It's been quite a year.
2016. In my 21 years of existence, I can’t think of a year more eventful, crazy, and just plain bizarre. I had originally planned on writing this article the week of New Years, but I figured every major event this year that will happen has already happened (knock on wood). Perhaps it’s the impending apocalypse or the fact that this year was a leap year, but 2016 seemed to be a never-ending stream of events that had us shook. Here’s a look back:
January: Zika is the new Ebola.
The year started off with the World Health Organization announcing an outbreak of the Zika virus. This virus seemed to get more attention during the summer Olympics in Rio, than the actual games. The virus, which is spread by blood-to-blood contact, consists of symptoms ranging from a rash to muscle pain and headaches. While the rate of deaths caused by Zika is low, it has been known to cause birth defects. According to the New York Times, a report from the World Health Organization confirmed that no cases of the virus were reported during the Olympics.
February: The Oscar statuettes were gold, but the nominees were white as a toilet.
This years Academy Awards were the subject of controversy due to the lack of diversity among the acting nominees. The hashtag #OscarsSoWhite was started in response to the fact that all 20 acting nominees were white. Big names in Hollywood such as Jada Pinkett Smith and Spike Lee announced that they were boycotting this year’s ceremony to bring attention to the lack of diversity. In what seemed like an attempt to redeem itself, the Academy selected Chris Rock to host the show. On a positive note, Leonardo DiCaprio finally won himself an Oscar and I think that’s something that all Americans can agree, was long overdue.
March: Attack In Brussels
On March 22, 2016 the Brussels airport in Belgium was bombed by ISIS jihadists. A little over an hour later, a metro station suffered a suicide bomb attack as well. Both attacks resulted in the deaths of 32 civilians as well as three suicide bombers. Investigators reported that the attackers had been involved in the 2015 Paris bombings before carrying out attacks of their own. The fight against ISIS and jihadist terrorism continues today.
April: American Idol ended for once and for all.
At its height, American Idol was a defining piece of American pop culture. Everyone tuned in on weeknights to watch Simon Cowell verbally rip people to shreds while Paula Abdul did her best to act sober and Randy Jackson overused the word “pitchy.” The show produced music industry giants like Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson as well as championing a stream of generic, guitar-slinging, youth-pastor-ish white guys, whose names I can’t remember. The show’s impact began fading throughout the last several seasons as drama between the judges became more important than the talent of contestants. While I admit that the show went on about five seasons too many, it was a little sad for me to see it end.
May: Death of our Gentle Giant
On May 28, 2016, tragedy struck at the Cincinnati Zoo. After a young boy fell into the gorilla enclosure with gentle giant Harambe, the silverback gorilla was shot dead by zoo officials. Harambe’s death took place only a day after his 17th birthday. The nation mourned throughout the rest of the year through memes, Twitter hashtags, and tributes to Cincinnati’s fallen hero. Online harassment of the Cincinnati Zoo’s Twitter account eventually led to the temporary deletion of the zoo’s Twitter profile. It was even rumored that the deceased primate received over 10,000 write-in votes in the presidential election. Whether or not that part is true, Harambe will always have a piece of our hearts.
June: Brexit
In June, 52% of voters in the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. Many saw this vote as disastrous for the British economy. According to the Associated Press, the British Pound sank to a 31-year low following the vote. Long-term economic effects are still to be determined. According to BBC, the U.K. is officially expected to leave the E.U. by summer of 2019. British Prime Minister announced his resignation following the vote as well. He was replaced by Conservative Party leader Theresa May.
July: Pokemon GO took over our lives.
The month of July saw the introduction of the mark of the beast or beasts known as Pokemon. Mass groups of people could be seen walking through parks, cities, schools, beaches etc. with their eyes glued intensely to a phone screen trying to catch a Pikachu. While the game gave us another reason to be glued to our phones, at least it gave us a reason to be somewhat physically active and social while doing it. I had friends who rarely leave the house running through parks being more active than they had in years. The app broke several world records including the most revenue generated by a game in its first month.
August: As if this year couldn’t get any more bizarre…
August saw the beginning of the killer clown craze that would last about three months. What started as reports of clowns luring children into the South Carolina woods, grew into a seemingly never-ending trend of clowns lurking around making death threats and wielding knives. No deaths were reported from any of the “enclownters”, but instead some used the clowns to their advantage. One woman reportedly claimed that she was attacked by the red-nosed behemoths to excuse her being late to work. Fortunately, sightings have seemed to subside with little to no sightings being reported in the last few months.
September: Brangelina proved that love is dead.
This month saw the end of America’s favorite Hollywood couple. While, in reality, the majority of us could care less about the happenings of Hollywood, it was still kind of shocking when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie announced their divorce. It just seems like we’ve been through so much with them: twelve years, two movies together, and a million kids. We really thought they would last.
October: DAPL Protests Escalate.
In October, the Dakota Access Pipeline Protests grew violent as 141 protesters were arrested at Standing Rock in North Dakota. The protests, in response to the attempted construction of an oil pipeline through Native American land that is considered sacred, were met with police action. The Army Corps of Engineers announced, a little over a month later, that it would seek an alternate route for the pipeline. Protesters still intend to stay until a permanent solution is reached.
November: This god-awful election finally ended.
One of the most tumultuous elections in recent memory that involved the phrase “grab her by the pussy”, 30,000 deleted emails, and some of the most entertaining Presidential debates ever aired on television came to a thrilling conclusion on November 8, 2016. America voted Donald Trump as President-elect of the United States. I was shook. You were shook. We were all shook. Even the anchors covering the election could not believe we voted in the orange devil. The election was immediately followed by protests against the President-elect throughout America’s major cities. Angered detractors of Trump called for abandonment of the electoral college due to the fact that Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by nearly three million votes. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t thrilled with the outcome of the election, but I must say I’m thrilled that it’s over.
December: Stay tuned.
As I’m writing this during the second week of December, nothing insane has happened yet. Of course as soon as this article goes live, I’m sure something will happen too late to be included. So, let’s just pray for some peace in this final month of a dysfunctional year as well as for 2017. I may sound cynical in writing this article, but I’m hopeful that next year can be a better, more peaceful, and more unified year. Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and happy New Year. God bless you and your families.
