Why Are You a Member?

Executive Report by Chubby

January was a busy month for me, as I think most months will be for at least the foreseeable future, and it was good to see all the events I was at well attended by both members and friends (who should be members). Whether or not an event I was at had a good band or free beer was not a concern for me, rather finding good conversation was the priority and there was no shortage of that. If you’ve ever met me you know I’m a talker, good or bad it’s too late to change that at this stage of my life. Some people like to distance themselves from the things they do every day while in conversations, but I have to admit for me work, family, and ABATE are my favorite topics when talking with friends. As I prepared for our Biker Day at the Capitol, I couldn’t help but think about everyone that rallied at the Capitol in those early days in the effort to repeal our mandatory helmet law. Much like today, I’m sure not everyone was there sharing their knowledge of how to affect change in our system through grassroots activism as much as they were enjoying the experience but nonetheless, they changed things. Early members of ABATE of WI had one thing to fight for and didn’t give up until they accomplished their goal. Things aren’t quite as simple these days as freedoms seem to be taken away at a slower pace, barely recognizable to the general public, through coercion and public deception often with the media’s help. Most members that I talk to believe in our political system and believe that they can affect change. Both beliefs are critical to our organization’s continued success. Parties, poker (excuse me, I mean fun) runs, and good times are a big part of biker culture and obviously present within our organization, but is that what we’re about? Or, is ABATE about teaching the general public about long standing misperceptions of bikers and raising awareness of the needs of motorcyclists? Our primary goal paraphrased from our mission statement is to provide a united voice for all motorcyclists in Wisconsin through political activism and education, is that what we’re about? We all have different reasons for joining ABATE of WI and if I ask ten members these questions, I will dare to say I’d get ten different answers. None of them are wrong answers. Our strength lays in our brotherhood and passion for freedom. So, do I dare ask why you are a member?

I have been riding a motorcycle on the street since 1985 but it wasn’t until the late 90’s that I became an ABATE of WI member. I was familiar with politics and riding, but never put the two together until I was asked by a member to join. I couldn’t believe I had waited so long to join, once I attended my first meeting and was welcomed as if I was part of a family. At first, I attended meetings and events for the fun of it, enjoying the brotherhood and learning about the biker culture. It wasn’t long before I wanted to become more involved, so I traveled by myself to one of our lobby days at the Capitol. At that time there wasn’t more than sixty or so members that put boots to marble, but I ventured out, eager to learn. I was lucky those first few times lobbying because a family friend was my assembly representative and it was easy to talk to her about our issues. A meet and greet we held one year with all of the legislators invited, further developed my comfort level among the political leaders of our state. As I became eager to become more involved, I attended an MRF conference in St. Louis that solidified the direction I wanted to go in. Long haired, bearded, scooter tramps spoke with knowledge and passion about affecting change in their states through, not just civil disobedience, but relationships formed with legislators over time, with solid facts to back their positions and demands of equality. When I became an officer in ABATE of WI in 2005 political visits to our Capitol became a must and I worked hard to develop relationships with legislators from every part of Wisconsin. Now, all this doesn’t mean I stopped taking part in all the fun regional events we hold, quite the contrary. When I attended regional events, I spoke of the feeling of empowerment you get when visiting the Capitol and how it takes all of us working together to maintain our freedoms. I let people know that legislators do listen to us. Politics was becoming fun. When we took our grassroots lobby day breakout from our Officer’s Training to Madison and made our own seminar out of it, along with putting together a system to get more members at the Capitol for our lobby day, our efforts seemed to pay off. The last several bills that we have supported through the legislature passed unanimously even as Wisconsin has become more divided along partisan lines. This year, I had a great time attending our Biker Day at the Capitol and introducing our hardworking members to some of the legislators there, along with making them feel more comfortable discussing our issues.

Although we didn’t do any formal grassroots lobby training this year, I was able to help Steve out at a pre-biker day event in Milwaukee the Sunday before our visit to the Capitol. I want to thank House of Harley in Milwaukee for opening their doors on a Sunday and supplying food and refreshments. We had a great turnout and I think everyone became more comfortable with our legislative agenda during our two-hour event. I’ve only had one HD dealership ever offer to help us out like that and it no longer exists. I hope the relationship we are building with House of Harley grows to include other shops and dealerships in other parts of the state. Also, a big thank you to all that took time to attend this first-time event. Milwaukee Region 1A normally puts something together for their region at their normal meeting spot and I’m glad they decided to make the event a little bigger and move it to the dealer and ask other regions to attend. I think our Marketing Director, Doris Weber, might have twisted a few arms but probably not too hard knowing the great attitude that region has. I hope we can grow events like this throughout the state prior to future Biker Day at the Capitol events. I think this may come up at Officer’s Training so if your region is interested in doing something similar, let Steve or I know.

It’s not hard to see what I love most about ABATE of WI. Legislative issues stick to me like glue. But I don’t think I’d trade good times and brotherhood for all the political capital in the world. There may only be one answer to the question of why you joined ABATE, but there’s a lot of reasons to stick around. As we continue to keep our grassroots legislative activism at the forefront of the organization, we have to continue to remember why we came around in the first place. As I’ve said many times before, brotherhood is the glue that binds us. I look forward to attending many more fun events as the winter drags on and I’m still hoping to be at a few ice races supporting our ABATE bike, Sideways Shakes Racing. Our system works, you just have to believe that you can affect change by being a part of it. I look forward to seeing everyone at events this month as we all weather out the cold, dreary days together. Until next month…Ride Free

Chubby