Top 10 Most Shocking Moments of 2019
From sudden tragedies and political upheaval to unexpected headlines that sparked outrage or disbelief, 2019 challenged your sense of what was possible in a single news cycle. These events didn't just make headlines. They stirred strong emotions, sparked debate, and changed conversations around the world.
Which of these moments stood out the most to you? Which stories shocked you, stayed with you, or made you question what would come next?
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Christchurch mosque shootings
Despicable. Absolutely appalled by this Islamophobia, and the idea that thinking jihad is terrorism. A refugee who used himself as a human shield should signal that refugees are not evil, and this fake news is just to get some extra dough in for the heartless and soulless businessmen.
This is appalling, and Islamophobia should be placed on the level of xenophobia, homophobia, or transphobia. If I were allowed to use swear words, oh how I would.
In addition, he didn't care. He is an appalling excuse for a human being, and that Christchurch is so severely affected makes me angrier. It shows a small percentage do, and those types of people are UKIP supporters.
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Sri Lanka church and hotel bombings occur
The Christchurch shooting was motivated by hate speech, but the case of the Catholic church being blown up by a terrorist was motivated by persecution.
Yes, 50 people died in the horrific shooting at a mosque in New Zealand, and some were lucky enough to make it out of the ordeal. They were compensated by many Muslim leaders all over the world, and even the head of state, Queen Elizabeth, has demanded assistance for the victims of the shooting.
In the aftermath of the Sri Lanka attacks, no Western leader compensated the victims or the families of the 300 deaths. Unfortunately, I hate to see that this terrorist attack hasn't received as much attention.
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Donald Trump's government shutdown
I don't typically like to express a political opinion, especially on sites where opinions are disrespected, but this is getting out of hand. I'm not going to say which way I'd vote, but this shutdown is causing major issues, such as travel delays, government employees quitting, and it's even prevented an airport from opening to commercial flights (Paine Field, Everett, WA).
If the president is going to throw a fit, he should at least make it so that it doesn't affect people's everyday lives.
Due to Donald Trump not being able to agree with the conditions on the "Appropriations Bill," the government was temporarily shut down before 2019 even started.
As of today (January 20, 2019), the government is still shut down, affecting the jobs of 800 government employees.
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2019 Women's March canceled for being "too white"
The Women's March rally that was supposed to happen in Humboldt County, California, was canceled over concerns that it would consist of an "overwhelmingly white" population. They said they were "lacking representation from several perspectives in our community and needed more outreach."
I get that they want to try to represent everybody, but I believe that if it's a Women's March, they shouldn't worry about race. Just let them march.
Segregation still continues, and we show hate toward each other's colors and race.
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2019 Women's March organizer (Louis Farrakhan) found to have said misogynistic, racist, homophobic, and transphobic comments
We have anti-Semitic nutcases like Louis Farrakhan who want to spread hate across the world through his doctrine. He's not a nice man, and he is definitely not a hero at all. He speaks for radical Muslims and African Americans, but he is, of course, against White people. This man shouldn't exist on this planet, and he is the source of indoctrinating others to do bad things in this world.
Hear that, people? This year's Women's March organizer has said misogynistic, racist, homophobic, and transphobic comments in the past. Moreover, he has also been accused of being involved in the assassination of Malcolm X, a prominent member of his own group. Yet, this year's Women's March leaders have refused to condemn any of his words.
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Fire occurs at the Notre-Dame Cathedral
I want to take a moment to really say what an impact Notre Dame has had on world culture over the years. It is a symbol of the Middle Ages and Christianity, which is my religion.
It has been through almost 900 years of war, including both world wars, and has stood tall and proud. The fact that it was taken down by just a fire after 900 years of standing is heartbreaking in a way. One of the biggest tourist attractions in Paris, a place of worship, a symbol of our past, is burning. It kind of struck me in a way I wouldn't have thought it would.
I don't know what the future holds for Notre Dame, but I'd like to think of the impact it made on the world over the last few centuries.
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Ethiopian Airlines plane crash
Apparently, a submarine guy releasing a terrible version of Sicko Mode is considered worse than a plane crash that killed 157 people. Why do people always get upset about something that's not even that bad or important?
There were no survivors. All 157 died in the crash, and since then, all 737 MAX planes have been grounded.
On March 10, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashed in Ethiopia, killing all 157 people on board.
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Virginia Beach courthouse shooting occurs
I live just ten miles from the Municipal Center. This was workplace violence, in which one apparently fired employee wanted to enact revenge against those who work in the public utilities department. This is one of those moments when I realize that anything like this could happen close to where I live.
May 31, 2019
Twelve dead, five injured in a shooting at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center.
An employee who got fired became deranged and shot the workers to death, making it a hate crime. One of the deadliest shootings of 2019, and definitely the darkest day ever for Virginia Beach.
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Gillette "toxic masculinity" commercial
Okay, look, I get the message they were trying to send, but what pisses me off about this ad the most is how it stereotypes all men as evil beings who don't know how to treat women. Seriously. I already know how to treat women right. Good job creating an ad capitalizing on stereotyping your customer base.
It's clear the commercial was trying to say that "not all men are like this and we need to show it," but the way it came off suggested it was trying to say "most men are like this and other men must stop it." I see where they were going, but boy did they mess up.
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Disney attempts copyright claim on a fan-film after giving consent
Disney only cares about money nowadays and won't make original stuff anymore, just nonsense garbage and copyrighted garbage. They've become copycats and are not entertaining true fans anymore, just milking in the money.
Star Wars Theory is a great YouTube channel. The guy is very passionate, and he did an amazing job. Just more proof that big companies like Disney only care about money, even if they have billions already.
