Challenge: Most Chaotic 1970's Possible

1970

-Chicago Seven are found guilty of starting a riot for the 1968 Democratic Convention, kick-starting a general riot across Chicago that leaves over 200 dead and over $150 million in damages
-Postal strike in 1970 is larger with over 500,000 walking out. Commerce slows notably over the three months it takes to suppress the strike. Nixon deploys troops to post offices and general dissatisfaction with his administration grows before the strike is broken.
-Poseidon bubble grows larger and bursts in July 1970 after topping out at over $750/share, ruining many in Australia financially
-Steaming over the shootings at Kent State, riots in Chicago, and expansion of Vietnam, a large demonstration in Washington and another in Ohio turn violent after anarchists launch attacks at both. Between the two over 1000 people die and almost $500 million in damages occur
-Two CS gas canisters are lobbed into the British House of Commons, killing over half of the House as a result along with Edward Heath. Labor comes back into power in the resulting emergency election
-Jordan and the PLO begin a savage guerilla war that will last over 18 months and cause over 20,000 deaths with Israel being blamed for most one way or another
-Demostration in Quebec City for independence during October Crisis gos terribly awry, resulting in popular Canadian fears of insurrection. James Cross and Pierre LaPorte are executed with Quebec staying under martial law well into 1971
-Riots and general dissatisfaction in the US lead to the hearing of constitutionality of a law in Massachusetts regarding the legality of refusing military service in an undeclared war, the decision in Massachusetts vs Laird makes the draft unconstitutional in early 1971 and separates "militia" from "army" to mean that ordinary citizens are not considered part of an army. The court specifies that "militia" refers only to members of the National Guard and should not be deployed beyond the borders of the United States without express declaration of war by Congress, also that the war itself is unconstitutional.
 
1971

-Oil negotiations between Western companies and Middle Eastern governments leads to an impasse and moderate increase in oil prices in January
-Polish riots over food following price increases in late 1970 see martial law stay longer with the failure to remove Gomulka leading to rioting in Warsaw. Over 300 are killed and 3,000 arrested in the aftermath, though Gomulka retires three months later having suffered a stroke
-An erroneous warning by the Emergency Broadcast System is taken seriously by many radio stations but turns out to be a hoax, most notable is the preparation and seeming disappearance of many in northern Indiana in range of WOWO AM. Many begin to fortify and reinforce older bunkers as despite the hoax the newer generation is not seen as ready for the aftermath of a nuclear conflict
-William Calley is somehow found not guilty of charges in the My Lai massacre, leaving no guilty verdicts in the prosecutions. This erodes confidence in the liability of the US army when they are in contact with civilians
-Waeker US currency floods Europe and much of Asia following the "Nixon Shock", destabilizing world markets and leading to massive speculation with resulting flux on Wall Street
-May Day riots against the Vietnam War in Washington DC are expanded in the face of the Wall Street flux, leading to over 20,000 arrests. Confidence in Nixon and government in general continues to erode
-August riots in Camden NJ following the death of a Puerto Rican are widespread with 150 killed and over $120 million in arson and other damage. Eventually city police are required to call in all available officers and help from state police to contain the situation over two days
-Devaluation of the dollar resolves the lingering effects of the last devaluation but the confidence in the economy is somewhat eroded as well
 
An addendum to the Lennon finding Jesus thing: Mark David Chapman assassinated Lennon, in part at least, because Chapman had become a born again Christian in 1970 and was crazy, and was taking retribution for Lennon's "bigger than Jesus" comment, as well as the songs "Imagine" and "God". If Lennon becomes a born again Christian himself, on top of the normal butterflies, you could have Chapman not assassinate him given the reasons are removed. Or, you could still have Chapman kill him for other crazy person reasons. There's also the whole giant possibility of Lennon only being a born again Christian for a period of time, later rejecting it, which gives Chapman his reason back, or the extra reason of all the aforementioned stuff plus Lennon outright rejecting Jesus.

Also, I believe Chapman planned to go to New York and assassinate Lennon before he finally ended up doing so in 1980. I can't remember the details of that.
 
