You need to crank the volume on your voice, Charlie. I had a hard time hearing this. I bought the book and am 2/3 through it. I enjoyed the podcast, but it was hard to hear, even when I turned the dishwasher off. I was also a part of the political punk scene in Toronto during the 80's. Remember the Union Carbide protest? That might have been one of the first ones I went to. There were many others. By 1985 I was a single mother of two babies. I brought them with me to pretty much every demonstration and community event. The following couple of decades were all about surviving the economic hardship. I put myself through university and helped my kids with their education expenses. Finished paying that freakin' student loan off when I was 59 years old. I'm on the freedom 85 retirement plan now, of course. In more heartwarming news, my son, now in his 40's accompanied me to the Elbows Up protest in front of the US consulate in Toronto this year, as well as to your talk in Oshawa. Brought a tear to my eye. Nostalgia. :)
Charlie - I think this series will be great. At 61, i remember the 80’s. It will be interesting spending time looking back - also big fan of Stranger Things.
Born in 1974 in Northern Ontario, and the only thing I miss from that time was the freedom to explore. Even though I was young I always heard my family talk about politics, economics, and what was happening around the world. There always CBC on in the background, whether it was the tv or radio. There were also a lot of history documentaries of WW II, Korea, and what really happened in Vietnam. History and learning about it was a staple in our house, like having bacon and eggs. The 80s was when the term "Keeping Up With The Jones" had always seemed impossible in my mind to achieve. Like yourself I am a history buff! When I saw this in my inbox I was excited to listen. Looking forward to next episode 😄
I would love to be able to upgrade to a paid subscriber. BUT. I live on oas and gis anCpponly no other pension. And it takes every penny to live these days without resorting to a food bank. Everything these days is behind a paywall that I can’t afford.
Julia Shaw wrote about the "reminiscence bias" in her 2016 book, The Memory Illusion: Why You Might Not Be Who You Think You Are. It reveals how political demagogues exploit nostalgia for nefarious purposes.
I’m 61, became a mom in the 80’s I still listen to the music from that era. The things that are happening now will be overcome, the when is the question.
Good start, Charlie. I look forward to hearing you explain the 80s in a way that makes me less hostile to the very memory of that decade. Were I asked to sum up those ten years in one word, I would say GREED. Maybe you can convince me there was something good that came out of it other than the birth of my two children.
I am 68, so I am not nostalgic for the 80s; I don't believe I am nostalgic for any bygone time.
born in /58 > Joined the CAF in 75(until 86) the 80’s for me .. are so largely a blur. Although I recall my time in the CAF (mostly) my off time was spent escaping the trauma of childhood. I had lived on the streets of Canada for almost 3 years before **Unintentionally enlisting. Was being chased by a very nasty pimp in STJohn, NB when I ducked in an open doorway to see a very tall uniformed man behind a counter who looked at me and said: “Are you here to join up?” > I said “Yes” > I had NO idea what I was joining but only that I was escaping a certain death and/or sextrafficking > Oh Yes it was alive back then! Pimps would grab runaway girls like me .. drug us to addiction and then sell us to local “johns” > Mostly those well respected business types :) > I am So fortunate that, while I did have my times out there; I survived phew .. So > I joined the CAF and by the 80’s was trained and serving in Alberta. in 83 I came to the Maritimes > I’ve not left. I’ve also Not gone ““home”” because those who caused the trauma are likely still there. The 80’s .. I’m fortunate that I endured as I did in those times as the drugs I indulged in were ““Relatively”” harmless .. nothing like todays opiates .. fentanyl and such. Also I am grateful that whle there were some pretty evil people out there > There were also MORE Kind people . More human beings willing to Show they cared. Were it not for the ““kindness of strangers”” I would not be the old lady I are today :D Thanks for the trip :D
Your dangerous 80's are 35-45 years ago. Good memories for some, and not so good for (??many) others. Those years are gone. What did they teach us. Or, did we not learn and merely stumble into the third decade ot this century, with the worst villain this Northern Hemisphere has ever seen? If we learned, we did not learn enough to safeguard us from Autocracy, or from an Autogolpe, we have now inherited. He will pass, but the time which he frequents us is painful.
Excellent Charlie and a great setup for what perspective is coming. Like Chris C. I believe this is about fearless speech and speaking truth to power and motivation to drive home how the middle class was kneecapped in the 1980’s. I suspect we shall see Paul Volcker’s quote “ The standard of living of the average American must decline”. This was the establishment of the inequality in the American ( Canadian) work place, between the average worker and the rich ( CEO’s etc. ) , and has continued and increased yearly. Thanks for all your insights and provoking thoughts.
