To be really fed up of people who claim 2016 to have been a 'horrific' year....

[Whatsername17]

Because, sadly, some famous people that they have never met have died? Once again social media is awash with 'fuck off, 2016', 'you'd better not take x, you or z from us' and 'this year is truly testing me now it has taken.....'
It gives me the rage. Firstly, I think the grief belongs to the families who have lost a person, not a celebrity ideal. But, secondly, I just think that, if the worst thing that has happened to you personally is that someone in the public eye has died, then you've been pretty lucky. Thirdly, so many other awful things have happened in the world; terror attacks, plane crashes, Syria, Aleppo, Donald Trump. Yet people don't seem to feel the same outrage. I will admit, I've had an awful year, starting with the loss of our baby at 13 weeks pregnant in January, followed by a huge crisis in my marriage and the loss of a loved one. I guess that could all be clouding my judgement. I dunno. I just hate social media inspired competitive grief I guess. Feel free to flame but I'd be really interested to know if others feel the same.

Completely agree op. I felt sad at each celebrity death this year, but I feel that lumping them all together under some kind of 'curse of 2016' actually diminishes the respectful grieving of each individual.

Also based on my fb feed, the people posting 'fuck off 2016' and 'omg who's next??' are NOT posting in the wider context of brexit, trump and Syria...

It's not been a particular bad year for us personally - some bits have been awful some bits fabulous. Exactly the same as most years.

Regarding the celebrity deaths, I think if you have grown up with the talent of these around you - Bowie, George Michael, Caroline Aherne, Gene Wilder, Victoria Wood etc etc it does feel shocking that so many have died this year. I do feel a bit sad about the lost genuine talent, but I wouldn't cry or be hysterical as I didn't actually know any of them.

My social media has a few comments here and there telling 2016 to fuck off, or if an artist dies perhaps a comment about having seen them in concert or a particular memory to do with why they connected with that artist. Nothing over the top, no inappropriate levels of 'grieving'.

For those who find their social media 'awash' with rage-inducing commentary over celeb deaths etc, maybe a clear out of your contacts would help?

I'm sure that there have been worse years it's just that it has become almost a trend to attribute every single negative thing to this bizarre made up 2016 effect.

Have bad things happened in the world? Yes but they happen every year there is always war and injustice. Syria did not just become a war zone this year.

Celebrities died in other years it's just that the celebrities that are dying are more well known as media itself is bigger and older generations simply did not have the reach. Plus there are more celebrities now than there have ever been.

I think the real difference is that people for some reason have not focused on the positives and that's terrible. Imagine being born this year or having a longed for child r, getting married, working for years and achieving a paralympic or Olympic medal, graduating or any other thing that makes you happy and proud and being told that the year you did it can fuck off as though nothing good happened?

It's just life.

People
You can never change the way they feel
Better let them do just what they will....

I've experienced a few friends dying
Doesn't change the sadness felt at something like this
Or dilute it
It's different and of course not the same as the grief for someone whose hand you might have held when they left.

Yanbu - I've seen a few 'fu 2016' posts this morning. As a post said up thread, it's a bit cringeworthy and OTT in the context of grieving for musicians, actors, artists who have all passed away this year.

For those saddened by these losses, be happy you lived through the times of their artistic talents, pass their work on, share your joy.

For me, I'll keep life on the low under the social media radar. There are many more ills in this world which sadden me more and which I can do something to help.

I'm pretty sure quite a few FU2016 include terrorist attacks, Aleppo, Brexit and mainly Trump, in addition to celebrity deaths.
It's not only that the celebrities died, though, it's that fans will never have the pleasure of listening to them live, nor new work.
It's our history disappearing with them too.

It doesn't feel like FU2016 to me, but I certainly won't remember it fondly (for personal reasons too).

If social media is annoying you that much don't look at it.

I saw an analysis earlier on that showed that in the beginning of 2016 indeed more celebrities died than average, but not the rest of 2016.

Yab a little bit U. For me it's was trump and brexit, I'm still pissed off about both of them and feel genuinely concerned about the direction the world is going in.

Celebrities, yes, the death of a celebrity can trigger something. I listened to a lot of Bowie as a teenager, not a particularly happy time for me, and his death triggered grief for something else too.

But ...the social media stuff can fuck off first.

