Executive Report

by Chubby

With everybody cooped up for what seems like an eternity, and travel being limited to essential needs, I’m once again not at a loss for something to write about but rather I have too much to say and have to balance the nature of my comments. Success has been achieved by the government and medical professionals at dividing the country with limited and vague information in place of pure statistics and facts. Telling anyone what to do, especially a biker, rather than giving pertinent facts and letting them make that decision for themselves, is against my core beliefs and makes many of us draw a line in the sand. After years of spending my time arguing and questioning statistics brought forth by NHTSA, the CDC and the rest of the alphabet soup of government agencies that look to sway public opinion and limit my freedoms, it would seem now that some expect me to take the opposite stance and conform because the “experts” tell us to. Although ABATE of WI as an organization has an obligation of responsibility to its members, there has always been a slippery slope because our mission has always been to inform our members as accurately as possible and let them come to their own conclusions. We are the toolbox; you are the mechanic. If we are going to continue to maintain and fix motorcyclists’ issues, we’re going to need as many mechanics as possible.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Normally when I think of those words, I’m referring to another unjust, freedom taking bill that has been reworded and reintroduced in yet another legislative session to add another law to the books. Since ABATE of WI began in 1974, we’ve used many of the same arguments to fight against many of these same bills. Unlike our counter parts in the government, ABATE of WI has used the downtime in between introduction of these unjust bills to further our other missions of safety and education. It seems our efforts have paid off with significant reductions in right of way violations and unlicensed rider fatalities. But I’m not referring to a new bill that has been introduced, but rather public perception of motorcyclists and what the general public is led to believe about our culture. Do we need to change? No, I don’t think so but I think there are some simple things we can do to change the minds of those who have never experienced the same freedoms we feel in the wind.

The first time I wrote about this issue was a dozen years ago when my friend Tony “Pan” invited me to the Harley-Davidson museum to see some members from one of the oldest motorcycle clubs in America give a presentation. Four members of the Boozefighters M/C spoke to a crowd of over one hundred about the beginnings of motorcycle clubs in the United States. They told the story about their original members being WWII vets and motorcycle racers that happened to also share a passion for drinking a lot of beer. This story is not new to me as I know many patch holders and many of their clubs were started for similar reasons, which all seem to be more about biking and brotherhood than anything. If you’ve never heard of the Boozefighters, I would bet that you’re a few years younger than me. They are not only one of the first motorcycle clubs in the U.S., but also lay claim to being the club that the Marlon Brando movie “The Wild Ones” was modeled after. This stemmed from an alleged and completely false portrayal of scoundrel bikers during the Hollister Rally in 1947. The staged photographs and “eyewitness” accounts that were published in Harpers Bazaar and Life Magazine about the Hollister event set the stage for the misperceptions the public continues to have to this day about motorcyclists. Although those there agreed that everyone drank a lot and had a lot of fun, the published media accounts of bikers “taking over the town” and “terrifying the locals” were terribly misrepresented. And it was alarming to see the similarities between that event seventy-three years ago, and events we hold today. I don’t think the media has changed their view much either, and everyone knows that news has to have an exciting edge to it or it just wouldn’t be news. How much do you think the media in this country leads the way in misrepresenting bikers?

Now many of us may be guilty of feeding the fire of biker misperception by either being apathetic or even supporting some of the recent biker movies and television shows, most namely “Sons of Anarchy” (it is done now forever, I hope). I admittedly don’t know any club members outside of the Midwest, so maybe clubs in California kill people on a daily basis, stab their brothers in the back, run guns, and party every day and night, but I doubt it. And although many find it entertaining, I think the show and the people that wear stupid shirts like they’re members of some fictitious club do more to hurt the public’s perception of bikers than any real club could every do. What do your neighbors or children’s classmates think of bikers? Are you doing anything to change their perception?

ABATE of Wisconsin may not have the answers to everything that plagues our culture or this nation, but we are doing many things to try to change the public’s perception of bikers without changing bikers and I hope you feel the need to speak up and act out to support the lifestyle you’ve grown accustomed to. One of the biggest things we do to not only change public perception but to keep us all safer on the road, is teach our motorcycle awareness class, Share The Road, in driver’s education classrooms throughout the state. ABATE member volunteers are always needed to teach this program and the face time you get with these young people will surely make a deep impression on them for life. Many of our members volunteer to help political candidates during election time and since we are a fairly non-partisan organization, this is the perfect opportunity to change the perception people from all walks of life have of us when we work along side them to help a candidate that you believe in. How we conduct ourselves at our Capitol is an important part of how not only legislators, but the public, perceives us. It’s not how we dress that keeps people talking in Madison, it’s how well we present our issues and the professionalism that we show that has gained us respect there. Unless you live in a community of bikers, your children (or at least their friends) probably have some huge misperceptions of who we are. We have the opportunity to change that every time we are just ourselves without changing our attitude or appearance to conform to what our community may think everyone should look like and act. I taught my children long ago not to judge a book by its cover and in turn they’ve led their friends to see things the same way. This may be the best opportunity for us to change public perception of our image. Let the kids do it.

No matter what you’d like to believe, change doesn’t come easy and it doesn’t come quickly. If bikers want to change the misperceptions that the general public has been putting together for the last seventy plus years we need to get started. Whether it’s making sure everyone knows you’re a biker when you volunteer in your community, or being involved as an instructor in a Share The Road class, we need to give the public something to believe besides the crap they’ve been hearing for seven decades. Hollister just isn’t a popular clothing line; it was a great biker event made infamous to sell magazines. We need to show people that just because we prefer jeans and leather to khakis and ties, doesn’t make us a lesser part of our communities.

I hope that everybody has remained safe and healthy during the current crisis. As things become more normalized, I hope we continue to respect each other and our way of life. We still need to get the message out to the public that we’re back on the roads and they need to look twice for us. We still need to hold meetings to inform our members of any attacks on our freedom and safety. And, we still have to believe in something that can’t be taken away from us without a fight, Freedom. Just like the last forty-six years, we have a lot to do this year. It just may have to be done more cautiously and with more insight as to people’s fears and weaknesses than in the past. Question everything, trust no one, and live your life how you want. The more things change doesn’t have to be the more things stay the same, unless you let it.

Until next month…Ride Free

Chubby