When they give you consent and then file a lawsuit against you, they have a problem.
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Death of Wowaka
Rest in peace. Thank you for making some of the greatest VOCALOID songs.
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Donald Trump is impeached
President Donald Trump got impeached on December 18th. This is truly beyond shocking. He's the 3rd president in history to get impeached. This should be up.
This was NOT shocking. I can even say this as an Independent.
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First black hole image is photographed
On April 10, scientists photographed a black hole for the first time ever.
The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) took two years to photograph it, but it took over a decade to set up the global system of telescopes around the world.
It's the first time we've photographed something we could never see. It's like seeing a silhouette of a person until his/her face is shown, like opening a present to see what's inside.
Black holes were mysterious and elusive for ages, until 2019.
As Mary Poppins says, even the impossible is possible.
2019 is being nicknamed the year of the black hole.
Perhaps the greatest thing we've ever witnessed this year, and a remarkable photograph we'll remember forever. Yet Mary Poppins said even the impossible is possible. It took over a decade to set up the constellation of telescopes and two years to capture the image. Biggest day for astronomy in the decade.
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Kathy Griffin calls basketball's 3-point hand sign a new Nazi symbol
In a now-deleted tweet, comedian Kathy Griffin shamed high school basketball players for showing the 3-point hand sign and called it the "new Nazi symbol." She apparently doesn't know the difference between the basketball 3-point hand sign and the white supremacist hand gesture.
This is ridiculous. Come on, this is why celebrities shouldn't be involved in politics, especially since they confuse things way too much.
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UNC Charlotte shooting occurs
All my life until now, ever since my adolescence, I've seen shootings everywhere in the United States. Almost anywhere that innocent people are simply going about their daily lives, some thoughtless shooter always ends up hurting others. I've seen it all on the news, but I never thought it would happen to me.
But recently, it did. I still couldn't believe it. In the late afternoon of April 30, when my entire college and I were preparing for our final exams, a shooter opened fire in a classroom and attempted to harm and take the lives of innocent students all across my campus.
If not for the actions of one of the victims, Riley Howell, and the police officers and first responders who acted quickly to keep the situation from escalating, more lives would've been taken. Regardless, one thing stands: my own school and my own community have now fallen victim to a tragic shooting.
I want to let you all know that as long as my community and I live, we'll never forget this tragic moment in UNC Charlotte history. We'll move forward unchanged, stronger, and more united than ever on behalf of those we lost and those who have, or are still, recovering from this heartbreaking tragedy no one should ever have to go through.
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Henry Pratt Company shooting in Aurora, Illinois
Just what we need? Another mass shooting? Wow, I hope a course for mental illness gets invented.
Truly horrible day for Illinois. Five killed, and it shows us how messed up we've become.
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Boo the dog's death
Boo was an adorable dog. I was quite a fan. I have a stuffed animal of Boo as well as a photo book that I don't know where it is. His "brother" and playmate, Buddy, died in 2016.
Damn, the whole world is mourning, so I don't even want to know what the owners must feel. I wish them the best of luck.
He was an adorable dog. I even had a photo book of him. His "brother" Buddy died in 2016.
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Measles outbreak occurs
This is why you should vaccinate your kids, you idiot anti-vaxxers.
Vaccinate your kids before this happens.
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Congo Ebola outbreak
At least there's an effective vaccine you can get in Africa.
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Death of 9/11 responder Luis Alvarez
He passed away from cancer linked to the 9/11 attacks, so the death toll just went up by one.
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Mean Gene Okerlund passes away
Really sad. He was part of many wrestling fans' childhoods. He will be missed.
A truly legendary wrestler died from a fall accident, breaking the millions of hearts of wrestling fans. R.I.P.
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Alex Jones sends child porn to families of Sandy Hook victims
How stupid have we become? Porn is NOT good for each other. It's wrong and even dangerous, and it messes with our brains. Anything we put into our brains is remembered and becomes a habit at some point. The thing is, porn makes us think wrongly about sex, which is a beautiful moment in life.
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SunTrust Bank shooting in Sebring, Florida
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The Loud House movie is canceled
I'm not really into Nickelodeon, as I was more into Disney, but this was heartbreaking for Nickelodeon fans because they knew The Loud House is a new classic show that became a hit across the whole network.
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272 voting counters die from heat illnesses in Indonesia
On April 28th, 272 people in Indonesia who counted voting ballot papers by hand died from heat illnesses caused by working all day in the heat.
This killed more people than the Sri Lanka attacks, which killed 253, and like that tragedy, this was man-made.
It teaches you the risks of doing full-time jobs.
People don't talk about this as much as they did about Sri Lanka. This was deadlier, though Sri Lanka's attack revolved around hate in religion and was an intentional act of violence.
Still horrible no matter what.
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UFC female fighter (Polyana Viana) assaults attempted male mugger
UFC strawweight fighter Polyana Viana stopped a male mugger who tried to steal her belongings. The mugger was severely wounded after the altercation and had to be taken to a medical facility before the police arrested him.
This is shocking, but in a good way. This is the kind of feminism we need, not the third-wave nonsense going on these days.
The image I uploaded is a side-by-side photo of both of their faces after the altercation. Notice how badly bruised the mugger's face is.
When I read this article, it actually made me laugh. This guy deserved it.
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The Article 13 controversy
This is a good reason why many British citizens are demanding to leave the European Union. Article 13 has pushed censorship to the next level, and digital democracy has been undermined in the name of greed by the EU MPs.
The internet has gone too far. Copyright complaints have become a battlefield.
Well, it has passed, unfortunately.