Top 10 Worst Things That Happened in 2020

The 2020s started off pretty rough. You could even say horribly. Here are the worst things that happened.

The Top Ten

Coronavirus Outbreak

One should always "prepare for the worst and hope for the best." This president didn't do that, and now all of America is paying the price. People actually believe there will be football this fall. It will not happen without the fallout of several more people contracting the disease and spreading it to others.
I have been a sports fan for almost fifty years. Sports are not "essential." They are more of a "want" than a "need." The ACC, Big 12, and SEC are fooling themselves. Kids not going back to school? Not being able to see loved ones? The economy in the tank? Not being able to return to your jobs? All of these are direct results of a lack of national strategic planning by Trump and his administration. He is a joke.
I will always be proud to be an American, but it is embarrassing to have an idiot in the White House at this time. The mishandling of this virus will and should cost him the election in November. People are tired of all the lies, finger-pointing, and complete lack of responsibility. Over 167,000 deaths in this country, and 75-80% of them could have been avoided if we had a president who truly cared.
Now, he wants to suppress voting. He needs to quit acting like a 12-year-old who doesn't get his way and be a man for a change. He is an atrocious "leader" and a despicable person. America, if you want class, decency, and character in the White House again, vote for Joe Biden in November.
Australian Bushfires Continue

Australia has been through perhaps the worst fires in its modern history. Bushfires are raging across the country, and countless homes and buildings have been destroyed, along with many trees. Many people are dead, and many are unaccounted for. Yet, 1.25 billion animals were killed. Over 26 million acres have been burned so far, and there's no end in sight.
We've had fires over the years, including in California in 2018, the Amazon Rainforest, and Siberia in 2019, but we've never seen anything like this. 2009 was once serious for fires in Australia, but again, not like this. This disaster has gotten even me worrying all the way. Yet, so many iconic legends live there, and no one could imagine them being caught in these fires.
We realize this was caused by climate change, yet there was a huge heatwave that made Australia hit record-setting upper temperatures, contributing to the fires. This is so far the worst thing that's ever happened this year, and Australia has been burning for almost two months, and it's only getting worse.
Minneapolis Riots

It was near total anarchy in the USA during the riots, not just in Minneapolis but everywhere else. Trump's poor riot control measures didn't win him any favor, and now all other dictatorships are mocking how badly the USA's reputation as a responsible world leader has regressed. Unfortunately, they are right.
The Americans need serious reform (by serious, I mean a complete overhaul) in police, human rights, and government administration, but I don't think it will happen soon considering how hot America's political climate is right now.

Yes, people have died, but many more would have if people hadn't pushed hard for reform. George Floyd could have become just another forgotten name, like Breonna Taylor. More people die from police brutality than from these riots. With COVID-19, Floyd's case could have been erased from memory after some light protests.
People need reform. They need police to be afraid to kneel on a man's neck or shoot unarmed Black men. The media should be afraid of demonizing that man, as happened in the UK with Mark Duggan, due to intolerance normalized by Farage. Saying "All lives matter" ignores the full picture and writes off the entire situation. Systemic racism against Black men needs to end. Say their names. Do not stop until even further action is taken.
Death of Kobe Bryant

The most shocking accidental celebrity death in history. More than any other by accident. It hit us like 9/11 and the Titanic disaster did. Also, since his daughter died as well, I can't even imagine the eternally immeasurable infinite pain Vanessa must be in (even to this day). Definitely one of the worst days in 2020 and history.

This just happened out of nowhere. I was calmly minding my own business when my dad came out and said, Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash. He was one of the greatest NBA players of all time, and he still had so much time left in his life.
R.I.P Kobe Bryant and everyone else who left us in the helicopter crash.
Death of George Floyd

RIP George Floyd. Being Black myself makes me sad because I've seen too many things like this happen. I know what the cop did is horrid, and he deserves to be punished. But at the same time, we should also cut down on assumptions and act calmly. Rioting won't help, and it will only make things worse.

I honestly still don't understand how this got way bigger than previous incidents, but I know that Black Lives Matter. This is an unheard-of method of police brutality and racism, which needs to stop soon if we're to progress in society.
RIP George Perry Floyd. You'll be in the world's hearts and minds forever.
People Overreacting to Coronavirus

I somewhat agree. Not every single person is dying from the virus, and plenty of people have recovered from it. But does this topic need its own item on the list?
Also, look at the numbers of infections, recoveries, and deaths. There is a big difference between the total cases and deaths. It means not everyone is likely to die from the virus. I'm not saying people shouldn't worry, but not everyone who is affected is expected to die. I believe mostly older people and those more sensitive to viruses have a higher chance of dying from it. People should be aware of the virus, but I think total panic isn't necessary.
YouTube COPPA Update Released

YouTube was fined $170 million by the FTC due to its age targeting, so changes were made. Therefore, content made for kids meant common features (like comments and sharing) were disabled, while these features were used in the videos not made for kids. It was once stated that those violating the law would receive a $42,530 fine per video and that no new channels or content would be allowed. YouTube used to be a great place before COPPA turned it into cable television.

I can't save my favorite animated videos to playlists anymore, nor can I comment on them. YouTube is basically delegating fault to the creators, who are simply doing their business on it, when they are the ones violating child privacy guidelines in the first place. I mean, there's YouTube Kids, right?
Ukrainian Boeing 737 Plane Crash in Iran

Not a crash. The passenger jet was shot down by an Iranian missile.
Infant Beaten to Death in Chicago

How sick do you have to be to beat an infant to death? Especially when they do it for no reason at all. This is why I hate senseless violence. It just disgusts me. What's becoming of this world?

