I remember making fun of Dare in grade school with my friends. We weren’t on drugs, nor did we have any desire to do drugs, but we still thought it was dumb!
My favorite commercial is the one where the father confronts his son “Where did you learn this??!!” “I learned it from my watching you!”
The "I learned it from watching you" was a very important commercial for kids. I don't think the adults saw it or it had the same impact on them. If anything, they just stopped doing drugs in front of us.
I remember being a kid bathed in extreme propaganda "try drugs once and you DIE and also rob your family" ans being so confused by "i learned from watching you". Wait how does a junkie crackhead thief live long enough to parent and why isnt he stealing their child's drugs? I figured it out later it was a dig at pot smoking professional parents.
I can see why somebody thought that a “your parents suck” message should’ve had promise. Instead, I’d have thought it just exacerbated family addiction/terrible parenting issues that were already there.
I’m from the initial GenX years so it probably wasn’t aimed at high school kids like I was. I hope not, anyway.
I never saw the proverbial drug dealers giving me free drugs to get me hooked, but DARE prepared me to deal with AI and cloud vendors who give you all kinds of free credits to get you hooked on their services. So I guess it was useful.
I was definitely in the older GenX group, so by the time Nancy Reagan’s red ribbons started appearing on telephone polls, I was, unfortunately, already high. 😊 Older cousins didn’t help, either. But there’s definitely been an improvement among the younger gens!
Same. Even if you were hot for Alex Keaton AND your family was Republican, there wasn’t much likable about Nancy Reagan throwing herself into an anti-drug campaign. Maybe her psychic told her it was a good idea?
The real kryptonite was anything involving Gary Coleman (RIP).
My parents said they really lucked out with me. They were both the black sheep of their families, both ex-hippies and my dad a drummer in a rock band in the 60’s. Me… watched TV and spent the weekends on my Apple ][+ computer. Just Say No not only totally worked on me but 80’s movies of high school and college showing bullies pick on kids like me also kept me away from most environments with my peers. The 80’s were a tough landscape… filled with pockets of quicksand, according to TV, as well that one could find themselves trapped in. No thank you! I just said No to much of the 80’s.
Nancy and Ron's drug stuff was always a joke and it was never about pot. I would politely remind everyone writing or commenting on this thread that the Gen Xers have been the most incarcerated generation in the history of the United States, and that there was a Crack cocaine epidemic raging through cities and the heart of the generation. Nothing that law enforcement has done has "helped" or improved the situation, so why should DARE have been different? The program only lasted as long as it did (25 years) because the officers involved were some of the nicest, most community oriented cops on police forces and because politicians were afraid of the repercussions of cutting it. It's not like it lowered Crack cocaine sentencing guidelines or provided real harm reduction support to in drug infested neighborhoods.
Ah that graduation crack coke fix (wtf?) lol Weird thing is, we were not interested in drugs at the time so we just made fun of these ads when I was young.
We did everything wrong in the war on drugs. DARE was just a part of it. I have been in recovery from alcohol for 11 years. I was sure I’d never go to jail as I was in denial. So that approach was no good. I have talked to my kids about the health implications of drugs and alcohol and have been open about my own story.
I went to Catholic school and the DARE program used the following analogy on us. The first high gets you to see God, the second time you get high, you see St Peter and he says "sorry kid, you're not getting in". I was a paranoid kid and wouldn't have tried drugs no matter what, not that it mattered, they were never on offer since I was also an unpopular kid who was not invited anywhere that would have had them.
Great post. I really appreciate your remembrances because they really ring a bell for me. I was a freshman in high school in 1983 and DARE didn't come to my Catholic school but we got the same messages. I actually stayed away from drugs and drinking til college, and I'm sure that was beneficial for me. My friends and I were all dweebs and we stayed away from substances because the popular kids who made our lives miserable used them and we hated those guys. (It was an all boys school.) So I don't think the official anti-drug spiels were much of a factor at all.
I also said no to drugs. So there's two of us lol. I didn't want jail or to be addicted to anything. I saw drugs ruin my friends. I didn't think it was a bad campaign. Just that the reason people decide to take drugs are different for everyone. I was a relatively confident kid and had good friends around me. I didn't feel pressured to take drugs or need to fit in with the ones who did take drugs. It is definitely for escaping reality. Some people's reality may have been more unbearable than mine.
Yeah, I recall Len Bias (UM basketball star) dying in 1986…I’d heard cocaine was the culprit and that was enough for me to never want to try it. I did a good job of nearly killing myself with alcohol over the years but the hard drugs were never a temptation.
There was a PSA where I lived as a kid about not leaving your pet in the car on a hot day: "This is your dog's brain in a hot car..." Complete with the fried egg.
I remember making fun of Dare in grade school with my friends. We weren’t on drugs, nor did we have any desire to do drugs, but we still thought it was dumb!
My favorite commercial is the one where the father confronts his son “Where did you learn this??!!” “I learned it from my watching you!”
