As Americans Rioted for a Ball Game, Iceland Took to the Streets and Forced their PM to Resign

Reykjavik, Iceland — Monday night, thousands of impassioned college students took to the streets of Villanova, Pennsylvania, to take a stand for what they believe in. Thousands gathered, many of whom clashed with police to stand up for their cause — NCAA basketball.

Had these college students, been at the wildlife refuge in Oregon to protest BLM land grabs, they would have been called terrorists. Had they been in Ferguson, Missouri to protest police killings, they would have been called thugs. Instead, these inebriated individuals who started fires, assaulted cops, and caused other people injuries — are called “revelers.”

It is this tendency of Americans to shun those who stand up for a cause, and the glorification of insignificant bread and circus events, that almost guarantees tyranny.

If we compare America’s view on protesting with that of Iceland, however, we find the opposite.

After the now infamous Panama Papers had exposed Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, and his secret use of offshore accounts, the citizens of Iceland took to the streets.

It was revealed in the leaked Panama Papers that Gunnlaugsson’s wife owned a secret offshore investment company with multi-million claims in Iceland’s failed banks.

The leaked documents from the Mossack Fonseca law firm show Gunnlaugsson and his wife, Anna Sigurlaug Pálsdóttir, bought a British Virgin Islands-based offshore company, Wintris Inc, in December 2007 to invest her share of the proceeds of the sale of her father’s business, Iceland’s only Toyota importer.

Gunnlaugsson sold his 50% stake to his wife for a symbolic $1 at the end of 2009, eight months after he was elected to parliament as an MP for the centre-right Progressive party. He failed, however, to declare an interest in the company either then or when he became prime minister in 2013.

Gunnlaugsson has denied all the allegations against him and has publicly stated that the failure to declare the interest was due to an error created by he and his wife sharing a bank account.

On Monday, tens of thousands of protesters marched on Reykjavik to demand Gunnlaugsson’s resignation. And, on Tuesday — it worked.

A whopping 6.6 percent of the entire country took to the streets — not to celebrate their winning team, drink beer, and set trash cans on fire, but to incite change through letting their so-called leaders know that they will not stand for corruption.

“What would be the most natural and the right thing to do is that he resign as prime minister,” Birgitta Jónsdóttir, a former WikiLeaks activist who represents the opposition Pirate party in parliament, told TheGuardian. “There is great demand for that in society; he has totally lost all his trust and believability.”

Iceland’s embattled prime minister, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, has tendered his resignation in the wake of a mounting political crisis over his family’s offshore investments, local media have reported.

The agriculture and fisheries minister, Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson, told state broadcaster RUV that Gunnlaugsson was resigning as prime minister and that he would be replacing him.

Iceland’s track record of holding bankers and politicians accountable is second to none in the West. As corrupt, thieving, and even murderous politicians and bankers in the US get appointed to positions of authority, similar folks in Iceland are rotting in jail.

Until the infatuation with irrelevance takes a back seat to reality and facing down the tyrants out to control our lives, we can expect to see more of the same. We need only look at the choices for presidents in the country right now to realize — Americans have a long road ahead.

Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world.

In the entire recorded history of the world assigning blame has never solved anything. It’s just finger pointing BS. The simple fact is that political pendulums swing, they always have, they always will. It’ll swing back.

The Fathers were actually in a position to accomplish something. It was a smaller world, individuals could do more. Also they rode a ground swell that had been around for a while. My “inaction” is not leading to anything. Shame on YOU for being a finger pointing #@#$$%^. You want to talk about inaction, THAT’S worse than inaction. You go out of your way to alienate your allies, way to help the other side.

My “inaction” is not leading to anything.

Combined with the millions just like you and me, our inaction is, in fact, the reason our Nation is crumbling. The Pendulum swings the other way ONLY when a critical mass of people make it do so. I'm sorry you reacted as you did. You need to react another way to shoulder your share of responsibility.

You and I and all of us who just watched the leftists slowly take control of everything are to blame. So shame on you just the same. I have no problem sharing that blame. Please, just come to grips with the fact that all of us matter.

The “critical mass” comes more from people getting tired of the way things are. That’s how history works, things go in one direction until eventually the failings of that direction annoy a high enough percentage that they start going the other, and eventually the failings of that direction annoy enough people... lather rinse repeat. The world is monotonously cyclical.