OTL, Richard Nixon requested that there be a list of all Jews in the government made, because he considered Jews disloyal. That was talked down and what was made was a list of the Jews in the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which oversees the welfare and all that.

ATL, Nixon get's his list. Actually, Nixon is a very easy way to get dystopic things done in the 1970s, because for every thing that actually happened there were other things that could have happened and would have if he pushed harder or if the people who said no to him had said yes or there had been people who said yes.

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Another thing was that Richard Nixon was seriously considering fighting the Agnew scandal (the one where Agnew had taken bribes as governor and vice president). It was in the middle of Watergate, so if Nixon was removed and there was no vice president, then the White House would to the Speaker (Democrat Carl Albert). The evidence against Agnew was overwhelming, so if he had tried that it would have been a mess.
 
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In the late 70s, the American Nazis tried to march on the town of Skokie, Illinois. I believe the reason was that town had the highest per capita Jewish population in the nation, and was host to a massive holocaust survivor community. The Nazis were blocked by the community of Skokie from marching via various restrictions, leading them to sue and go to the ACLU, where a Jewish lawyer took up the case.

The Jewish Defense League and the Jewish Veterans of America were planning to fly in allies and demonstrate against the Nazis when they marched.

The stage was set for a heated and violent confrontation, and one which could have seriously tested the first amendment.

At the last minute, the Justice Department stepped in and allowed the Nazis to hold a demonstration in Chicago in exchange for not marching in Skokie.

For want of an intervention, you'd have a very serious incident with major repercussions.

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I've also been fascinated lately with the idea of Iran going Communist instead of Islamic fundamentalist, with instead the Islamic radicals fighting a guerrilla war or possibly a full fledged civil war against the government. Imagine that: the USSR backing Iran and the US backing the Ayatollah's boys (who for want of a nail, and even in spite of it, hate the United States and the West, and would have held hostages) in a pseudo-Afghani conflict.
 
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If the Jewish protesters hit first, that could really really fuck things up.

And if the Skokie march stays on, maybe the local Black Panthers come as "back up" against the Nazis.
 
Emperor Norton I said:
the government cracking down harder on the left wing movements
I like this idea, but I wonder if you get "crackdown", or a broader use of Cointelpro, which was used so effectively against the Panthers.

First thing that came to mind was USG bungling the response to the oil shock. The gas lineups didn't need a big spark...

The U.S. could invade Iran to prevent the overthrow of the Shah. Or to rescue the hostages. Or both.

There's also the car companies. This was an era of some terrible quality cars: recall the guy who set his Lincoln (IIRC) on fire?:eek: Could you drive them out of business? Or see more "hot cars"?:p

You could also introduce the civil forfeiture to the "drug war" sooner.

You could toughen gun control laws in more big cities--that's bound to increase crime (if the NYC, DC, & Chicago examples are any guide). If you're cracking down on militants, this prima facie makes sense--& could easily backfire, even spark right-wing militias to become more violent.
 
During the 1970s, when the Red and Blue album came out, according to an uncited wikipedia statement, there were ideas to add on some Beatles solo material onto the album. It was, according to said uncited entry, not done due to space constraints on the LP. That inspires this idea:

After the Beatles breakup, Capitol insists on compiling the groups solo material, after the solo LPs/singles are released in their intended form by each ex-Beatle, into compilations under the Beatles banner. Not out of character for Capitol, which insisted on repackaged compilations and rejiggering things all the time where it concern the Beatles. The Beatles subsequently would get pissed, unleashing all legal hell and further increasing tension in their relationship. That is unless legal issues would preclude Capitol even trying that.
 
Emperor Norton I said:
unleashing all legal hell and further increasing tension in their relationship. That is unless legal issues would preclude Capitol even trying that.
Capitol's probably got lots of high-paid lawyers to advise them, & to fight off suits from PO'd bands (even The Beatles).

Want to add one? Have them release illegal bootlegs in China, Japan, &/or India (using original masters), & not pay the guys the royalties. Better still, do it with several really big acts. (Including Elvis? Or is he signed with somebody else? So just page through the '70 Capitol catalog....)
 
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