2017 has been…interesting, to say the least.
It is the thirtieth of December, the year of our Lord two thousand and seventeen, and sometimes I feel like I’m living in 1957. That, or the twilight zone.
Here’s what has transpired over the past twelve months:
- Donald Trump – millionaire, real estate magnate, TV producer, racist, birther, misogynist and overall prick – becomes president of the United States.
- Black bodies are being sold into slavery in Libya.
- There is an uptick in anti-fa and Nazism, supported by the President of the United States.
- George W. Bush — once heralded as one of the worst presidents ever — transforms into a respected voice of rationality, reason, and morality.
- There is an upsweep – a movement – of people highlighting, and exposing and bringing sexual aggressors to account in the media and entertainment industries. We learn that basically any man with an iota of power in the media/entertainment industry has probably harassed women. People finally start to believe women.
- Rihanna came out with Fenty Beauty and we finally have legit makeup that matches ethnic skin tones (operative word here is “legit”).
- Trump calls Colin Kaepernick (and those using their football/sports platform to protest racial inequality) a “son of a bitch”
- Jagmeet Singh becomes the first person of colour to lead a federal political party in Canada.
- Blake Shelton is allegedly the sexiest man on earth, despite the fact that people like Rick Fox, Idris Elba, Djimon Hounsou, Dwayne Johnson, and Jason Momoa exist and currently walk this earth.
- Another mass shooting in the US (at that country music festival… well, this is sadly not news per se. Happens every year in the US. It has unfortunately come to be expected).
- Tsunamis, hurricanes (Irma and her posse).
- Jennifer Hudson and David Otunga break up after a Guinness Book of World Records-long engagement.
- Hugh Hefner dies and people actually venerate him.
- We get a divorced, Black princess in the British Royal Family (although she is always careful to clarify that she is “biracial”).
- And for the most “2017” story of 2017: Keaton complains about being bullied at his school (bullying was trending in 2017). Mother posts video of him with tears in his eyes and starts a GoFundMe. People start offering Keaton free things. Turns out that the mother is a Confederate sympathizer and that Keaton was being “bullied” because he was calling Black kids a “nigger.” (Racism was also trending in 2017).
…Yup. Sounds like Jesus is coming back.
My main takeaway from 2017? Life is unpredictable and anything — ANYTHING — can happen.
On that note, happy new year!
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