This is great, Charlie. And you've got me wondering if i am, or ever have been, nostalgic for the 80s. I don't think i have been. But then such things sneak around in our consciousness only to leap out and surprise us at inopportune moments. So, i'm on alert. I read about half your book in January before having to return my copy to the library. And i've been meaning to buy a copy but am only reminded of that now. I'm from Dieppe (born to an Acadian family) but grew up in the 70s in Montreal and i'm about 3 years older than you. And i've been living in Toronto since 1990. And, when reading your book, I was, unsurprisingly, struck by how different your experience of the 80s was. It felt different in Montreal. I did have a good dose of the 70s since I began CEGEP in '76. So the 80s, for me was a huge leap into social movement activism that still defines my life. I was an editor of the McGill Daily (Brian Topp was a colleague and friend) and it was a good place to begin political education. But it was anti-apartheid activism and solidarity with the Nicaraguan Revolution that really defined that decade for me. I have been looking back at that time, not nostalgically but rather to see what I missed - and you mention one HUGE piece that I agree needs remembered. And that's the rise of neo-liberalism that took aim at both Labour's power and the development of the welfare state (not only in Canada, of course). I love your notion of "dangerous memory" - religious association aside. It connects for me with another kind of "dangerous" act that I think is crucial for our times: fearless speech. I learned of this term from Michel Foucault's scholarship on the Greek word "parrhesia" which goes back several thousand years. Transliterated as "frank speech", it referred to the act of speaking a truth to a tyrant that could harm them, but who could, of course, kill the speaker. Both "don't shoot the messenger" and "speaking truth to power" have their roots in this term's history. But history aside, what "fearless speech" names today is some of what you are doing and what we need to see much more of from many quarters. This is truth-telling that requires risk. Which means not everyone is able to do it. But together we can bear that risk and protect the more vulnerable amongst us. I suggest, humbly, that your "dangerous memory" is a form of this "fearless speech" or perhaps needed companion to it. Keep up the great work, Charlie. I'm inspired by you every day!
You need to crank the volume on your voice, Charlie. I had a hard time hearing this. I bought the book and am 2/3 through it. I enjoyed the podcast, but it was hard to hear, even when I turned the dishwasher off. I was also a part of the political punk scene in Toronto during the 80's. Remember the Union Carbide protest? That might have been one of the first ones I went to. There were many others. By 1985 I was a single mother of two babies. I brought them with me to pretty much every demonstration and community event. The following couple of decades were all about surviving the economic hardship. I put myself through university and helped my kids with their education expenses. Finished paying that freakin' student loan off when I was 59 years old. I'm on the freedom 85 retirement plan now, of course. In more heartwarming news, my son, now in his 40's accompanied me to the Elbows Up protest in front of the US consulate in Toronto this year, as well as to your talk in Oshawa. Brought a tear to my eye. Nostalgia. :)
Charlie - I think this series will be great. At 61, i remember the 80’s. It will be interesting spending time looking back - also big fan of Stranger Things.
May I be critical?
You have a good speaking voice - not sharp or unpleasant. But you almost whisper... any noise in the room with me and I can not hear you.
I appreciate the sub-text, but I wanted to hear you, not have to read your words.
Please speak louder.
The intro and outro were much clearer.
Born in 1974 in Northern Ontario, and the only thing I miss from that time was the freedom to explore. Even though I was young I always heard my family talk about politics, economics, and what was happening around the world. There always CBC on in the background, whether it was the tv or radio. There were also a lot of history documentaries of WW II, Korea, and what really happened in Vietnam. History and learning about it was a staple in our house, like having bacon and eggs. The 80s was when the term "Keeping Up With The Jones" had always seemed impossible in my mind to achieve. Like yourself I am a history buff! When I saw this in my inbox I was excited to listen. Looking forward to next episode 😄
And I have always been part of the resistance I have voted NDP in every election since I was able to vote. I am now 81. So that’s a long time.
I would love to be able to upgrade to a paid subscriber. BUT. I live on oas and gis anCpponly no other pension. And it takes every penny to live these days without resorting to a food bank. Everything these days is behind a paywall that I can’t afford.
Your support and encouragement is enough. Keep on reading and keep on supporting. My team appreciate your participation.
Good to be reminded that I was part of the resistance then, and I'm still part of the resistance.
Julia Shaw wrote about the "reminiscence bias" in her 2016 book, The Memory Illusion: Why You Might Not Be Who You Think You Are. It reveals how political demagogues exploit nostalgia for nefarious purposes.
I’m 61, became a mom in the 80’s I still listen to the music from that era. The things that are happening now will be overcome, the when is the question.
