15 BIGGEST MOMENTS OF 2017
2017 was quite the year. For all the highs there were plenty of lows. 2017 was a special year and unlike any year prior. In many ways we are in uncharted waters. And sometimes we managed to progress in those waters. We decided to compile a list of the biggest, greatest, and most horrifying moments of 2017. We encourage you to use the comment section below to share your stories. Where were you during these moments? How did they make you feel? Have we missed some very important moments?
[+] “The Women’s Movement”
TIME Magazine released their “Person of the Year” cover on December 6th 2017. It featured “The Silence Breakers.” TIME eloquently said of the cover: “The galvanizing actions of the women on our cover — Ashley Judd, Susan Fowler, Adama Iwu, Taylor Swift and Isabel Pascual — along with those of hundreds of others, and of many men as well, have unleashed one of the highest-velocity shifts in our culture since the 1960s.”
To say 2017 was the year of women would be somewhat derogatory as if every year before was just about men. But then again isn’t that still true? 2017, to many, was suppose to be the year where the United States saw its first woman president. She would have sat across the table from two other powerful world leaders: Prime Minister Theresa May of Great Britain and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany. We all know how that went. Not only did the United States swear in its 45th man as President, it swore in an alleged sexual abuser who for his entire career has repeatedly made sexist remarks and most notably, in 2016, said it was okay to just grab a woman by her pussy.
The swearing in of Donald Trump did not silence the millions of women and men who were not okay with his treatment toward women, the LGBTQ community, immigrants, minorities, the disabled and workers. Millions across the United States and abroad marched on January 21, 2017 to advocate legislation and policies regarding human rights, healthcare reform, immigration reform, environmental rights, racial equality, freedom of religion and yes women’s rights. In total between 3,267,134 and 5,246,670 people participated in the Women’s March in the United States.
Millions more were inspired by those who marched, by those who spoke up, and by those who said they wouldn’t back down. In 2017 we saw more women decide to run for office than ever before. International women joined together to rebuild following natural disasters, they helped change laws in the Middle East and South Asia. Women can now drive in Saudi Arabia.
Artist were inspired by the Women’s March; Viola Davis told us we all have a story that needs to be told; Meryl Streep delivered a powerful speech at the Golden Globes; Cardi B broke a Billboard music record; Wonder Woman made men want to be Wonder Woman; ‘Fearless Girl’ stood up to the Bull in NYC; Tiffany Haddish became the first black woman stand-up comic to host SNL in it’s 43-season history. Olympic Fencer Ibtajaj Muhammed got her own Barbie; The Handmaid’s Tale, Big Little Lies, Better Things were some of the biggest shows on television; Lena Waithe became the first black woman to win the Emmy for best writing in a comedy series for her work on Master of None.
Danica Roem, an openly transgender person, won a seat in the Virginia Legislature; 32-year-old Ashley Bennet rans and won against a male New Jersey county official who mocked the Women’s March; Senator Elizabeth Warren was told to shut up and “nevertheless, she persisted”; Congresswoman Maxine Waters reclaimed her time; a Federal Judge ruled yet again a Texas Abortion Law is unconstitutional; A female Marine successfully completed the tough infantry officer course for the first time, proving women can do it all. Alabama black women defeat Roy Moore — an alleged child molester who ran for Senate.
And as women challenged the system, changed the status quo and made major accomplishments in their fields, they spoke up. Following the groundbreaking and heart-wrenching report from Ronan Farrow about Harvey Weinstein, Alyssa Milano reignited Tarna Burke’s #MeToo movement, providing women a safe place to come forward. And they did one woman at a time in one of the most inspiring, paradigm shifting movements of our time. The media did not relent as they carried the story even when it affected their own workplaces.
“Women are talking today because, in this new era, we finally can.” – Salma Hayek
“My silence on sexual assault and harassment is over.” – Rose McGowan
“You cannot silence me or the millions of women who have gotten off the sidelines to speak about the unfitness and shame you have brought to the Oval Office.” – Senator Kristen Gillibrand.
This movement should not just be a 2017 movement, but one in 2018 and 2019.
