Hassam Munir | Executive Editor (Online) — Victoria Goldberg | Editor-in-Chief — Emilie Miranda | Deputy Copy Editor
Featured image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Let’s face it: 2016 sucked. Though the fight to reduce global warming, the crises in the Middle East and the troubles of the world economy have continued to concern us for several years, many feel that the year of the monkey was one of the worst in recent memory. In the past year, we’ve loved, we’ve lost, we’ve cried and we’ve lost some more. Excalibur rounded up some of our more memorable losses of 2016. Granted, we could not do justice to everything lost, but it’s a snapshot of what we will take away from 2016.
Toronto’s sports teams’ aspirations
2016 was the year of unfulfilled hopes and dreams for Toronto spoirts, with both the Raptors and Blue Jays falling to teams from Cleveland in the round just before their respective playoff championships. The Raptors, who have emerged as serious contenders for the NBA title in recent years, fell to the Cavaliers in six games, only eking out two wins with 15- and six-point victory margins, respectively. Not only did CBS troll all of Canada by listing the Raptors as “Other” in a fan poll asking which of the final four teams would win the championship, but the Raptors failed to disprove their underdog status. On the other hand, the Blue Jays went into the postseason with the greatest of expectations after falling to the eventual champions Kansas City in the 2015 American League Championship Series. Though they got the better of their archrivals, the Texas Rangers, in a satisfying sweep of the 2016 American League Division Series, they were defeated by Cleveland in five games. The Jays lost the first three games against a team with a pitching rotation plagued by injury before taking Game Four by a score of 5-1. Thanks to a dried-up offence, it was the first game in which they scored more than two runs. Cleveland shut out the Jays in Game Five to end their season in disappointment. To add insult to injury, star designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion then signed a three-year, $60 million deal with the same Cleveland team that dashed the Jays’ championship hopes. In a potentially ugly parallel, Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season, possibly leaving another Toronto team without a longtime star come next season.
The United States’ integrity and respect
The United States had a rough year, giving away most of its self-respect on the world stage. From police officers having killed more than 1,000 people to mass shootings taking the lives of more than 600 and injuring thousands, the United States has been under the microscope for its questionable gun control laws and racial tensions. The year began to wrap up when Donald Trump was declared the president-elect in November. While claiming he is “the least racist person that you have ever met,” Trump openly calls for the monitoring of Muslim-Americans, restricting immigration and was even sued in the 1970s due to his real estate company discriminating against black people wishing to rent property. While Barack Obama’s eight-year record came with many wins—including the introduction of Obamacare, the biggest overturn in the United States’ healthcare system; allowing same-sex couples to apply for benefits; expanded funding for Violence Against Women Act and the decriminalization of marijuana in 14 states—Trump’s campaign promised to change or reverse many of Obama’s accomplishments. Among them, Trump plans to dismantle the Iran nuclear deal, cancel the Paris Climate Agreement and deport illegal immigrants. Let’s not forget the promised “wall” that Trump wishes to build at the American-Mexico border—with the latter nation supposedly bearing the cost. Aside from his lack of experience in politics, Trump will bring his xenophobic, sexist and misogynistic aura to the White House as the world idly watches. Brace yourselves.
Countless artists
2016 started out with a bang, taking away David Bowie ten days into the year, and just two days after his album, Blackstar, was released. Like Bowie, Alan Rickman passed away in January at the age of 69 due to cancer, and Alan Thicke joins them in the “69 club,” a spinoff of the 27 club, a list of celebrities that passed away at the age of 27. Thicke passed away unexpectedly due to heart failure after playing hockey with his son, Carter William Thicke. In one of the weirdest deaths of 2016, Star Trek star Anton Yelchin passed away at the age of 27 when he stepped out of his car which proceeded to roll down the hill, crushing him between a pillar and a security fence. Carrie Fisher, famously known as Princess and General Leia in the Star Wars anthology, passed away just five days before the end of 2016, and almost two weeks after her latest release, Rogue One, hit theatres. Her mother, Debbie Reynolds, passed away the next day. Prince, George Michael and Doris Roberts were just some of the other artists and celebrities who passed away. While some were in poor health, the deaths of others came as a shock to many fans. Though their bodies have been laid to rest, their legacies will live on eternally in their works.
Countless innocent bystanders of war
In perhaps the most tragic category of losses, conflicts around the world continued to produce civilian casualties in 2016. The 2016 Global Peace Index showed that deaths due to conflict reached their highest point in 25 years and that more people were displaced than at any other time since the Second World War. According to the Syrian Network for HumanRights, the ongoing war in Syria claimed 16,913 lives in 2016, including the lives of nearly 4,000 children, though some estimates reached even higher. In Iraq, the United Nations reported that the Iraqi government’s fight against militant groups claimed at least 6,878 civilian lives and left more than 12,000 injured. The Mexican Drug War, in its 10th year, reportedly claimed at least 20,000 lives. Conflicts in Afghanistan, Yemen, Nigeria, Libya and Somalia each claimed at least a thousand lives. Conflicts in 26 other nations had death tolls of at least 100. All of these conflicts, and many others not listed here, did not begin in 2016. They have been raging for years, if not decades, with far-reaching implications for the spread of terrorism, loss of heritage, the mental health of civilians, spillage of conflicts across borders, destruction of infrastructure and much more.
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2016 was a tough year. From the disappointing loss of Toronto’s sports teams to their rivals in Cleveland to the tragic loss of life in what was the most casualty-ridden year in the past quarter of a century, there’s a lot to mourn. But there’s no time to waste. If there’s one thing that can never be gained once it has been lost, it’s time. We’re very unlikely to get a chance to relive 2016 and make it better, but 2017 is a fresh opportunity to make a positive difference in the world. Let’s be mindful of what we’re leaving behind us, but let’s keep moving forward.
