No question, a good chunk of the anti-disco sentiment that Steve Dahl fanned the flames of was steeped in both homophobia and racism - though with more of the former than the latter. Disco was definitely seen as "black" and "gay" music, due to how many of the artists were black, and a few being quite openly gay (like Sylvester and the Village People). Not to mention how heavily it was played in "black" and gay clubs all around the country.
No doubt that white cishets - particularly males - saw disco as something to stomp all over. It was for blacks. It was for gays. It wasn't for tough alpha-males like them. And that bigotry and ignorance fueled the insanity known as Disco Demolition Night.
The decision to go through with it, though, fell mostly (if not entirely) onto Mike Veeck. As much as Bill was known for his insane promotions and the belief that "you can draw more people with a losing team plus bread and circuses than with a losing team and a long, still silence," he had very deep concerns that this promotion could go too far, get out of control, and lead to violence. Obviously, Mike Veeck didn't share those concerns and went through with it. Sure enough, Bill's concerns were shown to be well-founded when all hell broke loose.
Of course, this is also the most recent case of a forfeited game in the American League. Sparky Anderson felt both the field and the environment were unsafe, and refused to let the Tigers return to the field for the second game. The umpires initially delayed the game. Sparky demanded the game be declared a forfeit, to which Lee MacPhail agreed.
Certainly not one of baseball or this country's finer moments, that's for sure. And no question, it was fueled by a stupid promotion, too much beer at the ballpark, and bigotry.
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