Get ekki gera neitt í því

Upon entering the national library, I am greeted by signs telling the U.S. to get out. I knew there was an exhibition at the library about the protests surrounding the U.S. military base in Iceland, but I did not expect it to be quite so confrontational.

There are intellectual and symbolic grounds for Icelanders to object to the base in Keflavík, of course, such as Icelandic nationalism and a general anti-military stance. But compared to other U.S. military bases abroad, like the ones in the Holy Land of Saudi Arabia, or ones in Germany that serve as a daily reminder of the German defeat, or the ones in Japan where the soldiers have been found guilty of serious misconduct towards the citizens, the one here in Iceland seems to me to have less of a grounds to be so hated.

Anyhow, I had a hard time not taking the exhibition personally, and started honestly to feel quite unwelcome. But then I thought these days Icelanders certainly must realize that no one is perfect.

Comments

Björn Friðgeir said…
remember that little thing called the Vietnam war?
It was opposed quite a lot in Europe too.
Also there was the opposition to nuclear armament.
Istr there being quite large protests in the US.
Do NOT take this personally.
April 14, 2010 at 2:36 PM
Anonymous said…
yeah, I'd say almost all Icelanders didn't have the slightest thing against the common US citizen, in spite of the wordings on those signs.

I for one, having opposed the naval station since my first realization of politics, had a boyfriend in the US Marines, stationed in Keflavík.
April 15, 2010 at 11:15 PM
Lissy said…
Ha, ha, thank you Hildigunnur! And Björn, I appreciated it. Was just feeling a bit sensitive.
April 16, 2010 at 9:16 PM
Anonymous said…
can you guys pleas see my blog im new t this just type in problems plssssssssssssssss
April 18, 2010 at 4:43 AM
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