My great uncle survived, hidden, as a Jew in occupied Amsterdam through all the fear and famine.
He says what he is going through now with the pandemic (in South Africa) is a far worse experience but only because back then he was a young child and his older brother (my grandfather) was able to make him feel safe. Now he’s the one meant to help his daughters and grandchildren feel safe and he feels like he’s failing.
The year 1970. People dying or being maimed for life (both mentally and physically) in a stupid, nonsensical war. Richard Nixon President. The government refusing to listen to hundreds of thousands of people protesting the war, and people of all sorts not just college kids and hippies.
I participated in a HUGE protest in DC and walked down Pennsylvania Avenue with a lot of other people, holding the hands of my two kids. “We are speaking to our government. Never forget.”
1963 was pretty bad with the Kennedy assassination.
But I don’t think anything in my 79 years can compare to this year. It’s just horrible in so many ways.
I’m in my 40s, and this is easily the worst year.
2001 was rough, but you could still go out and you didn’t fear for democracy. In fact, we united as a country and had the sense Bush would try to do the right thing.
2001 was a really shit year for me.
Summer 2001 my mom ran off on the family. 9/11 happened (I’m in the DC area) which would then spark my father to work in the various war zones off and on for well over a decade. 8the grade was horribly lonely. Shortly before christmas that year I shattered my lower right leg.
2001 was a fun year for me! s/
Personally speaking:
2002 the dot-com bubble burst and I lost a cushy job, that was pretty bad.
2008 great recession happened, again was laid off, that was pretty bad too.
2019 was awful. I found out my recently deceased father had an entire other family. I guess technically, we were his other family. Met the ones he abandoned (my new older half siblings) last summer and it was incredibly awkward and for some reason left me hollow and extremely full of guilt.