it all started with inspiration from another. right at the end of 2016, I was scrolling through Tumblr.
by the end of 2017, I had gathered as many facts as I could, and despite the pure unadulterated horror of the Emoji Movie, Charlottesville Nazi, Manchester bombing, the public embarrassment from the worldwide broadcast of politics, and worse.
2018 I tried again, and expanded. it got even uglier. but I still found some stories and this became my annual Hope for Humanity, name now changed to What Humanity Accomplished as that was more fitting. in a world with bad news pasted all over it. prats gonna prat. trying to ban trans folk from the military, Brexit, the Vegas shooting, Nutella riots, it's a miracle energy was left over to attempt another report but I did it. and a surprising amount of non-sucky news that was overlooked as well. I was fully prepared to continue.
but depression hit, and I wound up with an unpublished piece in 2019 [it is now published] which managed to be even worse if possible. death, destruction, disaster, it looked like the energy was drained out of me permanently.
2020 however I was back in action despite the sheer crappiness of the year. Initially I was optimistic.
[we had no idea]
a man was murdered publicly by police. then it came out there had been more. people dropped like flies. we were all stuck. then by the end, literally. not allowed to leave the house.
[to Cameron Boyce, Mary Tyler Moore, Alan Rickman, Breonna Taylor, Alex Trebek, Alexi Laiho, Ronnie Spector, Carla Fracci, Naya Rivera, Terry Jones, Luke Perry, George Floyd, Jim Steinman, Peter Mayhew, Jill Murphy, Toni Morrison, Richard Williams, Richard Donner, Gaspard Ulliel, Tomie dePaola, Nawaal El Sadaawi, Angela Lansbury, Robbie Coltrane, rest peacefully. your memories will never fade.]
January 1st of 2021 started with a meteor shower. pity, it did not hit anti-vaxxers.
I nearly quit and this time not just because of the bad but the bizarre and ugly, of course when you’ve had to spend time in the hospital [not COVID! I’m contactless and fully vaccinated] Bad things that have happened seem everywhere, utterly paramount. Within 6 days of the new year, there was an attack on the Capitol in America where several died, injustice got worse and worse [Bill Cosby, Marilyn Manson, Amber Heard,], we lost legends, the list grows greater every day – The Taliban have taken over Afghanistan, The shocking exposure of what was done to a homeless man in Hawaii, The abduction of god knows how many in Africa [3 still hostages in Chikun], watching a woman being raped on a train, various shootings, stabbings, ax murders ya know – human species behavior.
then things started getting so weird. weirder than petrol costing more than grocery shopping we’re talking. Jeff Bezos going to space. Ikea meatball candles, Subway Tuna website, chimera embryos, ALIENS ARE REAL?!! finally sitting down in India, Megan Thee Stallion Popeye’s sauce, the Cookie Monster is a rock now! THE SEA IS ON FIRE I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON ANYMORE. and this year was no different.
yeah, this is no longer going to be about hope for us humans anymore. I just don't have it in me and I need a new niche.
what is it going to be about? mainly just accomplishment. I mean a couple of years indoors and extinct species came out of hiding, strange sensations occurred all over the world, lost artifacts from centuries before dug up, media experimenting in strives, it’s almost enough to wonder if humans should just stay inside. fortunately, that's not quite what it seems.
but there is something else taken into account that made me change it from hope to accomplishment or at least a somewhat non-horrible deed there is always that one person who chooses that moment to be the cynic. really? we have people squabbling still over what is good news when right now we cling to it as Netflix takes our small amounts of joy [renew JATP!]? all I can say to that is can we go back to fighting over the toilet paper?
[and Betty White has passed on. this is official, 2021 may be the worst year of the decade already - and now I've spoken too soon]
not that they don’t have a point but it’s not what could have been done it’s what people DID do.
For example; Disney’s rather weak attempts to distract from raising wages and firing staff by permitting hairstyles and tattoos and providing non-plastic packaging, honoring 50 years plus cast members are much more deserving, also for the Almighty Streaming Service – something watchable for once! [They're not paying me I promise]
I'm resorting to praising for doing the bare minimum. and a little more. 2022 isn't much different in that regard.
[sigh]
what's it going to take for you to fix this damn place?!
Let’s discuss the actual accomplishments made this century-year! I mean year, twelve months. even if you don’t agree. documenting for a year helped me keep up with the latest and even in the Year of the Hell we managed so many things that don't completely suck for all involved - HIV vaccine, R Kelly's conviction, defying the Vatican to perform gay marriage, etc.
2022....we do need to talk.
you can find all of these on my main blog!
this...was long and short and easy and rough. and still not done.
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 a-coming!
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