First Gay World Leader
TNG Contributer Ben submitted this post.
Even when we achieve venerated heights, we start at the bottom of the fucking mountain. I just read that the first gay world leader, Johanna Siguroardottir, has taken office as the Prime Minister of.....Iceland.
Yes, Iceland. The same Iceland whose banks destroyed the country's economy by creating liabilities equivalent to six times the island's entire economy. The Iceland that used tear gas to disperse anti-government protesters last week. The Iceland whose 310,000 citizens are now hoarding food and whose biggest exports for the forseeable future will be popcicles and Bjork.
I give Iceland credit for recognizing what the gay community figured out a long time ago: if you need to solve problems and get your shit organized, find a tough dyke. However, I think Johanna is going to need our help. My first inclination is to figure out what Iceland makes that queers can unite around and consume en masse (other than Bjork) in order to stimulate their economy. My friend Jeff says that they make a great yogurt called Skyr, and I'm mad addicted to Sirius semi-sweet chocolate, both of which can be bought at Whole Foods. I guess that's a start.
Out of solidarity and a desire to see her succeed, the gays should also probably export creative talent, kind of like when our government sent reconstruction resources to third world foreign countries like Iraq, Afganistan, and Louisiana. The only thing worse than being cold and broke is being cold, broke, and depressed, so we should do what we can to buttress the Icelandic spirit by doing what so many of our people do best: create beauty. First person I nominate is that guy Vern Kip from HGTV. I don't remember the name of the home decorating program he hosts, but with $20 bucks, fishing line, and a bag of tea lights that little queer could transform a nordic meat shed into a victorian drawing room. An army of personal trainers, singer-songwriter/spoken word artists, mannequin dressers and 101 new ways to prepare and present whale blubber sandwiches may not fill those poor frozen bastards with the relentless optimism they need to get through the times ahead, but it's a start.
See Also:
Website for Gay Iceland
Buy Icelandic Products Online
Icelandic Tourist Board
2 comments:
Don't forget Sigur Ros!
Maybe traveling to Iceland would help the most, since there's only one way to get there from this side of the Atlantic (via Icelandair, though they don't fly from BWI any more)
You need to understood how Iceland got to have a lesbian prime minister, you'd realize that it is the nature of smaller communities and nations to overlook some things in the crafting of an identity. In addition she wasn't strictly speaking elected to the position, it being a parliamentary system, which is not to minimize the achievement, it is simply to provide you with an understanding.
From a sustainability perspective their chocolate and beer might not be the way to go, but skyr and lamb, which don't require shipping things to the island and then away again are better.
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