I didn’t just watch. I did what I could. If you don’t consider that enough that’s YOUR problem. I’m sorry you regret your actions and then project them on the world. Out here in reality though that’s YOUR problem. So shame on you AGAIN for thinking that since you just watched so did everybody else.

You need to get your story straight. First you’re saying you didn’t do anything, now you’re saying you didn’t just watch.

The picket line has no effect. All that happened in Iceland is that they kicked out a guy that wasn’t part of the problem, and proved that a loud minority can subvert the electoral process. That’s not an accomplishment. And if you think that’s the path America should take you’re part of the problem. Real societal changes are quiet. They don’t happen in the sign waving crowd, or at he ballot box. They happen at the dinner table. They happen when people think, they happen when people talk, they happen when people stop thinking finger pointing is an accomplishment.

I’m doing my part. Much better than you. go be loud if you must. But understand that accomplishes NOTHING. Less than nothing really. Loud mobs at best give the other side evidence that people they disagree with are nuts. Learn to influence quietly, stop accusing people, THINK, DISCUSS. Understand that every single time you scold somebody you’re proving you’re part of the problem. And until you learn to actually function as an adult, leave me alone. Really, I don’t care if you’re retired, you act 14, and I just plain don’t need any 14 years olds scolding me for THEIR life failings.

You need to get your story straight. First you’re saying you didn’t do anything, now you’re saying you didn’t just watch.

The story is quite straight. None of us conservatives did enough to keep back the tide of liberalism. We stayed employed full time and tended our families. Most did little else. Meanwhile the leftists ACTIVATED by planning and then infiltrating key positions in the schools and in the government. If you think this is not the case, then perhaps you have not been paying attention.

Real societal changes are quiet. They don’t happen in the sign waving crowd, or at he ballot box.

This is true, and not true. This Nation came into existence through armed rebellion; but, I have to assume you know that. You just aren't basing your story on facts. The screaming hoards of hippies did get us out of Vietnam. The ballot box is useless without the constant monitoring of the elected "representatives".

...they happen when people stop thinking finger pointing is an accomplishment...

Only if people get active.

I’m doing my part. Much better than you.

Quite a reach with no evidence to either back up that claim or assess my part.

The Founding Fathers put their lives and everything they possessed at risk. Are you willing to do the same should that become necessary?

So far, you are the only conservative that believes we did enough. Of course, few are still willing to go beyond the ballot box or discuss politics outside of the family at the supper table. Big influence there.

“Active” doesn’t really accomplish anything. Societies change as people change.

The screaming hoards of hippies didn’t get us out of Viet Nam. They’d already gone away by the time we left. Heck during the height of screaming hippies Nixon was elected, and one of the first things he did was drastically INCREASE our presence in Vietnam. That shows the power of the screaming hoards vs the ballot box.

This nation came into existence because the British Empire over extended and mismanaged. This created a large amount of discontent, and a complete inability on their part to deal with it. By the time the armed rebellion came they’d already functionally lost the colony, the only question at that point was how long would the paperwork take to catch up with reality, and what would the colonists do about it.

The Founding Fathers joined an already winning movement and gave it direction. Again, the writing was on the wall, the colony was going to leave, they just added a lot of cool language to it. The fact that the British couldn’t contain drunks in Boston is what shows they were losing their grip. And of course in some way the way the Founders guided us was actually the LESS dangerous path, that kept us much closer to England. The War of 1812 was when we really became independent of England.

Discussing things at he table IS the big influence. Look at any poll on the issues people actually think are important. They very rarely match what the politicians are talking about, and even rarer are people manning some picket line about them. These are the concerns of the dinner table. And the changings of society, and certain ideas fall in and out of favor, happen at the table. People decide their opinion on the social issues of the day at the table.

I didn’t was we did enough. I said _I_ did enough. If you didn’t do enough that’s not my problem or concern. I’m pointing out that you’re being disingenuous and just plain rude condemning others you know nothing of what they’ve done. You declare “shame on you” and then wonder why the person now thinks you’re a blowhard @#$^&&*. You alienate people, people who should be your allies, and insist that’s the right path. But it’s the wrong path. It’s the stupid path. And it’s the path that’s wasted enough of my time. Good bye. I will not be reading your next pointlessly insulting missive, I’m a little busy.

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