Was 2015 a Good Year or a Bad Year? Let’s Discuss…

(Photo/Anthony Quintano)

Ah, 2015.

A poor year for police officers, but a fairly decent one for terrorists. Great year for the LGBT community, terrible for anybody named Ashley or Madison or Jon Snow. If you’re a gun, you’ve got to be pretty psyched. If you found out you were colorblind through a Twitter debate, not so much. Depending on your personal experiences, you may have a totally different opinion about 2015 than, say, Caitlyn Jenner.

But — to fulfill our need to classify everything in binary terms — let’s decide once and for all: Was 2015 good or bad? Was it a year we’ll view as vital to our progress as a society for years to come, or was it simply twelve months we could’ve done without? There is no room for gray area here. Was 2015 black or white?* Let’s figure this out together.

*Black or white is not to suggest that either of these colors are necessarily good or bad. It’s just an expression, you know? Like the word “schlonged.” Nobody knows FOR SURE what it means, right? So, it’s not like I was saying white is good and black is bad because NOOOO that’d be the opposite of what I was trying to say. Well, not the opposite exactly because that would mean that white is bad and, well, we all know that’s not the case. White is good, obviously. But black is also good! No wait, one of them needs to be bad…

God damn it, here’s a list of shit that happened this year:

The good

  • Every adult human couple in the United States is now allowed to marry.
  • The Seahawks didn’t win another Super Bowl.
  • A horse ran really fast.
  • U.S. Women’s Soccer was relevant, and then it wasn’t again.
  • A new Adele album. #slay
  • Stephen Colbert made his Late Show debut and officially became the best current late-night television host.
  • The Pope graced the United States with his presence.
  • Cuba is our friend again! I think?
  • The new college football playoff worked.
  • More states want legal weed.
  • Everything about Mad Max: Fury Road.
  • Water on Mars suggests potential for life on the planet.
  • The timing of The Jinx was impeccable.

The bad

  • Trump currently leads the GOP race for the 2016 presidential election.
  • Man buns.
  • It’s 60 degrees in December in New Jersey.
  • Terrorists attacked the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical newspaper, killing a dozen people and injuring just as many.
  • Kim Davis thought she was above the law, and then there’s the whole “Eye of the Tiger” thing.
  • Turns out Brian Williams made a lot of shit up.
  • Actually, several major media outlets forgot about ethics.
  • Bridgegate.
  • Some people had a problem with authority and authority had a huge problem with black people.
  • Do all dentists hunt lions?
  • We found out how many government officials cheat on their spouses when Ashley Madison was hacked.
  • “El Chapo” is on the loose again.
  • Couples literally broke up arguing over the colors of a dress.
  • Ronda Rousey NOOOOOOOOOO.
  • Zayn left One Direction. :(
  • People committed acts of terror but weren’t referred to as “terrorists” because those people weren’t Muslim.
  • On a similar note, churches, movie theaters, and Planned Parenthoods are no longer safe establishments. (Movie theaters weren’t safe to begin with.)
  • Selfie sticks.
  • Things that are not hoverboards are called “Hoverboards.”
  • An MLB game was played with essentially nobody in the stands.
  • California thirsty.
  • Guns, in general.
  • The PC police/the random Internet outrage machine. (This and religious extremism will be our biggest adversaries in the months/years to come…)

The year 2015 had something for everyone. Some good things happened, but — I won’t sugarcoat it — some pretty shitty things happened, too. So, we have a few options as we stumble our way into 2016. We can remember this past year for all of the splendid times we had with loved ones and the great progress humanity has made; we can bake gluten-free cookies, cheers with sparkling cider, and pretend we’re all still friends. Or we can ignore the strides our society has made and focus only on the negatives; we can alienate everyone who’s different and put up walls or whatever the hell the talking hairpiece is suggesting.

OR: We can acknowledge both the good and the bad, and head into 2016 with open minds and a fresh perspective.

Regardless of what we decide, many would agree that change is necessary for a successful 2016. Change is good. So, when that ball drops, hopefully our society’s balls will drop as well.

But I can’t just say 2015 was okay and that we’ll do better next year. That’s a cop out — it’s weak. We need a definitive answer: Was this past year GOOD or BAD? Pick one, Ryan.

Okay, okay. After looking back on it, I’d say 2015 was pretty white.

What’s your verdict? Write a response and let me know what you think about the year 2015.

Thanks so much for reading. Want to see what my 2015 was like? Check out my personal Year in Review here, where I play “Never Have I Ever” and lose 41 times. Happy New Year!