Kevin It’s basically common knowledge at this point that this has been a difficult year for a lot of us, both in our daily lives and on a much broader scale, and a lot of things happened in the news.
At the beginning of the year, there was the trial in New York for a certain 90s has-been dickstain Hollywood movie mogul. I saw it on Court TV, and read Ronan Farrow’s book about it. (BTW, if you haven’t read it, do it!) While the jury didn’t convict him on everything, they convicted him on enough of it to where he’s now rotting in the slammer where he belongs. I refuse to mention his name here, since I’m not gonna sully this blog with any mention of it. That said, the victims who came forward during the trial did an incredibly great thing, and it came at an enormous cost to them in terms of their careers and their livelihoods. They had nothing to gain from any of it. To the victims who’ve come forward, along with the ones who haven’t yet, and the ones who’ve decided not to: I see you, survivor. I believe you, and you matter to me.
The shelter in place orders as a result of the pandemic caused significant upheaval, along with major financial devastation. Suddenly everything that was once a hive of activity, like airports, malls, concert venues, and other public places were ghost towns. Some businesses even ended up closing up shop for good due to the pandemic’s fallout, like a concert venue I remember going to for the first time back in high school. It had just opened, and when I passed by it coming back home from downtown, it was like time stood still for it. All the fliers and handbills advertising upcoming events for March 2020 were still in the window, and had faded from the sun’s rays. The windows themselves, covered in dust, with random doodles and words scrawled in with someone’s finger stood as a memorial to what used to be.
With shelter in place orders came panic buying. This resulted in a run on TP, and for at least a month, it was a hot commodity. Stores in my area still have limits on the number of packages you can buy, too.
Then there were the protests surrounding the murder of George Floyd, galvanized into a global movement of protests against systemic racism and prejudices. What happened to George was wrong, and the people involved should’ve been booted from the force long before this. One blogger I read who responded to this said that when you’re born into a flawed system, you don’t know better, and depending on the way you look, you don’t have to know better. It’s shameful af, and true. George meant something to someone, and he was someone’s baby. Sure, he may have dome some questionable things before, but so flippin’ what? How many of us can say we haven’t at some point in our lives? He wasn’t perfect, and neither is any of us here. I marched with other people through my neighborhood back in May, in solidarity with them, and practicing social distancing.
Speaking of social distancing, that’s a term that entered our collective lexicon, and probably won’t leave it anytime soon. Soon after the pandemic started, there were signs up in the stores stressing the importance of social distancing, wearing masks or face shields, and observing universal precautions. (For those of you in healthcare or are familiar enough with it, you’ll know what I’m talking about. For those of you who aren’t, it’s basically hand washing and all that stuff.)
We also lost some people who’ve become household names for a big part of our lives. Alex Trebek is one of them, and Jeopardy! was one of my favorite shows as a kid. I always wanted to go on the show and meet him someday. Ken Jennings is his interim successor, and I’ve seen LeVar Burton’s name come up as a contender for a permanent host. If it’s confirmed, I hope he does it. I loved Reading Rainbow as a kid, so it’ll be the best of both worlds, imo.
Over to you, readers. What news stories or other events have impacted you from this year, other than the pandemic? Share ’em below if you’re so inclined, and we’ll talk.