[+] The Eclipse
No, SUPREME launching some useless item is not one of the most overhyped events of 2017. That goes to The Eclipse. Not since 1979 has a total eclipse been visible from anywhere in mainland United States. The path of totality touched 14 states, the rest of the U.S. got a partial eclipse. Weeks and weeks of discussion about how not to look at the eclipse without special glasses or homemade cardboard box glasses. For the most part it was a dud but then we got this gem:
[+] White House Drama For Your Mama.
We all knew this administration would be more reality TV than the beloved The West Wing. But did any of really anticipate all the drama? Did anyone really anticipate a bunch of unqualified individuals trying to take away peoples rights? Yes, she did.
Here is a list of firings/resignations or departures under Trump so far: Sally Yates, Michael Flynn, Preet Baharara, Kate Walsh, James Comey, Mike Dubke, Tera Dahl, Walter Shaub, Mark Corallo, Sean Spicer, Derek Harvey, Reince Priebus, Anthony Scaramucci, Ezra Cohen-Watnick, Rich Higgins, Steve Bannon, Sebastian Gorka, George Sifakis, Donald McGahn, Carl Icahn, Tom Price, Dina Powell, Omarosa Manigault-Newman, Keith Shiller, Rick Dearborn, Jeremy Katz, and Paul Winfree. That doesn’t even include the usual suspects who made headlines all year: Paul Manafort, Jared Kushner, Don Jr, Ivanka and Eric Trump, Steven Miller, John Kelly, Gary Cohn, Kellyanne Conway, Hope Hicks, K.T. McFarland, Sara Huckabee Sanders, Mike Pence, Rex Tillerson, Steven Mnuchin, Jeff Sessions, Wilbur Ross, Ben Carson, Rick Perry, Betsy DeVos, Rick Mulvaney, and Scott Pruitt.
At times there was so much drama inside the White House we forgot what was actually happening in the real world. Perhaps that was their point. Distract you with how unqualified everyone in the White House is and how some have interesting ties to Russia and hope no one will realize they are getting screwed by policies that favor the President.
[+] Terrorists Attack England and Las Vegas.
A bomb went off during an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, New England on May 22nd 2017. 23 people were killed, including the attacker and over 500 were injured. On October 1, 2017 a gunman opened fire on a crowd of concertgoers at the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada. 58 people died and 546 injured. The lone shooter fired more than 1,100 rounds from his suite on the 32nd floor of the nearby Mandalay Bay hotel. It was deadliest shooting perpetrated by a lone gunman in U.S. History. Still not enough damage was done to bring about sensible gun legislation in America.
Like many, these two events hit us hard. We are a publication that covers live music first and foremost. People are meant to feel safe and to be inspired while attending a live music event. It is pure evil to mess with that. The terrorists, however, never foresee our resilience and our ability to join together to fight back. Ariana Grande hosted a fundraising concert in front of 50,000 strong in Manchester. Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Coldplay, Pharrell Williams, Usher and The Black Eyed Peas joined Grande.
Likewise, Vegas hosted a Vegas Strong concert that featured Boyz II Men, Wayne Newton, Celine Dion, Elton John, George Strait, Jason Aldean, Cirque Du Soleil, David Copperfield, and Penn & Teller.
[+] Sandbox fights with nuclear weapons.
If worrying about gun violence in America wasn’t enough, the North Korea nuclear threat was on top of everyone’s minds in 2017. Can North Korea hit us with a nuclear weapon? How far away are they from being capable of doing so? Sure, maybe they can hit Alaska but can they really hit New York? We saw a 30-or-so year old lunatic, Kim Jong-Un trade playground insults with 71-year old man baby, Donald Trump. And as funny as calling each other “fat” or “Rocketman” both of these men have access to nuclear weapons, so really not so funny at all.
[+] Charlottesville
On August 11th, 2017, hundreds marched with tiki torches to oppose the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee from Emancipation Park in Charlottesville, VA. The protestors included white supremacist, white nationalists, neo-confederates, the KKK and neo-Nazis. They chanted racist and anti-Semitic slogans, carried semi-automatic rifles, held up swastikas, confederate flags, anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic banners and yes Trump/Pence signs. Because isn’t this America at it’s greatest?
