The fifth Yule Lad, Pottaskefill (Pot Scraper) published an anti-technology manifesto yesterday, which he plans to hand to MP Vilhjálmur Bjarnason at Alþingi today.
“I have been working on this manifesto for many years,” Pottaskefill told the Grapevine. “What I’m looking to achieve here is a leaderless movement of passive resistance to consumerism and the increasingly bizarre and frightening technologies of electronic era. All these rich people with their dishwashers, they just put their pots right in there, nobody leaves any pots out for me to scrape anymore.”
Pottaskefill’s manifesto is 1375 pages long and prescribes a lifestyle that abandons technology in favour of a return to what he describes as a “natural life”.
Specifically, a life without dishwashers.
Last week the parliament proposed changes in taxation that would lead to the lowering of VAT on electric appliances, and a corresponding raised VAT on food products.
The opposition argued against this noting that people don’t buy TV sets and refrigerators that often whereas most people prefer to eat every day.
To this, Independence Party MP Vilhjálmur Bjarnason responded that it was good that those who are better off can afford to purchase expensive electronic household items so that those worse off can buy decent appliances second hand, at low prices. By this logic, it is better that the VAT on electric appliances is lowered to incentivise the rich to consume more electronic goods.
“My hope is that Vilhjálmur will read the manifesto and maybe take some time to consider how he consumes,” said Pottaskefill. “He used to be such a good kid, he got a gift in his shoe every year, I’m not kidding. Now that he’s a grown up, he hasn’t left a pot out for me to scrape in years. Years! Christmas is a time for giving and kindness and living a humble life, free of electronic dishwashers. If you’re too busy shopping for new dishwashers, you’ll miss it.”
When asked whether he had ever owned a dishwasher of his own Pottaskefill said no, which might explain why he was unaware of the fact that it is generally not recommended to put pots into dishwashers. When the Grapevine brought this up with him, he stormed out of the editorial office shouting, “well you could have fucking told me that before I spent ten years writing this fucking manifesto!”
All of the Grapevine staff awoke this morning with a potato in their shoe.
If you or your family would like to meet Pottaskefill, he will be making his annual visit to the National Museum of Iceland at 11 am today.
To learn more about Icelandic Christmas traditions check out our Encyclopaedia of Icelandic Holidays.
The Yulevine Calendar
Day 1: Stekkjastaur Turns Down Össur Prosthetic
Day 2: Giljagaur Doesn’t Understand How Monopolies Work, Still Has Opinions
Day 3: Stúfur Considering Legally Changing His Name
Day 4: Þvörusleikir Shares Top 5 Holiday Uses For Wooden Spoons
Buy subscriptions, t-shirts and more from our shop right here!
