Classic Rock Protest Song From the 80s
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (118451)
Gainesville, Florida
December 2, 2015 6:44pm CST
I had a great laugh this afternoon, returning home from my trip to the doctor. Normally, I mainly listen to country music, but this afternoon I happened to flip to a classic rock station.
The DJ announced that the next song was going to be Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It," a huge hit for the band back in the 80's.
In the words of the DJ, "It's a classic protest tune from the 80's when there really was nothing then to protest about." That made me crack up laughing, as he was somewhat right!
Not to say the world was without problems back then, but as a teenager growing up in that time period, I think overall life was pretty good.
Instead of saying the song was a protest tune, I think it would have been more accurately described as a song about rebellion. The song certainly resonated well with my generation!
But thinking back to the 80's, can you think of some things then that would have been worth protesting? I do remember there was a lot of concern then about nuclear proliferation, so maybe protesting nuclear arms could have been a big thing. Or the influx of drugs and easy money through Miami (remember Miami Vice?). Or maybe the corruption on Wall Street. What else can you think of that would have been worthy of protest in the 80's?
9 people like this
7 responses
@GardenGerty (157553)
• United States
3 Dec 15
I do not even remember the 80's, I am ancient, and that was the time in my life when I was pretty well turned inward, raising kids.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118451)
• Gainesville, Florida
3 Dec 15
The 80's was my "growing up" decade, so it will always be a special decade for me. So maybe I'm biased when I say it was a good decade! lol
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (458230)
• Switzerland
4 Dec 15
@moffittjc We had serious problems in my country in the seventies, I remember our Italian songs.
@moffittjc (118451)
• Gainesville, Florida
4 Dec 15
@LadyDuck It's interesting, there were a lot of problems in the US in the 70's as well (Vietnam War, oil embargo, gas shortages, rampant inflation, Watergate scandal in Washington, etc), but it doesn't seem like the music industry put out many protest songs during that period. Maybe it's because there were so many protest songs in the 60's, that musicians wanted to go in a different direction during the 70's. How else would you explain the popularity of disco music! lol
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118451)
• Gainesville, Florida
4 Dec 15
I don't really remember any protest songs from the 70's, it seems most of the protest songs I was aware of were the ones from the 60's, where everyone was protesting the Vietnam War.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (62161)
• United States
3 Dec 15
The only "protest" slogan I remember from the 80's was, "The Moral Marjory is neither." 
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@FourWalls (62161)
• United States
4 Dec 15
@moffittjc -- that was the reply to Jerry Falwell's group, the "Moral Majority." If you ask me any animosity/hatred/"war on Christians" in the U.S. (not that I don't think there aren't discriminatory things against Christians in some areas in the U.S.) started as a backlash against the "our way or the highway" strong-arm tactics of the group...which, as the slogan stated, hardly represented the "majority" of Christianity; and, if you ask me (personal opinion here) was started so a megalomaniac could keep his face and name in the public eye (I think similarly about Al Sharpton).
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118451)
• Gainesville, Florida
4 Dec 15
It seems to me that Wall Street corruption really got out of hand in the 80's (or maybe it was just that I noticed it then because I was finally old enough to understand).
@JudyEv (325815)
• Rockingham, Australia
3 Dec 15
Like @GardenGerty I was too busy raising two young boys. At that stage, we had no TV (no reception in the area we were in) so missed out on a lot of stuff I guess.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118451)
• Gainesville, Florida
3 Dec 15
Judy, it was the 80's. You didn't miss out on much! Although I think it was a good decade for music, but perhaps I'm a little biased since it was the decade I pretty much grew up in!
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118451)
• Gainesville, Florida
3 Dec 15
@JudyEv I agree! I was born in the late 60's. I used to always tell people that the 60's should have been the decade where I belonged, because I thought (and still think) it had the best music!
2 people like this
@JudyEv (325815)
• Rockingham, Australia
3 Dec 15
@moffittjc Now if it was the 60s! THAT's when the good music was around! 
1 person likes this
@VivaLaDani13 (60355)
• Perth, Australia
8 Feb 17
@moffittjc Very hard for me to say since I am a 90's baby. Does protesting to my parents that I don't want to go to sleep count? 
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118451)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Feb 17
You never like to go to sleep! What is it with you and sleep? haha
1 person likes this
@arthurchappell (45002)
• Preston, England
3 Dec 15
In Britain we had the whole decade under a tyrannical prime minister called Margaret Thatcher, leading to protests over very high unemployment, poll tax imposition, the crushing of the unions, especially the mining industry and the EEC food mountains - there was a lot of protest about
@moffittjc (118451)
• Gainesville, Florida
4 Dec 15
It's interesting to hear your view on Margaret Thatcher, because over hear in the States she is looked at as one of the greatest Prime Ministers Britain has ever had. I think it was because her and Reagan got along so well.