Don't worry. The criminal will soon (or is already) be suffering in jail, with the security and other prisoners doing the same thing that he did to the baby, just to see how he likes it!

A 9-month-old infant was beaten to death by a man in Chicago. His name was revealed to be Josue Juarez. A truly horrible day for her mother and a horrible way to start 2020 for her. R.I.P.
2020 United States Presidential Election

And that resulted in yet more protests. Yup, 2020 officially killed the world.

The Newcomers

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Lizzie McGuire Revival Cancelled

Definitely not the worst thing to happen this year from a global perspective, but it was the worst thing for people who grew up with Disney Channel and Disney+. It had been in production since 2019, but things took a turn when Terry Minsky (the creator of the original series) was fired, which left production on hiatus.
Hilary Duff explained that she wanted the show to be more grown up, but that wasn't allowed on a family channel and it would have needed to move to HBO Max. She eventually had no choice but to cancel it in December before it even aired.
Lizzie McGuire was one of the best series on Disney and had an original format. It was the most realistic sitcom on Disney and helped jumpstart the network's music trend (which even involved performing songs on stage). Now we'll never get to see her or her animated alter ego go on new adventures, unlike That's So Raven, which was revived as Raven's Home. It all showed that Hilary Duff had grown up.
It was better than any sitcom Disney has now and possibly any it will ever have in the future. This revival could have been another show to break the so-called four-season barrier, even though the original only ran for three. Long live Hilary Duff.
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Death of Michael Angelis

The longtime narrator of Thomas & Friends passed away from cardiac arrest at the age of 68.
R.I.P. to the legend of our childhoods.

The Contenders

Huge Explosion Occurs at Central Beirut

This needs to be at least in the Top 3. More than 100 people died, and thousands are injured. The whole explosion turned Beirut into rubble, making it look like a warzone. And I swear, if I see people voting for stuff related to Trump, YouTube, or anything else rather than tragedies like these, I'll lose it. In conclusion, 2020 is the worst year of the 21st century.

Yeah, I'd put this in the top 10. At first, none of the people in Beirut reacted quite strongly until a few days later. Once again, people are losing their minds in the pandemic worldwide as well.
Thailand Mall Shooting

A soldier killed 29 and injured 58 in a shooting at a mall in Thailand. Now, it's the deadliest shooting in 2020 and the deadliest single man-made incident this year after the Ukrainian plane attack in Iran that killed 176.

It is not fair. I wish people could just stop doing things like this and before they do, think about what you would do. You wouldn't like to be killed, so don't do it.
Jakarta Flooding

Torrential rainfall hit Jakarta, causing flooding that damaged buildings and caused landslides, along with killing 53 people, which was more than the number of people killed in the Albania earthquake in 2019.

We have fire and now flooding, and people don't know what to do.
Orange County FL Club Shooting

The first shooting of 2020. Two were killed in a club in Orange County, Florida. A horrible man-made incident in 2020 so far, and this list should keep changing.
Death of Breonna Taylor
Southwest Houston TX Apartment Shooting

One dead in a shooting in Southwest Houston, Texas. A horrible day for Texas.
Donald Trump Gets Acquitted

He belongs in jail. He has blood on his hands for his mishandling of COVID-19. He is the worst president we have ever had. He is a grifter, a racist, a fearmonger, a scamster, a liar, and a common criminal. Everyone who voted for him should be ashamed.

Can't the U.S. realize that Donald Dump has silently murdered over 200,000 people due to his negligence towards COVID-19!? He needs to be locked up for life, and yet somehow so many people still believe in him.

I mean, he should have been convicted.
Indiana Subway Shooting

A shooting took place at a Subway restaurant in Indiana, leaving a man in critical condition. 2020's off to a bad start.
Political Correctness Getting Worse
The Assassination of Soleimani

And again! Trump does his usual antics. By killing such an important person in Iran, he's only going to get more enemies than friends. Even some of his allies condemn his actions. If he doesn't back down, World War III could start at any time!

Nearly started World War III with Iran. Even bad guys have families, and killing a high-ranking officer in an unprovoked airstrike is guaranteed to earn lots of enemies. Even Israel, which had little to do with the incident, is being blamed for his assassination.

Almost caused WWIII. It's scary how it would have almost caused it. It trended on Twitter when it happened. All the anti-American and anti-Trump sentiment was honestly crazy.
China vs India Faceoff
"Ok Boomer" Became a Trend to Fight Adults

I'm pretty sure this trend was supposed to be a joke since boomers like to make jokes about Gen-Z, who are known for making memes. So, we decided to just make a meme out of it, and I guess that's how the whole trend started, not because of disrespect. I have respect for boomers, though.

I don't really like the slang "ok boomer." I get annoyed when people keep saying and spamming that phrase. But I love to use this insult to describe "degenerates" who are involved with gender inequality, male pronouns, and the outdated school system, just to name a few.
Death of Alex Trebek

This was not only the saddest death of November, but among the saddest in all of 2020. He was the host of Jeopardy and lost his battle to stage IV pancreatic cancer. He was 80.
He was perhaps the last trusted star on Earth and certainly the greatest TV game show host that ever lived. Yet, he was the closest we had to another Mr. Rogers.
This showed us that 2020 was a year mainly of tragedies like no other this century, and this was among the top. R.I.P. Alex Trebek - 1940-2020.

Television personality Alex Trebek, who was best known for hosting Jeopardy, died of pancreatic cancer on November 8 at the age of 80. RIP Alex Trebek.
Puerto Rico Earthquake

This should be above the YouTube update, which isn't something that would take or ruin people's lives.

Puerto Rico has been having a very terrible time for the past three years.

Gotta feel bad for the residents.
11th Ebola Outbreak Resurfaces in DR Congo