Hate is a danger, whatever form it takes
On Thursday, July 12, 1979, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, during a baseball double header between the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers a local radio station shock jock orchestrated a publicity stunt capitalizing on the cultural divide between those who loved Disco music and those who loved Rock music. It was a night that would change the musical landscape forever—but for all the wrong reasons.
The 1970s were a transformative time that revolutionized American culture. Following the failure of the US to prevail in Viet Nam, riding on the Civil Rights victories in the 1960’s, the emergence of equal rights for women and LGBTQ, and the popularity of polarizing television entertainment such as “M*A*S*H” and “All in the Family,” were transforming the cultural character of America in powerful ways. In addition, economic struggles, gasoline shortages, unemployment, the resignation of President Nixon and the controversial leadership of President Carter defined seismic changes in the political culture of the nation. In many ways the 1970’s was a decade of anxiety and change across every cultural landscape.
Along with the vast cultural and political changes that marked the decade of the 1970’s was an emergence of a new, and highly profitable—albeit ultimately controversial—genre of popular music. Mixing a combination of danceable beats, African drums, electronic mixing, Jazz, soul, Latino, and funk, a new and populist form of music erupted in powerful ways during the decade. It would be come to known as “Disco.” Within a few years this urban form of dance music evolved into a multi-billion-dollar industry that not only defined a generation, but also polarized the American culture. At the time a Chicago shock jock radio personality on WLUP named Steve Dahl was a popular hard rock DJ who had a personal vendetta against Disco music. During the epic rise of Disco in the national love of popular music, his former employer was a radio station that cut both Dahl and its hard rock format in favor of the newly popular Disco format. He took it as a personal crusade to eradicate the music that cost him his previous job.
The task was not difficult. Although Dahl was primarily concerned with undermining a genre of music in favor of his preferred musical style, the cultural volatility was easy into which to tap. Consequently, when he scheduled a media spectacle at Comiskey park in Chicago, he unwittingly tapped into an underlying volcanic volatility that was waiting for an eruption.
The plan was simply to invite thousands of hard rock fans to the ballgame bringing Disco records which would be ceremoniously exploded in a pyrotechnic exhibition of disdain for the musical genre. What resulted was an unintended configuration of angry, disenfranchised people responding to a cultural transformation which they never created, from which they felt threatened to their core ethnic and national identity. In the end, the hated Disco records were blown up in a display of unintended hate which subsequently detonated an angry riot which took over the field and forced the cancelation of the second game. The result was catastrophic. Baseball was disgraced, hate prevailed, and a genuine musical genre was horrifically scrutinized.
Such is the danger of hate and anger in any form—musical, religious, or political! On July 12, 1969, a publicity stunt unwittingly masked in hate erupted in a configuration of unrelenting violence and animosity. Ultimately, the nation largely turned against a whole culture and genera of music that posed no harm. It was the destructive consequence of hate, anger, unnamed racism, alcohol and cultural conflict—a stark reminder of how hate and cultural conflict destroy peace.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Hate is a danger, whatever form it takes