2017 - A Year In Review


Last year I did my first ever "Year in Review", and it was pretty miserable to be honest. In my final line I wrote "Here's to a better 2017" - but has it been much better?

Sure, Bowie didn't die this year, and neither did Victoria Wood, or Alan Rickman, or Gene Wilder, or Terry Wogan, etc. etc.. But there have been two overarching issues to 2017 that are far worse than any death.

Brexit and Trump have been the hangover from 2016's big, fuck off night out. We awoke in 2017, still in the previous year's clothes with the mother of all headaches, we look around to see our house trashed and think "Oh god, what did we do?". And here come the consequences.

Brexit. Trump. Trump. Brexit. The two biggest snoregasms in history. The build up, the talks, the negotiations, the interviews, the speeches, the private meetings - it will all amount to nothing, it will be over without us even noticing. Nothing will change and it will all have been for worthless. The expensive shit show will be wiped from our memories to be as significant as a fart in a hurricane.

The year began with part joke, part threat: President Trump. By day, he does...well...not very much. By night, he picks up his phone and, with his tiny hands, rants and raves all over Twitter. His social media profile could be compared to a crossover between Paris Hilton and ANY UPPER-CLASS WHITE PERSON who feels they're the ones being victimized by society.

"Wahh wahh wahh! Kim-Jong Un called me old!!! I'm not his friend any more". Yes, Donald, you're really making America great again.

Meanwhile, in the real world, towers are burning down, powerful men are abusing women, terrorist attacks are occurring, missiles are killing innocent people.

At this moment I'm metaphorically stood on the edge of an apartment block roof, a push would be a savior from a constant, never-ending decline.

But oh look! A Royal Wedding here to save the day! (Note my sarcasm).

A man is going to marry a woman. Great. Great news. Good stuff.

...

Has there been any actual good news? Anything positive at all?...Anyone?

Well in the roadkill stain of 2017, some good things did happen actually.

Rising from the cacophony of bullshit politics, people are actually engaging with government issues. It is easier than ever to have a stance in politics - there is a huge open platform to produce an opinion, no matter what the fundamentals are. It is far more simple to see now what you might consider "right" or "wrong".

Everything from new-wave Nazis to 14-year-olds posting funny Trump GIFs - the internet is full of people with opinions (I understand the irony), but opinions are good.

The caveat to that being that opinions shouldn't be "locked down", everyone should understand that opinions can change and that your own opinions should be reviewed near-constantly.

Furthermore, in the wake of the bloated gargoyle / accused serial rapist Harvey Weinstein is that these issues are now, finally being addressed. There’s no denying the power of those survivors’ personal stories, which were released into the cultural consciousness en masse this year with the resurgent #MeToo movement. Hopefully the momentum continues to build and by next year the wave of change will engulf the powers that be.

Other than that, the world economy grew by 3%, Australia became the 25th country to achieve marriage equality, and gene therapy is progressing.

Strap in and prepare for 2018.


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