2016: Goodbye to the Year that Joy Forgot

We all know 2016 wasn’t the worst year in history. After all, we’ve had wars, plagues and apocalyptic asteroids to contend with in the past. We can however all agree it was absolutely shit. Trying to describe 2016 is like channeling super-swearing Scot Malcolm Tucker from The Thick of It. We’re all looking forward to saying ‘fuckity-bye’ to 2016 – not in spectacular, but harrowed, style. At the risk of a sob-inducing recap, let’s take a look at why the year was quite so awful.

Disease

It all began with disease – the world’s worst new year’s hangover. Ebola and Zika continued to ravage continents. Ebola started its spread through West Africa in 2014, making its way into 10 different countries, 3 continents and killing 11,310 to date. Zika’s rise began in 2015 in South America, and whilst not usually fatal to those infected it causes deadly foetal mutations. While Ebola has now thankfully slowed, Zika is still going strong.

Conflict

Six days into the year, North Korea successfully tested nuclear weapons and that was just the beginning of international dire straits. Syria was the unlucky stage-stealer, with failed peace talks ending in rising death tolls and unprecedented emigration. Ongoing conflicts in Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, South Sudan, Turkey, Kenya, Libya, Yemen, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Egypt, Mexico, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia all hit death tolls of 1000+ each this year.

Of course this has also been a year of horrific attacks of foreign and domestic terrorism. ISIS and Boko Haram claimed the most headlines, but they’re by no means the only groups operating. Attacks in Brussels, the US, France and Germany have hit home hardest, but other continents have weathered far worse. 81 countries were affected by terrorism this year, with death tolls frankly unfathomable.

Deaths

Speaking of deaths, how could we forget the year that took beloved figures like Alan Rickman, Bowie, Prince, Leonard Cohen, Carrie Fisher, George Michael, Gene Wilder, Caroline Aherne, Bill Cunningham, Victoria Wood, Ronnie Corbett and Terry Wogan. It’s been a pretty bad year for losing legends, not to mention the murder of Jo Cox. It brought her good work to the public eye all too late.

Politics

So we’ve covered plagues and wars: turns out all we need is something apocalyptic and 2016 may well earn the worst crown. Roll up politics, it’s your time to shine! Brexit was bad enough at the beginning. Now its lulling us into a coma like an iced lobster awaiting a fiery death. We’ve got right wing politicians gaining terrifying power across Europe. Had I known in 2013 Donald Trump would one day be president, I would have opted for that one-way mission to Mars.

With all that’s happened in this ‘fucking omnishambles’ of a year, it’s amazing we had any anger left. But then Toblerone took the cherry from atop this rotting cake, cut it in half, and put it back with the same price tag. Talk about kicking us when we’re down.

A Silver Lining

Now while all this looks bleak, it’s important to remember that despite it all, things are always getting better. The reason it does, however, is because we strive to make it so. On a planet where threats run from economy to environment, terrorism to Donald Trump’s tiny trigger-happy fingers, we can’t just sit silently and expect things to turn round. If this year has taught us anything, it’s that it’s time to take a stand. So as we gladly give the finger to 2016, please give your heart and head to something selfless in 2017. Small or significant, it’s another piece of good in this world – and we need all the goodness we can get.

Now without further ado, may I say with absolute pleasure:

Fuck you 2016, and Happy Bloody New Year, world. Let’s do this.

The post 2016: Goodbye to the Year that Joy Forgot appeared first on Felix Magazine.