2016.This is a message that I originally to only share with friends on my furry Discord server, but I've noticed that quite a few people have been posting "Fuck 2016" journals all over the site. And I have posted a status update with that same statement. This is simple a meme for many people, but for others, it has more value.
Many people have indeed experienced many problems throughout this year - and this year has been swarmed with deaths of celebrities, including George Michael, Richard Adams, Muhammad Ali, and just recently, Carrie Fisher. There's a plethora of celebrity years:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deaths_i…But let us not forget that we had a lots of losses in 2015, as Christopher Lee and Satoru Iwata died that year, for example. Nonetheless, this year has been rather more difficult. Again, this is not only because of the deaths of several iconic celebrities, but also because many people have gone through a lot more grievances than the usual. And let's not forget the terrorist attacks at the Pulse Nightclub, in Orlando (It was the deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman in U.S. history, mind you), the Bombings in Berlin and the attack in Nice, France, for example. But then again, 2015 also had terrorist attacks, like the Bataclan mass shooting in France.
Then, the US elections were a complete shitshow, with almost all party leaders acting like children. Not only that, but MTV's strange, irrational disdain for white males. This is a year that turned PewDiePie from your famous YouTube gamer to the most famous YouTube shit-talker. If the most popular YouTuber ever decides to give the website he works for, a verbal smackdown, you know there's something wrong with the site. And of course, why wouldn't there be? YouTube Heroes. The Subscription bug that was pretty much justified by YouTube as a mere "YouTube has investigated YouTube, and has found out that there's nothing wrong with YouTube.". The childish warfare between "roasting" channels with clickbait videos that are the primary reason for the Video Ad Monetization policy/mechanics change that led to chaos.
Then, the Mainstream Media is no longer pushing out proper news, but rather, articles that are full of inaccuracies and outlandish bias. Many things have become politicized, because a rising group that's sponsored by lies, corruption and power, has decided to make money out of ignorance. Then, scandals. Scandals, everywhere. This was also the year of two country leader impeachments.
Lots, and lots of Drama that has put everyone on the edge.
I personally had to deal lots of ordeals throughout this year - including a Christmas that I just want to forget for the rest of my life. But it's not something that's going to put me down. And that's the message I want to spread:
This year is not really a cursed year, as some people may believe. With that said, it's understandable that they feel that way. At some point, I also felt that there was something strange that was pulling all these strings. I mean, with all the things that have occurred this year, it's surreal. But the matter of fact is, this has been simply a year of many, many changes.
Of course, many changes have been terrible. And of course, I am not implying that terrorist attacks are changes. Those are merely a product of terrible money-and-power-hungry decisions made by the officials of some Western countries, including U.S., France and Germany.
"Fuck 2016" is sort of subjective - but sort of isn't, as well. It depends on what context you apply it for. If you apply it for the individuals, then yeah, it's subjective. Some people had a good time this year, others didn't. But is this year one of the worst years in the 21st Century, if not the absolute worst? Yes. No doubt about it.
But let's no longer find a reason to hate on this year. Let's find reasons to hope for a better year. Let's find reasons to hope for a bright 2017. If we dwell on the tragedies of 2016, we'll remain in 2016 (figuratively, of course). Of course, many of us are looking down, thinking: "But this year, it was so fucked up."
I am not the type of person who apathetically tells everyone to just simply get over it, when it comes to things like this. I perfectly understand the feeling of utter frustration those people are having. But if we don't think of things other than disasters, will we ever stop feeling that way? Of course not.
And I am sure that amidst the sea of problems we've all gone through, there were moments we all cherished. I did, too.
Like, for example, this one Discord server I created, a few months ago. Originally it was made to be private, so I could talk to some of my Skype friends without having to put up with the worthless bloatware that is Skype, nowadays. But then, I decided to open it for more people. I've met new, amazing friends, as they've invited more people. We've had great moments and held amazing conversations. I will always treasure this. It has a few dozen people, right now. It's very friendly, even with no circlejerk. It's no safe-space. Strange, isn't it? (Take this, filthy censor-happy SJWs.) It's not really strange. It's just that you don't need safe-spaces to build friendship. Friendships aren't built through circlejerking, but yes, knowing that we all share different tastes and learning how to accept them. Respect is not given, but earned. And of course, empathy helps build these connections.
The 2016's dusk has arrived. Soon, it will be over. But let us all remember that not all of it was sour. There were sweet moments, even if rare. Let's all hope for a bright, happy, harmonious 2017, shall we?