WI: Disastrous 1980s for America

[the Imperium of Canada]

Inspired by @Mad Bad Rabbit's post on the Any Conceivable Way to Prevent Reagan Revolution in the 1980s? thread from a few years back.

The Titan II missile accident on September 19th 1980 leads to a full-yield 9 MT explosion (which should have been impossible, is probably some sort of fundamental flaw in the arming circuits, and means ALL our W-53 and B-53 warheads need to be taken offline immediately). Thousands dead (including Walter Mondale whose plane was leaving Little Rock that night), millions homeless as groundburst fallout leaves huge exclusion zone across Arkansas/Oklahoma/Kansas. Carter and Reagan both agree to suspend campaigning; Reagan wins but it's a very hollow victory. Severe economic downturn, Pershing II missiles in Europe are right out, and the U.S. is basically headed for another full decade of even worse malaise.

Then on February 20th, 1981, due to heavy fog and pilot error Argentine Airlines flight 342 hits the North Tower of the World Trade Center, leading to a fiery collapse. The South Tower remains standing but is so badly damaged it'll have to be brought down ... somehow (civil engineers have no idea). Until then, Lower Manhattan remains cordoned off.

Then on March 30th, Reagan is shot and killed by John Hinckley (who had some sort of batshit insane plan to marry Jodie Foster and flee the collapse of America together).

God help Acting President George Bush... Meanwhile, absolutely nobody gives a crap about the culture wars at this point. They're worried whether they'll have jobs tomorrow, or get gunned down by a crazy person, or get some sort of radiation poisoning ten years down the road.

So suppose that in a admittedly rather unlikely chain of events the United States accidentally nuked itself and is effectively dealing with something akin to OTL Chernobyl, a plane (accidentally) crashes into the World Trade Center, and Reagan gets shot by a crazy person.

So what does these super bad years for America mean for the rest of the 1980s (and beyond) in the United States itself and the rest of the world.

 

[overoceans]

I don't know if a plane accidentally taking down the WTC, or even the assassination of Reagan by a lone actor, would have significant long-term consequences.

The first would just be viewed as an apolitical tragedy, albeit with a particularly high death-count. And the death of Reagan wouldn't lead to any major changes in the way the nation is governed, even if it does lead to the flipping of the White House and/or Congress in the next election.

An American Chernobyl might have some impact on the popularity of nuclear energy, but assuming it's localized like the OTL Russian incident, probably wouldn't lead to massive suffering outside the vicinity. Maybe some economic consequences?

 

[mspence]

I don't know if a plane accidentally taking down the WTC, or even the assassination of Reagan by a lone actor, would have significant long-term consequences.

The first would just be viewed as an apolitical tragedy, albeit with a particularly high death-count. And the death of Reagan wouldn't lead to any major changes in the way the nation is governed, even if it does lead to the flipping of the White House and/or Congress in the next election.

An American Chernobyl might have some impact on the popularity of nuclear energy, but assuming it's localized like the OTL Russian incident, probably wouldn't lead to massive suffering outside the vicinity. Maybe some economic consequences?

Well that depends:

In the Drift

The meltdown at Three Mile Island created the death zone known as the Drift, where the sky burned dark blue and pink, and where boneseeke...

www.goodreads.com

 

[Carl Schwamberger]

For me the 80s were miserable enough. Lets not go there.

 

[errorofmyself]

For me the 80s were miserable enough. Lets not go there.

I haven't heard a person until now saying something positive about the 1980s UNLESS you count movies, tv series and stuff like that.

 

[Fxgentleman]

As someone who lived through the 1980s (I was in HS in 1980), one way to make it worse would be to start in 1979.

First, have the Three Mile Island nuclear plant suffer a catastrophic accident in March, contaminating a large part of the state of PA and areas of the northeast. This acts as a body slam to the the already bad economy and triggers massive protests across the country regarding nuclear power, some which turn violent.

Then, follow that with the Iran Hostage crisis in Nov. 1979 being far worse. For example, when the embassy is stormed, the Marine guards fire on demonstrators who then go mad and kill many of the staff inside. The public would likely demand blood and Pres. Carter would have to ask Congress for a declaration of war. In late Nov. 1979, militants attacked the Grand Mosque in Mecca. Radio reports out of Iran by Ayatollah Khomeini at the time initially blamed the US initially for the attack, leading to the attack and burning of the US Embassy in Islamabad. Lets say in the altered scenario I describe, he pushes the lie further because of the war declaration and helps incite multiple attacks on Americans and US facilities across the Middle East, which further destabilizes the region. Then throw in to the mix the actual Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

So, as the 1980s open, the country is staggering with the aftermath of a Chernobyl style disaster; a bloody war in Iran; terrorist attacks; a damaged economy; and a Soviet invasion into another country. Anything after that could only make things worse given the precarious position of the country.

 

[Gillan1220]

Are we not counting accidental close calls of World War III?

Well since today is September 26, 2021, 38 years ago was the Soviet nuclear false alarm. Had another officer been on that early warning radar station instead of Stanislav Petrov, we would have seen a global thermonuclear war.

