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.

2016 has been unusually shit IMO. Me and DH both got threatened with losing our jobs at the same time, a friend's partner died of cancer in his 60s), a friend's father died (in his 50s), a friend's husband died in an accident (in his 50s), a much loved colleague was diagnosed with cancer, another had a heart attack, lots of people at my work lost their jobs, DH's mum has been undergoing tests since summer, still no answers. I had a massive relapse in my anxiety disorder, which isn't surprising but was really, really brutal.

So yes, unusually shit in my book. And Leonard Cohen dying did feel a bit like the cherry on top, if I'm being honest.

I agree with you, SpringerS, and good list.

But you forgot Portugal winning the Euro cup. Twice: both the main team and the under 17s.

I said earlier, it wasn't a great year overall, but it's not that bad either.

2017 could be a lot worse: Brexit taking place and Trump in power.

And this is after I lost my dad and grandmother.

ivykaty44 who pissed on your cornflakes this morning? So you didn't rate GM, ok so scroll on past. A lot of people, myself included, have liked him for a long time. I went to my first concert of his in 1987 and joined in singing Happy Birthday to him on his 25th in 1988. technically I saw Wham! as Andrew Ridgely led the singing. He and I both had the same complications from pneumonia and it's left me permanently disabled as I assume it did him.
It's shit when anyone dies at 53 at Christmas.

criminal drug addict

Drug addiction is a complex issue. He could have a great voice, write great songs, do a lot of charitable work, and have a drug addiction.
In many sensible countries drug addiction is not a crime, it's a condition that attracts support. Not prison sentences.

For me personally it has been hell. Dp diagnosed in January with terminal cancer and all the shit that brings with it.

I think it is not so much the amount of celebrities that have died more that their ages were relatively young. 50s and 60s and the fact that they seem to come daily. Rick Parfitt quickly followed by George Michael. If you are younger then they wouldn't mean so much to you but if you are of a certain age they were part of your life.

Lynnm et al... Why are you telling people to scroll on past just because you don't like the comments? This isn't a tribute thread. There are several others. I can't understand why posters just join the thread to tell others to stop posting on it. Take your own advice maybe?

I liked George Michael's work but I don't profess to love him as I didn't know him. I'm sad for his family and friends who are grieving for him and heartily sick of the fake 'devastated' from fans who hadn't given him a minute's thought before the news. I agree with smEGGnog's post, it's apt.

dancing, you're calling ssd a fuckwit? Why? Just because you disagree? Disagree all you want but don't name-call.

Fab post by springer .

Yes, Springer's post was fab, totally agree.

Because no one on here was making GM out to be a saint. If you don't like him fair enough. There are lots of worst people in the world to take a pop at re 2016. He may have taken drugs and he did however to prison for driving offences, he didn't steal some old ladies pension to fund his addiction.
I didn't tell ivy to stop posting just asking why GM was getting her knickers in a twist.

I agree with your op about the celebs dying and everyone telling 2016 to eff off.

I personally couldn't give a shit about any celeb.

Lynnm, it was the 'scroll on past' that is your attempt to silence opinions you don't like.

I don't care about any criminal activity that doesn't affect people, the same as you've posted, we agree on that. People aren't taking a pop at him as such, moreso at the posters who are going totally overboard.

I really liked WHAM, it was my era, never fell in love with George or Andrew though, Marc Almond was my hero at the time, but I was listening to 'Different Corner' this morning and hoping that George was at peace. He was talented, there is masses of talent in this country. I think we've just lost sight of it a bit with the warbling produced/manufactured by Pete Waterman and endorsed by Simon Cowell.

I remember music before the insidious duo ruined it. :)

Disagree all you want but don't name-call.

Oh ok, if you say so

Guidelines says so.

http://uncannymagazine.com/article/trump-christmas-carol/
Anyone read this?

