site and has around 5,000 signatures.

But as it turns out the Mayor doesn't take decisions about Oxford Street lights (its a commercial company that does) presumably this is just another self promotion of the GLP.

So maybe I shouldn't have started a thread.

They are such negating time wasters.

That does not take account of the sock puppets, and in any event 5,000 does not amount to a significant minority.

glad you posted, more light an all that.

Yeah I just looked it up, it's a private company, privately funded (by retailers and sponsors). Nothing to do with the mayor.

So not only are they impotently complaining, they're impotently complaining at the wrong person

Which of course is funny - accept that media will still report as thought they are a serious campaign group.

Compare how many times they get media coverage compared to say Sex Matters.

Just seen a facebook post like this GLP are putting out adverts on SM to get e mail support lol

It'll peak even more people, so thank you GLP ☀

I’m not entirely sure that the old adage ‘there’s no such thing as bad publicity’ applies to the increasingly badly named GLP!

Of course the Good Law Project are in there. Another day another crowd funder.

I think of 1000s of people signing that and I wish I'd become a therapist or maybe worked in adult education. Everyone on it a potential customer.

"Knowing there are people out there allowed to have different opinions makes me feel unsafe"