The most popular example when detailing the moral panic perspective
is that of Cohen's (1972) folk devils, or Mods and Rockers; names used
to identify two such subcultures of, in this case, British youth during
the 1960s. Mods, or Modernists, were identifiable as “well-dressed [and]
fashion- conscience...listened to...The Beatles, the Who...and...rode motor
scooters” (Goode and Ben-Yehuda, 1994, p.23). This was in contrast to the
Rockers who were “tougher, more politically reactionary, more classically
delinquent...[stemming] from a working-class background, and often rode
motorbikes” (Ibid.).
On Easter Sunday, 1964, in a small township named Clacton, England,
a rumour circulated that a bartender refused to serve alcohol to a minor.
With an abundance of adolescents and young adults loitering on the street,
a scuffle soon manifested and factions (of Mods and Rockers) were formed.
Motorcycles went up and down the street, windows were smashed on the local
dance hall and a few beach huts were destroyed; damages were £500.
When the police arrived, they overreacted, arresting over 100 youths (Cohen,
1972, pp.29ff; cited in Goode and Ben-Yehuda, 1994, p.22).