The numbers of motorcycling organizations for various causes, including just riding, by this writers observation anyway, have skyrocketed in the past few years while many of the older organizations have lost much of the credibility they once had. This was clearly evidenced by the US Department of Transportations Failure to invite "any representatives" from "any motorcycling organization their driver distraction summit. Preferring instead to invite the likes of "Seventeen Magazine" to speak to an issue that impacts us, motorcycling public, the most.
Admittedly I am a "Son's of Anarchy" fan. I suspect if I ever get the time to watch it, being a pet owner, I will be a "Rescue Ink" fan. Having said that, one must wonder, where will it end?
Will we next see"
BIKER BABYSITTERS: Watch on Friday nights, as big, burly, tattooed Bikers hunt down negligent 14 year old babysitters taking charge and pushing carriages through the rough streets of Detroit.An exaggeration maybe. I'm not so sure. Hell it might even be good thing for some kids were it to actually happen.
It would appear however that two things are driving the fractionation and ultimately, we fear, balkinization of the American Motorcyclist. Business and Politics.
The business aspect is fairly easy to understand. Harley Davidson understands it quite well in fact.
The reality is a business must make money to stay in business. If your in the business of selling motorcycles, then the company that can set itself apart from the rest will be the one to succeed. This means sell more motorcycles. When you can't sell enough motorcycles sell the image. Then provide a line of clothing, jewelry, ad infinitum to dress the image.
Executed correctly people will always lust after the Ferrari despite the fact the Honda is more reliable.
And if you can't afford the original or the real deal, then you buy the knock off. Thus the shift of major motorcycle manufactures to V-Twin engine MC's that "look and sound like...." Leaving demographics your only enemy if you can not shift with the times.
Business is business and we fault no one for capitalism (we will however continue to take issue with the "Screw it, lets ride campaign. It does America a disservice). It is the political co-opting of the American motorcyclist we are beginning to fear.
The fact that numerous groups are splintering and forming new groups is not surprising. When you consider the failures/errors of execution by the American Motorcyclists Association, various ABATES's, National Coalition of Motorcyclists and Motorcycle Riders Foundation, to name a few to motivate/mobilize their base they appear as dinosaurs unable to get out of the way of themselves.
They confused partisan politics and business with their "mission". They floundered for an image and in the process lost a great deal of what they had. Some regrettably like charities, appear to see motorcyclists as nothing more than a money machine while accomplishing pretty much nothing.
The downside of this lack of "dynamism " is that as the older organizations stagnate and are abandoned, much of what is good about them is left behind. There is a lot of good wisdom in the failures of the "old guard" and the "new guard" will repeat the same mistakes if they fail to heed it.
A large number of motorcyclists, we suspect, are confusing the old school American motorcyclists image of "independence" with a "far right" ideology. Independence does not align itself with partisanship. Independence aligns itself with truths learned on the road. Not many who ride need a new study to learn what it is that is killing us off. We have either seen it or experienced it.
The need to go "political" was necessitated by our desire to remain "independent". Not having "the man" telling you what to do or how to do it if you were not threatening somebody else. It was a defensive move to become political. Not the adoption of any partisan agenda.
"ALL" partisan agendas would restrict somebody's "Freedom".
Partisan agendas lie, cheat, misrepresent the truth and steal, not for freedom, but to perpetuate the agenda. To coalesce power into the hands of a few.
The only way this can occur, on the left or right, is when the peoples need to belong to a group that mirrors their own false belief system outweighs their desire to find the truth. Contempt prior to investigation.
I spent some time recently on the site of a newly formed Motorcycle organization (using the name of an older group) born of the Tax Tea Parties. I was impressed with the enthusiasm and commitment displayed on the site. I was frightened by the amount of misinformation and stolen information (information posted without citing it's origination). Well let me reword that. Misinformation does not frighten me. People who would change the country with it do.
Some examples:
One site has or had two articles written by Bruce Arnold of http://www.ldrlongdistancerider.com/
posted with no citation:
MOTORCYCLISTS SLIGHTED BY USDOT DISTRACTED DRIVING SUMMIT
http://www.ldrlongdistancerider.com/motorcyclists_rights/bikersrights0910-2.
php
and
AN AMERICAN BIKER DEMANDS THE TRUTH ABOUT 9/11
When the webmaster was sent the following:
On Tue, Oct 6, 2009 at 7:18 AM, Bruce Arnold <Bruce@ldrlongdistancerider.com> wrote:
Gentlemen,
This posting on your website...
MOTORCYCLISTS SLIGHTED BY USDOT DISTRACTED DRIVING SUMMIT
http://americanlibertyriders.ning.com/forum/topics/motorcyclists-slighted-by
...does not include our accreditation, and is therefore a plagiarized copy
of this article written by me:
MOTORCYCLISTS SLIGHTED BY USDOT DISTRACTED DRIVING SUMMIT
http://www.ldrlongdistancerider.com/motorcyclists_rights/bikersrights0910-2.
php
I have added both your email addresses to Bruce's Rights Riders List, so you
will receive our future releases first hand. Feel free to post or
re-publish them, so long as you include the full unabridged content of the
article, and the by-line.
Thank You.
The response was:
To: Bruce Arnold
Subject: Re: Notice of Copyright Violation
no problem, we will delete any future posts from your site. It was done by a memeber and not anyone in the admin.
In other words it is not the information that the site did not want to be affiliated with, it was apparently the messenger. Bias is further evidenced by this post from one of their officers:
(name removed) - one of the left wing infiltrates to our site that was banned (Emphasis ours) has sent me an E-mail I thought you guys would like to call him on. His personal E-mail address is below. feel free to drop him a line and wish him well. As long as we don't have to listen to him here.
A banned member has sent you a message on .(.Name and e-mail address removed)
Pussy bikers couldn't handle it, right fuck wad?
To unban (Name removed) go to:
http://americanlibertyriders.ning.com/main/membership/listBanned
Replies are closed for this discussion.We removed the names as we did not think they were necessary. They can be found by following the links if it turns you on. Our concern is with the message. Considering that there is misinformation on the site then we can only imagine what was being posted that resulted in a banning. Whatever it was it was construed as "left wing" and therefor banned.
We are not singling out this site as we have seen it occur on others. This is just the most recent most blatant we have come across. Were we to find a "left wing" MC site engaging in the same we would mention them also. If you know of one, send us the link.
What we are attempting to illustrate here, is that if any progress is to be made in achieving our "INDEPENDENCE" and embodying either term, "BIKER" or "AMERICAN" then we must take individual responsibility for ferreting out the truth and question each other. We must not be so quick (as tempting as it may be) to trade in one set of bad leaders for another set of bad leaders.
The cannibalization of our lifestyle must stop!
If we are to have a new revolution, then let it be about freedom from partisan politics, embracing true liberty.Add to Technorati Favorites