All the dead celebs had full lives, they were lucky
countless others died having had really shit lives

I've had a horrific 2016, with a stressful pregnancy culminating in my baby being stillborn at a week short of full term. I cannot wait for the year to be over. I cannot wait to stop seeing other people posting that they want the year to be over, as each time I see it I have a pang of sadness at the circumstances of my year and envy at their perceived problems, particularly when the catalyst for them posting appears to lack gravitas within their personal life.

That being said, if I step back then I can see that IABU & that YABU. I don't know the ins and outs of the personal circumstances of others and what they have endured through the year, nor what each catalyst causes them to identify with.

It isn't just about the celebrities who have died either. It is the dissatisfaction with the political landscape (BREXIT, Trump), the horrors that occur around the world and atrocious acts of terrorism. It's seeing the disassociation of people who could do things to support others yet choosing not to because they have fallen into the 'us and them' narrative.

The world is a place that makes me weary at the moment. So much sadness, not just mine, not just yours. I don't think that moving into 2017 will make a significant difference to the overall landscape, perhaps just to enable me to move forwards with my own grief. For that reason alone I am optimistic about a new year beginning, however accept that this is an introspective view. Looking outside of my broken heart, a lot more than a calendar date needs to change to make this world a happier place.

Can some of you share examples of this over the top celeb grieving you're seeing in your timelines? I am seeing a few things like 'so sad to hear about GM, Wham was the first concert I ever went to.' I have no issue with this.

Is this the type of thing to which you're referring?

I'm really sorry for your loss, Mumble. I just can't imagine your pain. I'm still reading all of these posts and I find the responses really quite interesting. It's nice to know I'm not alone in my opinions but I'm taking on board the comments of people who disagree with me too.

I agree with picks post on the first page

2000 was a very shitty year for me personally

Thanks Whatser. I'm finding your thread interesting too, will continue to watch.

Sorry for your loss mumbles

And to everyone else who has had a horrible 2016 for any reason

when I say about 2016 being a shit year I am including all the shit things happening in the world as well as some of my most beloved artists dying. Brexit, Trump, Aleppo, terrorist attacks. I think this year has been pretty shocking

2016 has been dreadful on many levels: Brexit, Trump, Syria.. It's been harrowing for me on a personal level, too. The numerous deaths of well-loved (and much too young in most cases) celebrities has just put the tin lid on it. 2016 has been absolutely crap for me, and for many others, for a variety of reasons.

I'm sorry you've had a hard time with personal losses this year; so have I. But people are allowed to feel sad that so many of their icons have died this year, especially with George Michael and Rick Parfitt over Christmas. People are allowed to feel sad that Brexit happened, that Syria is happening, that Trump has happened. You can't just dictate how everyone else should feel because you feel differently.

2016 has been an awful year in all sorts of ways, plus personally for me.
I also feel sad that performers who were the backdrop of my youth are dying.
But I totally agree with the op re the competitive grieving on social media, and the need to be first with the news. It kind of makes me think less of people.

It's been a fucking awful year. My friend died leaving 2 young children, another friend is fighting cancer, another had a stillbirth, another is going through a very messy divorce and my son is on the verge of a mental breakdown.
So yes, 2016 can fuck right off thank you.

Ok, (g) it is then. Sorry all the traumatised uk children and families, I did try.

In terms of world events, this year does seem to have been spectacularly shit. There were a number of threads on here earlier in the year saying 'What if Trump actually wins?' where most posters were saying 'Don't worry, it won't happen' and I'm still struggling to take it in. Brexit and Trump's victory have long term implications for all of us. As an eternal optimist, I don't remember ever being so frightened about the state of the world.
And I do feel sad about many of the celebrity deaths- it isn't exactly 'grief' like I'd feel for someone I knew but a kind of wistfulness and sense of poignancy about the passing of time. We all have our own soundtrack to our lives and George Michael was a huge part of mine as was Prince. Musicians like David Bowie, Prince and George Michael,who can stand the test of time, don't come along that often and to lose 3 in a year does feel a bit crap.
In the scheme of things, pop music is a relatively recent thing and it really has the capacity to bind people together - there was a presenter on Sky news talking about dancing to Wham at a school disco and I have exactly the same memories as do millions of people of my generation and probably watching the same TV programmes. Also, DH is the same age as GM and I'm not far behind so it throws up stuff for me about my own mortality.
For those of you who have had a bad year, I hope things get better for you

Totally agree. Really hating the personifying of 2016. There's been bad stuff BUT it's not they year's fault. Nor will 2017 necessarily be any better or worse.

Not diminishing the deaths/tragedies at all (though not one for celebrity death hype) but detest the blame on the year.