Reykjavík Grapevine - okt. 2020, Blaðsíða 4

What Are Icelanders
Talkin! About?
The topics that are !ettin! people
banned from the comments
Words: Andie Sophia Fontaine Illustration: Sveinbjörn Pálsson
This probably won’t come
as a surprise to our read-
ers, but the hottest topic right now
is the increased domestic restric-
tions in response to the coronavi-
rus pandemic. The restrictions,
which went into effect at midnight
on October 5th, limit social gather-
ing to 20 people; shut down bars,
restaurants, gyms and Reykjavík-
area pools; and require the use of
masks everywhere it’s not possible
to maintain a two-metre distance
between people.
Two points of conflict have
raised concerning which facili-
ties are closed and the now-
mandatory policy of wearing a
mask on the bus. Gym owners in
particular have been upset about
the restrictions, pointing out that
while they can create conditions
for proper social distancing, for
whatever reason Icelandic authori-
ties are allowing contact sports
to continue. Meanwhile, regular
bus users were not alerted about
the mask policy through the apps
they use and those who do mask up
have complained that some drivers
are admitting passengers without
mask. So it would seem there are
still a few kinks to work out
A great many Icelanders are
seriously concerned about China
allegedly spying on us. Shortly
after news broke that some 400
Icelanders were included in
the massive Zhenhua Data
leak, where millions of influen-
tial people around the world were
ranked in terms of their interest to
Chinese authorities by a company
with ties to that country’s mili-
tary and intelligence sector, the
Chinese embassy in Reykjavík
has come under fire for another
sort of alleged surveillance: its
CCTV cameras. Reportedly, the
embassy’s video surveillance
covers a much wider swath of
ground around the embassy than
is deemed necessary and Iceland’s
Ministry of Foreign Affairs has
asked the embassy to move the
cameras. With that in mind, what-
ever you do, don’t do anything anti-
China anywhere near the embassy;
they may be watching you.
Apparently Centre Party chair
and disgraced former Prime
Minister Sigmundur Daví!
Gunnlaugsson is not getting
enough attention, as he chose to
direct national focus on himself
by speaking out in opposi-
tion to a bill that would protect
intersex children from medi-
cally unnecessary, non-consensual
and, in many cases, psychologi-
cally damaging surgeries on their
genitalia. Sigmundur spared no
hyperbole, calling the bill “prob-
ably the scariest parliamentary
issue I can remember in recent
times”—pretty rich coming from a
guy named in the Panama Papers.
Response came swiftly from direc-
tor of the National Queer Organ-
isation !or björg !orvaldsdóttir,
who said in part, “This is the most
extremist talk I have ever heard.
He wants, in other words, that we
continue to perform unnecessary
surgeries on children who have no
say in the matter.” The bill is from
the Prime Minister and its passage
is all but certain, no matter what
Sigmundur has to say about it.
4The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 08— 2020First
NEWS
Our illustration department imagines Je! Koons' view of Corona
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