Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.12.2012, Síða 4

MOST AWESOME LETTER
TWO FREE PAIRS OF WOOLLEN SOCKS!!!11!
There's a wonderful new prize for all your MOST AWESOME LETTERS.
What kind of prize, you ask? THE BEST KIND OF PRIZE THERE IS: FREE
WOOLLEN SOCKS! TWO PAIRS OF FREE WOOLLEN SOCKS!
Yes, this lovely prize will keep your feet warm and cosy
throughout your stay in Iceland and in any subsequent places you might
go that sometimes get cold. And these aren’t just any old woollen socks
either, these are the colourful, wonderful, extra-long kind from
Geysir (for inspiration, why not go check them out at the Geysir store
on Skólavörðustígur before you write your AWESOME LETTER?).
Congratulations to whoever had MOST AWESOME LETTER for
this issue, you should drop us a line at letters@grapevine.is and
enquire how you collect your free socks! And if you’re in the market for
some socks come next issue, why not write us a wonderful reader letter
to that same address. Like Axl Rose said: “It’s so easy!”

On a recent visit to Iceland I read a copy of
Grapevine and I was shocked by the article
on abused women, "Nowhere Else To Turn".
If it is true that one in four women claim to
be victims of Sexual Abuse in Iceland that is
a shameful stain on the men of Iceland. That
means that a similar proportion of Icelandic
men are guilty of this spousal abuse. Perhaps
rather than build more shelters for abused
women Iceland should build more prisons
for the incarceration of the abusing men. I
live in Scotland and I was equally shocked
when the Scottish government released fig-
ures of spousal abuse of Scottish women,
although the figure quoted for Scotland was
about 1 in 8. What aspect of Icelandic culture
causes Icelandic men to believe that they
have a right to abuse Icelandic women? Is
it some type of Viking sentimentality or the
harsh weather conditions?. Men who abuse
their partners are scum.
Neil Sinclair
*
I noticed that you chose not to publish my
letter regarding abuse of Icelandic women,
no doubt you calculated that a lot of the
Icelandic men who are responsible for the
abuse read Grapevine, so it does not make
economic sense for Grapevine. Given the
choice to read about SF or abuse of women
most Grapevine readers would choose SF.
Abuse of Icelandic women, as with Scottish
women, is an Inconvenient truth which you
Icelanders prefer not to read about let alone
confront. Bless.
Neil Sinclair
*
I studied Psychology. If you want to know
somebody's attitude on a subject do not ob-
serve what they say/write but observe their
behavior/what they do. Perhaps nearly 24%
of Icelandic women being subject to abuse is
not considered important in Iceland. Have a
nice life.
Neil Sinclair
Dear Neil Sinclair,
Thank you for taking concern with the issue
of domestic abuse in Iceland. It is indeed an
incredibly important issue, which is why we
recently sent our journalist Mark O’Brien to
speak with the director of the women’s shel-
ter, and have printed numerous articles on
the problems of domestic abuse, child abuse,
sexual assault, and rape in the past. In this is-
sue there is an article by Kári Túlinius about
local feminist activist and occasional-Grape-
vine contributor Hildur Lilliendahl, who has
been banned from Facebook for exposing the
numerous threats of physical violence and
death she’s received. In fact, if you search
the word ‘abuse’ on our website, it yields ten
pages of articles and news briefs. This is un-
questionably important to us and our track
record supports this.
For the record, your letter didn’t get printed
because we have space constraints and word
counts and other letters had been waiting
longer to get printed, but to answer your orig-
inal question, the root cause of abuse against
women in Iceland is the same as in the rest
of the world: patriarchal dominance and mi-
sogyny. These social constructs are global
issues that have been largely internalised by
people of all genders and will have to be sys-
tematically dismantled in order to eradicate
domestic abuse. On an individual level, it’s
important to look for the warning signs in
our loved ones and acquaintances such as iso-
lation, manipulation, guilt-tripping, jealousy,
and aggression. But you studied psychology
so you should know all this, Neil Sinclair.
Fight the power!
Dear Sir or Madam,
My name is Peter Kallo, photographer from
Hungary. I would like to share with you an
intresting initiative. If you find it worth-
while, please publish it on your webpage.
Thank you very much for your help in ad-
vance.
Share your moment!
12:12, 12.12.12
What was the world doing at 12:12 pm on
the 12th day of the 12th month of 2012? Join
our competition and share your moment
with us, so that people all over the world can
see creative photos of who was doing what
at this unique point in time. This is not so
much a competition as an experiment, a way
to see what is happening to people from all
walks of life at one given moment: 12:12 pm,
12.12.2012.
Last chance of this century!
Send a photo taken in your time zone at
12:12 pm, on the 12th day of the 12th month
of 2012 to my Facebook page (https://www.
facebook.com/kallopeterphoto)!
Dear Peter Kallo,
What a fun idea! We are more than glad to
share this with our readers. In fact, we’ve
done you one better than the website: here it
is in print. Boom. Good luck with the project
and happy holidays!
Hello
I'm going to visit Iceland with a freind
from the 28. of december to the 4. of
January.
Since I didn't find much information
about the nightlife online, I hope you
could help me out with some answers.
Are there any good clubs for guys un-
der 20? (I'm 19) With good club I mean,
few douchebags, not too much "main-
stream" music and ravers that aren't
ashamed to dance.
Is there a DnB culture in Iceland? Or
where should I go to find a DnB or even
a Dubstep party?
And a question regarding the shop-
ping. Are there local brands in the style
of http://www.deadsouls.at/ or http://
cxxvi.net/?
Thank you for taking the timer to an-
swer my questions. I look forward to
your response.
Kind regards
Simon
Dear Simon,
Although you aren't technically allowed
in any of the bars, it probably won't be a
problem (unless you look really young).
You may want to try the bar Prikið. And,
you may also want to read this: www.
breakbeat.is/english.
I can't really think of anything similar
to www.deadsouls.at/. But maybe this,
www.dead.is/shop.html. You can prob-
ably find loads of stuff like http://cxxvi.
net/ But I'm not sure if that kind of
stuff is specifically Icelandic.
Hope that helps. If all else fails, here’s
a freebie to make your trip worthwhile,
and come again when you’re 20!

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Most Awesome Letter
of the Issue
At the seashore the giant lobster makes
appointments with mermaids and landlubbers.
He waves his large claws, attracting those desiring
to be in the company of starfish and lumpfish.
> Only 45 minutes drive from Reykjavík
Eyrarbraut 3, 825 Stokkseyri, Iceland · Tel. +354 483 1550
Fax. +354 483 1545 · info@fjorubordid.is · www.fjorubordid.is
by the sea
and a delicious lobster
at Fjörubordid in Stokkseyri
Reykjavík
Stokkseyri
Eyrarbakki - The Seashore restaurant
Sp
ör
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hf
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Summer opening hours: Mon - Sun 12:00 to 22:00