 

[Fxgentleman]

Between Sept. 1 and Dec. 1, 1983 there were several close calls where war could have been triggered between the US and USSR. First, former Pres. R. Nixon was supposed to be on KAL 007, the plane the Soviets shot down on 9/1. Even though he was a disgraced ex-pres. I can't help but think the public would not have been happy at an ex-pres. being killed by the USSR. Then, look at the aftermath of the downing. I did some research into this some time back and it is nothing short of a miracle that a shooting match did not break out between US and USSR naval ships in the Sea of Japan. The Soviet ships kept crossing into front of the USN ships and harassing them in different ways to the point where all it would have taken was one slip and fighting would have broken out. Then of course your have 9/26 and the Petrov incident, followed by the Able Archer 1983 incident in early Nov. 1983, which was actually far worse than the Petrov event. Also, it is always import to remember you also had the attack on the US Marines in Beirut on Oct. 23 and the invasion of Grenada on Oct. 25, which added to the tension. So, it is fair to say this period of time was one of those points in history where things could have easily gone sideways.

 

[overoceans]

I think if Nixon had been on board KAL 007, the Soviets would have found a way to apologize as profusely as possible without actually revoking the "We thought it was a spy plane" defense.

OTL...

We're sorry, but WE THOUGHT IT WAS A SPY PLANE!!

ATL...

We thought it was a spy plane, but WE'RE SORRY!!

Push comes to shove, they'd blame it on some low-level grunt and have him court-martialed off to toilet-cleaning duty somewhere,

 

[Carl Schwamberger]

I haven't heard a person until now saying something positive about the 1980s UNLESS you count movies, tv series and stuff like that.

Hmm.. Good things About the 1980s

1. The nasty stagflation of the 1970s was over.

2. Violence & 'revolutionary activity of the left in the US was declining.

3. Mindless canned Disco music was fading from the radio & clubs. You could hear real Funk, R & B, & other good dance forms more often. Swing music had a much deserved revive in the dance genrel. Rock had another life extension. Live music in bars hit a high point.

4. If you had skill/education in the cutting edge technologies that were emerging you could find decent employment, at least temporarily.

5. If you were one of the 5% with a good sense of timing you could ride any of the many financial bubbles, pyramid schemes, & fast trends, then bail out with a lot of money just before the bubble burst.

6. Probably many things I've forgotten Main thing was the 80s were not the 1970s. The decade started with a lot of optimism that did not pan out.

 

[overoceans]

Good things About the 1980s...

2. Violence & 'revolutionary activity of the left in the US was declining.

True. But then you also had the rise of anti-abortion violence, which only really abated in the late 90s or so. Plus, various other forms of less virulent right-wing terrorism, eg. Identity Christians etc.

 

[Carl Schwamberger]

I was just listing the positives. The resurgence of right wing violence belongs on the negative list.

 

[Histor32]

The music was awesome... By the mid 80s it really felt that racial tensions were easing and at least at the everyday life we were progressing and making headway on moving past black and white.

Tech was on a massive progression up swing.. Home computers, early cell phones.. Etc.


Agreed the 80s started Rocky on the political front and could have went sideways quite easily a number of times.

But to make it worse, racial matters continue to go south (in more ways then one)

A major war in Iran that engulfs the Middle East. Oil prices go sky high

US forces on the ground Ina major way in Central America

Any direct soviet US confrontation is not needed as that gets ugly.

US space program implodes earlier with multiple space shuttle incidents.

Disco makes a massive comeback

 

[Nazi Space Spy]

This is a sketch for a timeline I was working on with some advice from Drew:

- Reagan wins in 1976. His Presidency is a whole ‘can of corn in and of itself.

- Kennedy wins in 1980, but is shot by Hinckley and goes into a coma before eventually dying in 1987.

- Acting President Scoop Jackson serves through 1983, but dies at the height of the Korean Air Crisis. House Speaker Trent Lott becomes POTUS.

- Gary Hart becomes POTUS in 1984, followed by Trump in 1988.

 

[Nazi Space Spy]

True. But then you also had the rise of anti-abortion violence, which only really abated in the late 90s or so. Plus, various other forms of less virulent right-wing terrorism, eg. Identity Christians etc.

The 1980s was a weird crossroads in domestic terror, with right wing groups becoming more prolific while left wing groups largely lost steam. In 1983, militants on the left bombed the capital. Yet by 1993 , such kinds of leftist militancy were dismissed as an almost humorous (if they weren’t so dangerous) relic of an increasingly distant past.

 

[Gillan1220]

- Reagan wins in 1976. His Presidency is a whole ‘can of corn in and of itself.

That's the POD of For All Mankind: an earlier Reagan presidency.

The 1980s was a weird crossroads in domestic terror, with right wing groups becoming more prolific while left wing groups largely lost steam. In 1983, militants on the left bombed the capital. Yet by 1993 , such kinds of leftist militancy were dismissed as an almost humorous (if they weren’t so dangerous) relic of an increasingly distant past.

I thought terrorism more or less died down by the 1980s. The 1970s was more intense.

 

[overoceans]

The 1980s was a weird crossroads in domestic terror, with right wing groups becoming more prolific while left wing groups largely lost steam.

Sorta like you finally manage to kick your rebellious teenagers out of the house, but then your psycho brother-in-law moves into the basement.

 

[Captain Homicide]

I’d like to add pop culture as one of the good things about the 1980s. Great shows, films, music etc. I’d say pop culture as we know it today truly had its start in the Reagan era which is why it gets referenced and paid homage to more than any other decade. It was the first modern golden age of horror for example.