I'm sad that some celebrities have died. I've grown up watching them, it's the end of an era.
I'm sad i'll never see another film, show with them in.
I'd be devastated if singer from my favourite band died.
I don't know them, however i've listened to their music since i were a child, and see them every two years.
I've also had a pretty shit year.
I've been really ill and some bastRd hit my cat and left him dying in the road.
I think it's really distasteful slagging off george michael and and calling him a 'criminal drug addict'.
The guy has died. You may not like him, but he's dead. He only just died.
He meant something to his friends, family and fans who i'm sure would love to read comments like that
CN people not let the dust settle before writing offensive comments?

I once arrived at an airport too late for my connection. It was around Christmas, weather delays and cancellations meant hundreds of people queuing at various desks trying to get on differents flight onwards. I got to the front of my line and heard the ticket agent tell a young woman with a baby who was explaining that she was flying to meet her about to be deployed DH so he had to get her a seat even though there were no seats . "Ma'am, everyone here has got their story. Everyone."

At the time, none of us was in the mood to be charitable or to be reminded that other people were in the same situation or worse, some were far more deserving of the very few available seats but he was right. He coukdnt make the call as to whose situation was worse, he was saying each individual's problem was important to that person at that moment and their feelings were therefore no less valid. What has this got to do with this thread?

Well, everyone has their story in 2016 too, it's been a more than shitty year in more ways than one for so many. Obviously, some losses are far more personal or far more tragically close to home or we have huge scale humanitarian tragedies in the news but that does not invalidate the feelings of lesser loss from fans of celebrities in that moment and they should be allowed to verbalise their feelings. Yes, some of it appears ott and self-indulgent, but so what, they make themselves look a bit silly but how is their self-indulgence otherwise affecting anyone else?

There's always someone worse off, always. So does that mean we can never be allowed to have any feelings of sadness or anger because somewhere someone else's tragedy trumps ours? I wasn't a particularly huge fan of George Michael and I didn't know him personally, but I am more saddened than perhaps I should be. It's mostly for his loved ones because of his age, I lost a brother at the same relatively young age also to a sudden heart attack, it was incredibly difficult to accept and deal with and this brought it flooding back.

I'm sorry OP but YABU.

I think you're being unreasonable but I totally get your point.

I lost someone I loved very much. The same year Princess Diana died. It annoyed me so much that so many people who had never met her had such an outpouring of grief. The only people 'allowed' to grieve were people who'd actually lost a mother, a friend etc.

I was in the throes of my own grief. The truth is, you don't get to decide what upsets other people, or how they grieve or how they manage their grief, worries or upset. And people can be uspet when someone dies and still give a shit about refugees/Syria etc.

I still don't get 'that' bothered when a celeb dies (what have I lost?), but Carrie Fisher's heart attack really bothered me. She is a total icon for me, and that's my personal upset, and you don't get to say I'm being unreasonable by feeling it.

I have sympathy for the families who have lost and this wasn't intended to be a George Michael bashing thread. I remember when Robin Williams died and his daughter received hundreds of abusive messages questioning why she hadn't posted on his social media in months like it's anyone else's business. That is awful behaviour imo. The thread was supposed to be about social media, not the celebrities themselves.

The past 4 years have been horrendous for me, I've lost a relative each year which including me parents 51 weeks apart from each other. I lost me Nan this year. It's just one of those things in life you have to deal with. No matter how difficult life gets.

I didn't realise 'scroll on past' = STFU, therefore I apologise. That was not the message I intended to convey.

Brexit made this a crap year.

Trump made it a crap year.

And yes there was other stuff like Zac Goldmsmith getting a bloody nose twice which was nice but didn't compensate.

Personally I also spent the first half of this year dealing with my mother's prolonged death, at home, from ovarian cancer; but the first two would have made it crap enough.

Yep, and 2017 will be the same. More 'celebrities' with a greater presence on social media coupled with the great rush to break the news to others means it will continue to escalate.

Yes, what is that rush to break the news on FB of something in the public domain? Do these people think they're the only ones reading the news? As for measuring 'awfulness' by the number of deaths of celebrities

The personifying is starting to get on my nerves but, hypocritically, this made me laugh this morning.

I was reading about the milk carton boys who went missing 20 years ago. Really puts things into perspective.