Counter protestors rallied. Then a vehicle rammed into the counter protest killing one and injuring 30. Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe declared a state of emergency. Attorney General Jeff Session described the car incident as domestic terrorism. He directed authorities to begin a civil-rights investigation. The President did not denounce the violence and instead said “hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides.” His statement was condemned by everyone except… white supremacists.
In what might have been a huge turning point in American History and also for the Trump Administration, turned into a backwards leap to Jim Crow era laws.
If you haven’t watched Vice’s Charlottesville: Race and Terror yet, we highly recommend you do so.
[+] “Natural” Disasters
We always thought that maybe the world was falling apart but 2017 confirmed our suspicions. Hurricanes, Floods Earthquakes and Wild Fires caused damage in every pocket of this planet. It is almost as if Climate Change is real.
Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria reaped havoc and caused an obscene amount of damage. Harvey caused catastrophic damage in the Houston Metro Area leaving 90 dead and close to $200 Billion in damages; Hurricane Irma killed at least 134 and left over $63 Billion in damage. Hurricane Maria killed 94 and left over $103 Billion in damages. A Third, a FUCKING third of Puerto Rico still has no power and the actual death toll in Puerto Rico alone from 2017’s Hurricane season maybe be over 1,000 people. Reminder: Puerto Rico is part of The United States of America.
The worst floods in a decade destroyed many parts of South Asia leaving 1,400 killed in monsoon rains in India, Nepal and Bangladesh.
Two massive Earthquakes left many dead. The Mexico City Earthquake killed 369 people, left 6,000 injured and thousands homeless. The Iraq/Iran earthquake left 620 dead, more than 8,000 injured and left over 70,000 homeless.
We end the year much like Chile started it with some of the worst California wild fires in history. The fires have already killed 40 people. The state of California has already spent more than half a billion to combat the fires that are leaving billions of dollars in damages in its ashes.
One of the reasons for the California fires has to do with the dryness. Again if only Climate Change was real and can explain this… Dryness tends to cause droughts and famines like what we are seeing in the Horn of Africa where an estimated 360,000 Somali children are severely malnourished and in Kenya were over million are starving.
[+] Americans step in to join Paris Climate Agreement.
It’s become a trend in 2017 that when the White House or Congress instituted a new rule or overturned an old one that Americans will just ignore that and take things into their own hands. Look at Health Care. Obamacare doesn’t seem to be doing too poorly.
Thanks to Donald Trump, the United States became the only country not in The Paris Climate Agreement. Even Syria a country embroiled in a deadly civil war signed on this year. In 2017 America retreated from the world as a leader and instead has become a bit of a laughing stock.
Earlier this year, More than 200 Mayors and 10 Governors denounced Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement. Speaking at the United Nations’ Climate Change Conference in November, Michael Bloomberg and California Gov. Jerry Brown unveiled a plan for a coalition of states and businesses to meet America’s commitments to combat climate change. Bloomberg pledged $15. 20 states and 110 cities and more than 1,000 businesses that represent what would be the third largest economy in the world if it were a country joined. California, New York and many other states have cut their emissions by 15%. However U.S. is still projected to fall short of national carbon target.
Here is to hoping the people win and we meet our 2018 target.
[+] Los Angeles Olympics 2028
The U.S. men’s team did not make the World Cup qualifications this year (the women’s team did). And Russia got banned from this coming winter Olympics for doping. And LA (a minority majority city with lots of immigrants and Dreamers) will host the 2028 Olympics (if North Korea, Climate Change, Russia, or Americans obsession with hand guns don’t kill us first).
Events to look forward to: Softball, Karate, Sport Climbing, Surfing and Skateboarding.
[+] Disney takes over the (streaming) world.
On December 14th, 2017, The New York Times reported, “Disney makes $52.4 Billion Deal for 21st Century Fox in Big Bet on Streaming.” Although this deal needs to get approval and we saw the White House step in to stop AT&T from taking over Time Warner because of Trumps own feelings toward CNN, it looks like the Disney deal will go through, due to Trumps relationship with Murdoch.
The Times called it “the biggest counterattack from a traditional media company against the tech giants that have aggressively moved into the entertainment business.” Disney will be in prime position to challenge Netflix, Apple, and Amazon. Additionally, Disney will be able to control beloved characters like The Simpsons, X-Men, Avatar, and Deadpool, among others.
