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Sunday, December 31, 2017

2017 What a Wacky Year that was!



2017 has been the wackiest year that any of us have ever seen.  In The United States they started the year by trying a new style of politics; in England the risky choice of Brexit moved a few steps forward, and in Spain certain citizens thought they had the right to break up the country into which they were born. The entire year appeared to be one extended version of April’s Fool’s Day.
Among the many things that happened, the top two for scope and outrageousness were the plight of the Rohingya people of Myanmar, previously known as Burma, and the other was the Grenfell Tower obscenity.
The Rohingya are a minority Muslim group who have lived for a very long time in the Rakine State of Myanmar.   They have endured persecution from the Myanmar/Burmese and the Buddhists monks apparently simply because they are who they are. I assumed that they must have done something pretty horrible to draw down upon them such hatred. They seem to be innocent of anything in particular to make people hate them so.
However, after suffering unwarranted abuse a core group of young Rohingya men formed together to push back. Evidently that was all the government was waiting for as they have launched into this group of people with such ferocity and intensity as to be determined to cleanse the country of them altogether.
They say they are fighting against terrorists. What terrorists? Are they speaking about the babies, young children and women whose deaths they are responsible for through the assaults by the military?
So far it has been reported that more than 650,000 Rohingya have been forced to run for their lives into Bangladesh, and in the process more than 6.500 have perished, including about 1,200 babies and young children.   They are the modern Jews in Hitler’s Germany, persecuted simply for being who they are.
Meanwhile Myanmar assures me that if I choose to come and visit their country I will have a wonderful time. I don’t think so! In fact I do not want anything at all to do with this miserable country.
The Grenfell Tower terror is currently sub-judice as there will likely be charges flowing from that awful disaster. As a human tragedy it is in a class of its own. The manner in which those who were killed died was about as bad as it gets, especially as it has been reported that residents warned against just such a probability.  When I first saw the blaze I had to turn away, it was more than I could process.
In third place is the currently unfolding drama of the Hashtag MeToo campaign against rich, famous and powerful men who are accused of sexually touching, harassing and even raping women as though it were their right.
The first big shock of this type was Bill Cosby, a man who I practically worshipped as a comedian who conducted himself in public with great dignity, and in the process raised the bar of what the general public; (read white America) should think of his people. His was a cataclysmic fall but I bet he is much relieved now having been joined by such a long list of luminaries.
Incidentally, the world used to presume your innocence until you were found guilty in a court of law. Not anymore! No sooner is the accusation made than action is taken against the accused. This is how everybody who was anybody is being treated. I feel I should pay some really hard to believe women to accuse me so that I can be somebody. Not!
As usual I shall not celebrate the coming of the New Year because I cannot know what it will bring. The year now closing very nearly killed me: I wouldn’t say that was something worth celebrating; however the fact that I have survived is definitely worth making a fuss over.
So, to each and everyone I extend my very best wishes to you for 2018. My hope is that the year will treat you and your families well, bringing first and foremost the very best of health, and prosperity!
A cautious Happy New Year!
Copyright © 2017-
Eugene Carmichael