Reykjavík Grapevine - nov 2020, Qupperneq 32

L IF E , T R AV EL & EN T ER TA INMEN T IN ICEL A ND
Issue 09 ! 2020
Nov 27th—Dec 17th
www.grapevine.is
LAST WORDS
An Ode To Nebraska
Words: Hannah Jane Cohen
Before the Pennsylvania mail-in ballots ar-
rived like Éomer at Helm’s Deep and Georgia
slashed down Trump’s “victory” like Neville
lunging at Nagini, there was a quieter un-
sung hero for the Democrats in the United
States. A flyover hero, one could say. One
that uses ranked electoral college voting. A
hero 2020 needed; one that stepped up.
So hello, Nebraska .
Welcome to your tape.
Yes, there was a fateful moment in the
recent U.S. election where, while results in
Pennsylvania and Georgia were still lean-
ing Republican red, Arizona, Wisconsin and
Michigan had been called for the Demo-
crats. This situation would have put Joe
Biden and Trump just one electoral college
vote away from each other and from victo-
ry. And where would one find a single blue
electoral college vote? Well, perhaps from
a SINGLE CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT IN
NEBRASKA, BABY!
Yes, there was a serious possibility that
the reliably red state of Nebraska where
58.5% voted for Trump could have—with
their system of ranked voting—been the
deciding vote that instilled a Democratic
president. How cinematic is that, right?
Icelanders, hear me out. Nebraska is ba-
sically the Sau!árkrókur of the US. In my
short life, it’s been a punchline whenever I
needed an awful, horrible, boring example
of a shitty place to live. I’ve never been there
and I know I’m being dramatic, but I’m try-
ing to paint a picture of how biased Demo-
crats can be about traditionally Republican
areas. We just assume they are awful, much
like Iceland’s northern wasteland.
Imagine if Sau!árkrókur saved Iceland
from a fascist dictator who wore weird
makeup. Imagine if they were the ones who,
by mobilising with a 74% voter turnout rate,
got Jared fucking Kushner out of our media.
Seriously, Nebraska. What good has even
come from Nebraska? According to Google,
Fred Astaire, Jojo Siwa and that guy from
‘Pitch Perfect’? Woohoo. Even the word Ne-
braska sounds depressing and according
to TripAdvisor, one of the top attractions
in the state is something called Carhenge,
where some artist put old cars in the shape
of Stonehenge. Woohoo.
But when America called, Nebraska came
to its aid. So Nebraska, I apologise. I’m sorry
for being an ivory tower coastal elite that
boxed you into the same category as some-
where truly shitty, like Arkansas and Wyo-
ming. You’re alright. Carhenge sounds lit
and Sau!árkrókur, you ain’t too bad your-
self.
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