At the end of the day content is king in the streaming world. The more content the higher subscribers. So should the deal go through, it looks like we will all be subscribing to Disney’s streaming services.
Now might be the perfect time to talk net neutrality…
[+] Who won best picture at the Oscars?
Was it La La Land or was it Moonlight? Will we ever know or really care? We were on board with Moonlight from the beginning. However, we understand why some of us have been living in La La Land this year and might be for the next 3.
What made this moment — not knowing who won Best Picture — so monumental was what it caused: massive confusion. Much like 2017. For most of the year we were brought right back to that moment, not knowing what was right and what was fake.
[+] An American Princess
For some reason American’s care a lot about the British monarchy. We went insane over Prince William’s wedding. We seem to know a bit too much about where Prince George of Cambridge gets his dress shorts. Us Americans have always identified more with Prince Harry. So this wedding may be bigger for us than them. He was a bit of a rebel. Even though he’s a prince, we always felt we can kick it with him. He is best friends with Obama after all. Now he is engaged to one of us, an American. A mixed race American! Meghan Markle told Elle UK, I’m half black and half white. … I have come to embrace [this and] say who I am, to share where I’m from, to voice my pride in being a strong, confident, mixed-race woman.”
A princess we can really stand behind!
[+] A Twitter contractor disabled President Trump’s Account.
A twitter employee disabled President Trump’s account on his last day at Twitter. Trump’s account was down for over 10 minutes. For 10 minutes we all had a little bit of peace. We were not going to start a war with North Korea. Another FBI director wasn’t going to get fired. It was like that moment when Peggy left Sterling Cooper with her sunglasses on, cigarette in her mouth, carrying a box of her things out the door on Mad Men. It was a baller moment. Whether it was right or wrong, it was a moment in 2017 history that will be remembered.
[+] Facebook and Russia sitting in a tree.
(Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)Once the gold standard and the company where everyone wanted to work, Facebook became persona non grata in 2017. Facebook controlled much of the public discourse in 2016 and in 2017 and they started to pay for it in 2017. This story is far from over and I expect 2018 to be a huge self-reflecting year for Facebook and Zuckerberg and everyone who has an account. Can Facebook separate themselves from Russian trolls and online militias and still keep their shareholders pockets happy in 2018?
[+] First time in history we know not one FBI member by name but at least two.
On March 20, 2017: FBI Director James Comey confirms before the House Intelligence Committee that the FBI is investigating whether the Trump Campaign coordinated with Russia during the election.
May 9, 2017: James Comey is fired.
May 17, 2017: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel to probe Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election.
June 14, 2017: The Washington Post reported Mueller was investigating Trump for obstruction of justice.
July 9, 2017: The New York Times reports the presidential campaign was a topic of the meeting between Trump Jr. and the Russian Lawyer that was also attended by Manafort and Jared Kushner.
July 20, 2017: Bloomberg reports that Mueller is looking at Trump’s past business transactions.
July 26, 2017: FBI raids Paul Manafort’s home in Alexandria, VA.,
August 5, 2017: Mueller a panels a new grand jury.
October 2017: Mueller and team met separately with Christopher Steele, Reince Priebus, Sean Spicer and former CIA Director James Woolsey.
October 5, 2017: George Papadopoulous pleads guilty on 1 count of false statements and inturn helps Mueller’s probe. We only find out about this on October 30th.
October 27, 2017: Paul Manafort and Rick Gates are charged with 9 and 8 counts, respectively. Counts include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts, and unregistered agent of a foreign principle and false statements.
November 23, 2017: News breaks that Michael Flynn’s lawyers told President Trump’s legal team they can no longer share information about special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe.
December 1, 2017: Robert Mueller charged Flynn with lying about his conversations with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak and Flynn pleaded guilty a sign that he is working with Mueller’s investigation.
December 23, 2017: President Trump takes to Twitter to attack FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe who is expected to retire in 2018. Trump tweeted: “How can FBI Director Andrew McCabe, the man in charge, along with leakin’ James Comey, of the Phony Hillary Clinton investigation )including her 33,000 illegally deleted emails) be given $700,000 for wife’s campaign by Clinton Puppets during investigation?” He also tweeted: “FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is racing the clock to return with full benefits. 90 Days to go?!!!”
