1979
ohlone ohlone all ohlone
It is easy to view history abstractly and in ways that decontextualize what other events occurred simultaneously. As we marvel at the hell that has been created in Gaza and the destruction wrought on Iranian citizens and the terror and instability thrust upon Venezuela and the ICE kidnappings and executions at home, all whilst our pedophilic president continues to evade any consequences for the Epstein files, I think it’s useful to take a close look at another point in time, that of the year 1979, the year when the one-child policy was introduced in China, when Visicalc became the first commercial spreadsheet program for computers, and when worldwide per capita oil production reached a historic peak.
We’ll tackle this chronologically:
january
On the first day of the year, Abba release “Chiquitita” for a UNICEF benefit concert for the international year of the child and the United States officially severs ties with taiwan.
In the Cambodian-Vietnamese war launched to topple the Khmer Rouge and to bring an end to the genocide, Vietnam captures Phnom Penh.
Deng Xiaoping visits DC, the first time a PRC leader has ventured forth.
february:
Pluto moves inside Neptune’s orbit
The Iranian revolution ends,
As China had backed the Khmer Rouge and were angry at Vietnam for invading Cambodia, they decided to invade Vietnam,
Total solar eclipse, last one visible from North America in the 20th century, wouldn’t be another until 2017.
The Daytona 500 is first televised
Cops strike and get Mardi Gras cancelled in New Orleans
march:
Egypt and Israel peace treaty following the Camp David accords is signed, normalizing relations between the two countries
The compact disc is publicly demonstrated by Philips
april:
Iran votes to become Islamic Republic and oust the Shah
Nickelodeon launches
Students in Nepal protest against Pakistani embassy for execution of former PM, are met with violent pushback from police, 11 dead and more than 150 injured.
Soviets accidentally leak airborne anthrox spores, killing 66 and some animals.
Tanzania sacks Kampala in their war with Uganda and Idi Amin flees.
may:
Greenland is granted autonomy from Denmark
Margaret Thatcher is elected the first woman PM of the UK
Salvadoran civil war begins
First man dies by electric chair in Florida after re-introduction of the death penalty
june:
McDonald’s introduces the happy meal,
NATO supreme allied commander nearly assassinated by the Red Army Faction aka the Baader-Meinhof organization
july:
Sweden outlaws corporal punishment and the Sony Walkman go on sale the same day.
The skylab falls to earth, NASA’s first orbiting space station,
Saddam Hussein assumes presidency in Iraq and within a week purges the Ba’ath party, executing nearly seventy members.
>500 die from a tsunami in Lembata island in Indonesia
Nicaraguan president resigns and flees to Miami amid the Nicaraguan revolution.
Jimmy Carter talks about the crisis of confidence in america,
august:
Equatorial Guinea’s dictatorship is overthrown
One of the founders of the Crips, Raymond Washington killed in a drive by shooting
september:
Pioneer 11 visits saturn
ESPN launches as the first cable news channel.
Two families flee from Easy Germany by balloon
French help overthrow Emperor Bokassa and the Central African Empire
october:
The federal reserve system changes from interest rate target to money supply target policy,
The first McDonald’s opens in Singapore
South Korean president assassinated by South Korean intelligence service directory.
Smallpox is announced as eradicated by the WHO (lol)
november:
General Luis Garcia Meza carries out a military coup in Bolivia
Assata Shakur escapes from a New York prison to Cuba
5 members of Communist Workers Party shot to death by a group of Klansmen and Neo-Nazis in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Iran hostage crisis begins, 90 hostages taken in US embassy in Tehran, demanding that the US exile the Shah back to Iran in order to stand trial. In response, Carter hals all oil imports to the US from Iran. In the midst of the crisis, Reagan announces his candidacy for President. Carter freezes all Iranian assets in US banks, Ruhollah Khomeini orders release of 13 female and African American hostages, the Grand Mosque is seized in Mecca by militants and it is reported in Pakistan that the seizing of this holiest place in the faith of Islam was carried out by Americans, leading to protests against the US Embassy in Islamabad.
“The Wall” from Pink Floyd comes out
december:
The first Miyazaki work, The Castle of Cagliostro is released
The Soviet Union covertly launches its invasion of Afghanistan
Obviously with the US-Russia relations essentially as cold as they were then, the ongoing crackdown by the Trump admin on communists/socialists/DSA types, the threats to seize Greenland, a coup in South America, all the Iran fighting and the oil prices skyrocketing due to the closing of the Strait of Hormuz, it feels like we are on the precipice of entering the 80s once again. Argentina is pounding the war drums to seize the Falklands, CDs and digital media are coming back into style. As you can see from this closer look at 1979, most of what we have taken for granted as being stable was a fabricated illusion that was a consequence of the end of history following the collapse of the Soviet Union. As Russia attempts to regain what some perceive as being lost in Ukraine and as China challenge the United States in the latest arms race—that of artificial intelligence—it is important to remember what materially has changed in these last 47 years. In most ways, Americans are worse off, wages are lower in real terms for most compared to what was, job prospects are a joke for new graduates, AI psychosis is tearing apart businesses, no one can get a hold of actual people for customer service or essentially any service seemingly. We have technology now that tracks us everywhere we go and everything we eat and drink and see and then develops the perfect little nudge to drive your consumption. Most software systems are brittle as fuck now, people just don’t give a shit anymore. And why should they? The facade has ended.
When I started writing this piece, I was intending to write about the history of dog parks. Why? I’ve been out of the country a few times or so and routinely find dogs are off leash and well-behaved, and no one seems to give a shit that the dogs are roaming around freely outside of a park. And why should they? Why is it that we even have dog parks? You’re lucky to find a new apartment complex or subdivision without one.
No no no your dog cannot play here they must go in this special area to play. No your child cannot go climb trees they have to hang out on this padded jungle gym.
The first dog park appeared in Berkeley, California at Ohlone Dog Park in that fateful year of 1979, in part as a reaction to decreased public spaces and new leash laws. Though many of the events from that year have faded from collective consciousness, the role of dog parks in our communities grows each passing year. More land is dedicated for these spaces than community gardens or other similar spaces. More and more we enclose public spaces and attempt to control them.
In 1979, the internet was still primarily a thing for universities and government labs. Eventually it opened up and was swallowed by a few big tech players, leaving us to choose from one of several lizard people when carrying out our work and using computers. We can see the terrible damage that results when we cede our physical spaces to private interests and when we limit how we can play to just a few controlled zones like a dog park. To be human is to explore, to connect, to share. We must reject the atomization and isolation, we must ensure the public spaces are public.
