Consequences
Modern Hollister continued to host motorcycle rallies and commemorate the events of July 1947.The news of rogue motorcyclists causing havoc in small towns such as Hollister was not comforting to Americans still recovering from World War II and scared about the impending Cold War. The nation started to fear motorcycle "hoodlums" and potential rampages.
The AMA released a statement saying that they had no involvement with the Hollister riot, and, "the trouble was caused by the one per cent deviant that tarnishes the public image of both motorcycles and motorcyclists" and that the other ninety-nine per cent of motorcyclists are good, decent, law-abiding citizens. However, the American Motorcyclist Association has no record of ever releasing such a statement. A representative of the AMA said in 2005, "we've been unable to attribute original use to an AMA official or published statement — so it's apocryphal." The AMA's statement led to one-percenter being widely used to describe outlaw motorcycle clubs and motorcyclists.
The Hollister riot had little effect on the town itself. The nationwide fear of motorcyclists did not result in many changes in Hollister. Bikers were welcomed back and rallies continued to be held in the years after the riot. In fact, the town held a 1997 50th anniversary rally to commemorate the event.
Read more about this topic: Hollister Riot
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