Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.09.2016, Page 6

FOR
If there’s one group of marginalised
people who suffer constant persecu-
tion, it’s bankers. They’re the last mi-
nority over whom it’s still ok to pour
scorn and ridicule. They’re hugely un-
derappreciated, and get nothing but
abuse for all the hard work that they do.
You may have seen that certain key
figures in custodial care of the once
glorious Kaupthing bank were award-
ed modest bonuses, the grand total of
which is a paltry 1.5 billion ISK, with
individual bankers getting about a
few measly millions for their trouble.
Almost instantly, politicians
were competing with one another
over who could be the most outraged
over the bonuses. Which is pretty
rich, considering these are the same
members of Parliament who were
perfectly happy letting bankers do
exactly as they pleased when times
were good. Now that times are get-
ting better again, you’d think they’d
be totally on board with giving these
hard-working bankers their due.
But no—apparently populism is
more important than having sound
principles, such as supporting the
wheels of capitalism no matter what.
You can hate all you want, but
without our bankers, there wouldn’t
be an economy. Deal with it.

AGAINST
I have been finding myself more and
more having to check the calendar to
make sure it isn’t 2007. Case in point:
Kaupthing bankers are making head-
lines, and not for being put in jail.
It is hugely insulting to the Ice-
landic people that these guys would
award themselves such a ridiculous
sum of money. But then again, it’s to
be expected: bankers have consis-
tently proven that they are at war with
Iceland, and yet no one seems brave
enough to stand up to them and do
what needs to be done. Namely, it’s
time to build a gulag in the Highlands.
Now, you may be asking: how is
building a gulag going to solve our
problems? Simple: the gulag will be
reserved for bankers only. As they
clearly and consistently pose a threat
to national security, we would be stu-
pid not to build a gulag, really. Plus
they could be made to actually work
for a living, for a change. Such work
could include being on chain gangs
maintaining Highlands roads, clean-
ing up litter (and organic leavings)
dropped by visitors to the region,
and repairing emergency shelters.
If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll
recognise that we need to confront the
banker problem head-on. Build the gu-
lag. Give their bonuses to the people.
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WORD OF
THE ISSUE:
The word of the issue this issue is tengi.
Literally the first-person personal of the
verb “to connect,” it is used amongst Ice-
landers on the internet to express that
they relate to something someone has
said or done. A very handy word to know
when taking part in Facebook threads
with your Icelandic friends.
Used in a sentence:
Facebook status: “Ég er pínu sorgmædd af
því að dyravörðurinn er hættur að biðja
mig um skilríki.” (“I’m a little sad that the
doorman has stopped asking for my ID.”)
Response: “Tengi.”
Tengi
A POEM
Dear immigrant mother
Dear immigrant mother,
I love your honey thick accent
and your beautiful soul
but what really makes me nervous
is your limpy painful walk
and the blood on your toes.
A Poem By
María Thelma
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 14 — 2016
6
A POEM BY is curated by Grapevine’s
poetry liaison, Jón Örn Loðmfjörð
Percentage of respondents
to a recent Gallup poll who
believe Iceland should wel-
come more refugees.
Percentage of Icelanders
in same Gallup poll who
believe the government
should do more to help
people seeking asylum.
Bonuses For
Bankers?
FRIENDLY
CROSSFIRE
Number of applications
granted asylum in July
2016 (NOTE: these
accepted applications
were not from amongst
those submitted in July).
Number of asylum
applications submitted
in July 2016.