Help me understand Greenland wanting to be independent from Denmark.

I'm from Europe, but I don't really understand why Greenland wants to be independent from Denmark?

Denmark subsidizes them to the tune of half a billion dollars annually, which is around 50% of it's government budget.

And that's only one of the benefits they receive from being a Danish territory.

Could they really be independent without that? A population of only 55.000?

Lastly, if they do indeed become independent, they certainly would immediately be swallowed up by the US, Russia or China in no time.