FALLOUT

---

“What Woodstock was, Altamont wasn’t.”
  While Woodstock symbolized peace and love, Altamont was quite the contrast. Altamont was “an orgy of violence amidst orgies of mud and filth.” (Kohl, 1993) The several severe beatings and injuries that occurred at the hands of the Hell’s Angels, who were hired for security in exchange for $500 worth of beer, are the black eye of the event. The infamous death of 18-year old Meredith Hunter at the hands of the Hell’s Angels is what the concert is forever remembered for. Filmmakers Albert and David Maysles turned their footage of the concert into a documentary entitled Gimme Shelter. The documentary has Hunter’s death on tape and shows the brutality of the Hell’s Angels. Alan Passaro, the one who stabbed Hunter was acquitted when tried for the crime as the jury ruled he acted in self-defense.