The start of the general public's attitude that motorcyclists were nothing but 'outlaws' and 'hooligans' may have come from the situation which occurred in Hollister, California in 1947. A lot of young servicemen had returned from the war, looking for adventure and the camaraderie they had with their military buddies. There was a lot of interest in motorcycling and a lot of motorcycle clubs were started, with names like the the 'Boozefighters', the 'Pissed Off Bastards' and the 'Market Street Commandos'.
For years the 'American Motorcyclist Association' had been running races and other rallies in various towns across the U.S. and this was considered one of the best ways for motorcyclists to get together. Hollister was one of those towns who held an annual July 4th rally called the Gypsy Tour. Typically it had attracted a small number of riders but since the war had ended and the number of riders had dramatically increased, the event attracted over 4000 motorcyclists. Still, despite all the overcrowding and partying, nothing much happened aside from a few broken beer bottles in the streets and some charges of disturbing the peace. However, the media got a hold of the story and with the photo below (which apparently was staged) as a catalyst, LIFE magazine ran an article describing a 'riot' that 'terrorized a town'. With the public already trying to recover from the war and dealing with the new 'Cold War', it seemed easy enough to whip up some paranoia and demonize the motorcycle 'hoodlums' and fear their presence. This may have been the start of what was a general attitude that if you rode a motorcycle, you were some sort of outlaw.
To see how this was further exploited by the media, and particularly the film industry, check out my next post titled "The Wild One".
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