Good start, Charlie. I look forward to hearing you explain the 80s in a way that makes me less hostile to the very memory of that decade. Were I asked to sum up those ten years in one word, I would say GREED. Maybe you can convince me there was something good that came out of it other than the birth of my two children.
I am 68, so I am not nostalgic for the 80s; I don't believe I am nostalgic for any bygone time.
Greed indeed, sad to say.
born in /58 > Joined the CAF in 75(until 86) the 80’s for me .. are so largely a blur. Although I recall my time in the CAF (mostly) my off time was spent escaping the trauma of childhood. I had lived on the streets of Canada for almost 3 years before **Unintentionally enlisting. Was being chased by a very nasty pimp in STJohn, NB when I ducked in an open doorway to see a very tall uniformed man behind a counter who looked at me and said: “Are you here to join up?” > I said “Yes” > I had NO idea what I was joining but only that I was escaping a certain death and/or sextrafficking > Oh Yes it was alive back then! Pimps would grab runaway girls like me .. drug us to addiction and then sell us to local “johns” > Mostly those well respected business types :) > I am So fortunate that, while I did have my times out there; I survived phew .. So > I joined the CAF and by the 80’s was trained and serving in Alberta. in 83 I came to the Maritimes > I’ve not left. I’ve also Not gone ““home”” because those who caused the trauma are likely still there. The 80’s .. I’m fortunate that I endured as I did in those times as the drugs I indulged in were ““Relatively”” harmless .. nothing like todays opiates .. fentanyl and such. Also I am grateful that whle there were some pretty evil people out there > There were also MORE Kind people . More human beings willing to Show they cared. Were it not for the ““kindness of strangers”” I would not be the old lady I are today :D Thanks for the trip :D
So fortunate you stumbled into the right door 🙏🏼
Your dangerous 80's are 35-45 years ago. Good memories for some, and not so good for (??many) others. Those years are gone. What did they teach us. Or, did we not learn and merely stumble into the third decade ot this century, with the worst villain this Northern Hemisphere has ever seen? If we learned, we did not learn enough to safeguard us from Autocracy, or from an Autogolpe, we have now inherited. He will pass, but the time which he frequents us is painful.
Sadly, the pain will last for many years, if not decades, just like the pain from the 80s.
💙🦅💙🇨🇦💙
Excellent Charlie and a great setup for what perspective is coming. Like Chris C. I believe this is about fearless speech and speaking truth to power and motivation to drive home how the middle class was kneecapped in the 1980’s. I suspect we shall see Paul Volcker’s quote “ The standard of living of the average American must decline”. This was the establishment of the inequality in the American ( Canadian) work place, between the average worker and the rich ( CEO’s etc. ) , and has continued and increased yearly. Thanks for all your insights and provoking thoughts.
This is great, Charlie. And you've got me wondering if i am, or ever have been, nostalgic for the 80s. I don't think i have been. But then such things sneak around in our consciousness only to leap out and surprise us at inopportune moments. So, i'm on alert. I read about half your book in January before having to return my copy to the library. And i've been meaning to buy a copy but am only reminded of that now. I'm from Dieppe (born to an Acadian family) but grew up in the 70s in Montreal and i'm about 3 years older than you. And i've been living in Toronto since 1990. And, when reading your book, I was, unsurprisingly, struck by how different your experience of the 80s was. It felt different in Montreal. I did have a good dose of the 70s since I began CEGEP in '76. So the 80s, for me was a huge leap into social movement activism that still defines my life. I was an editor of the McGill Daily (Brian Topp was a colleague and friend) and it was a good place to begin political education. But it was anti-apartheid activism and solidarity with the Nicaraguan Revolution that really defined that decade for me. I have been looking back at that time, not nostalgically but rather to see what I missed - and you mention one HUGE piece that I agree needs remembered. And that's the rise of neo-liberalism that took aim at both Labour's power and the development of the welfare state (not only in Canada, of course). I love your notion of "dangerous memory" - religious association aside. It connects for me with another kind of "dangerous" act that I think is crucial for our times: fearless speech. I learned of this term from Michel Foucault's scholarship on the Greek word "parrhesia" which goes back several thousand years. Transliterated as "frank speech", it referred to the act of speaking a truth to a tyrant that could harm them, but who could, of course, kill the speaker. Both "don't shoot the messenger" and "speaking truth to power" have their roots in this term's history. But history aside, what "fearless speech" names today is some of what you are doing and what we need to see much more of from many quarters. This is truth-telling that requires risk. Which means not everyone is able to do it. But together we can bear that risk and protect the more vulnerable amongst us. I suggest, humbly, that your "dangerous memory" is a form of this "fearless speech" or perhaps needed companion to it. Keep up the great work, Charlie. I'm inspired by you every day!
Excellent, Charlie, thank you.