The "I learned it from watching you" was a very important commercial for kids. I don't think the adults saw it or it had the same impact on them. If anything, they just stopped doing drugs in front of us.
I remember being a kid bathed in extreme propaganda "try drugs once and you DIE and also rob your family" ans being so confused by "i learned from watching you". Wait how does a junkie crackhead thief live long enough to parent and why isnt he stealing their child's drugs? I figured it out later it was a dig at pot smoking professional parents.
I can see why somebody thought that a “your parents suck” message should’ve had promise. Instead, I’d have thought it just exacerbated family addiction/terrible parenting issues that were already there.
I’m from the initial GenX years so it probably wasn’t aimed at high school kids like I was. I hope not, anyway.
I never saw the proverbial drug dealers giving me free drugs to get me hooked, but DARE prepared me to deal with AI and cloud vendors who give you all kinds of free credits to get you hooked on their services. So I guess it was useful.
I was definitely in the older GenX group, so by the time Nancy Reagan’s red ribbons started appearing on telephone polls, I was, unfortunately, already high. 😊 Older cousins didn’t help, either. But there’s definitely been an improvement among the younger gens!
Same. Even if you were hot for Alex Keaton AND your family was Republican, there wasn’t much likable about Nancy Reagan throwing herself into an anti-drug campaign. Maybe her psychic told her it was a good idea?
The real kryptonite was anything involving Gary Coleman (RIP).
It seemed like by the early 2000s, the DARE shirts had become ironic. People wore them as a joke.
That’s exactly how I thought about them.
My parents said they really lucked out with me. They were both the black sheep of their families, both ex-hippies and my dad a drummer in a rock band in the 60’s. Me… watched TV and spent the weekends on my Apple ][+ computer. Just Say No not only totally worked on me but 80’s movies of high school and college showing bullies pick on kids like me also kept me away from most environments with my peers. The 80’s were a tough landscape… filled with pockets of quicksand, according to TV, as well that one could find themselves trapped in. No thank you! I just said No to much of the 80’s.
Nancy and Ron's drug stuff was always a joke and it was never about pot. I would politely remind everyone writing or commenting on this thread that the Gen Xers have been the most incarcerated generation in the history of the United States, and that there was a Crack cocaine epidemic raging through cities and the heart of the generation. Nothing that law enforcement has done has "helped" or improved the situation, so why should DARE have been different? The program only lasted as long as it did (25 years) because the officers involved were some of the nicest, most community oriented cops on police forces and because politicians were afraid of the repercussions of cutting it. It's not like it lowered Crack cocaine sentencing guidelines or provided real harm reduction support to in drug infested neighborhoods.
Ah that graduation crack coke fix (wtf?) lol Weird thing is, we were not interested in drugs at the time so we just made fun of these ads when I was young.
Those after-school specials scared me straight for sure.
The key for me was to be a total loser who didn’t have any friends in HS. 🤣
That’ll do it! 😆 I had friends in high school but none that were into drugs and partying
We did everything wrong in the war on drugs. DARE was just a part of it. I have been in recovery from alcohol for 11 years. I was sure I’d never go to jail as I was in denial. So that approach was no good. I have talked to my kids about the health implications of drugs and alcohol and have been open about my own story.
I went to Catholic school and the DARE program used the following analogy on us. The first high gets you to see God, the second time you get high, you see St Peter and he says "sorry kid, you're not getting in". I was a paranoid kid and wouldn't have tried drugs no matter what, not that it mattered, they were never on offer since I was also an unpopular kid who was not invited anywhere that would have had them.
Great post. I really appreciate your remembrances because they really ring a bell for me. I was a freshman in high school in 1983 and DARE didn't come to my Catholic school but we got the same messages. I actually stayed away from drugs and drinking til college, and I'm sure that was beneficial for me. My friends and I were all dweebs and we stayed away from substances because the popular kids who made our lives miserable used them and we hated those guys. (It was an all boys school.) So I don't think the official anti-drug spiels were much of a factor at all.
Anyway, thanks for another great post!
Thank you! ❤️
I also said no to drugs. So there's two of us lol. I didn't want jail or to be addicted to anything. I saw drugs ruin my friends. I didn't think it was a bad campaign. Just that the reason people decide to take drugs are different for everyone. I was a relatively confident kid and had good friends around me. I didn't feel pressured to take drugs or need to fit in with the ones who did take drugs. It is definitely for escaping reality. Some people's reality may have been more unbearable than mine.
Well said, agreed
Yeah, I recall Len Bias (UM basketball star) dying in 1986…I’d heard cocaine was the culprit and that was enough for me to never want to try it. I did a good job of nearly killing myself with alcohol over the years but the hard drugs were never a temptation.
Well, duh. Fried eggs are delicious!
There was a PSA where I lived as a kid about not leaving your pet in the car on a hot day: "This is your dog's brain in a hot car..." Complete with the fried egg.