Passes & Canyons Blog

I guess if you wear this patch you're claiming ownership of bikers. Oops, no, it's not a three-piece.

Alan was interested in my post about “Shariah law” and when he gets curious he knows some knowledgeable people who he asks to comment. He sent me a couple responses.

From Samantha there was this:

This is quite a subject of hot debate.And actually, the very reason Ron and I disbanded the Deadhorse MC. Well, me anyway. Ron was just tired of leading rides all of the time and worrying about riders getting lost, keeping up, doing the newsletters, writing about every ride, calling everyone, etc. I, on the other hand, knew the day was coming that we would get into conflict with other MC’s. Not so much for having our rockers (as we never had rockers in the first place) but once more MC members were gathered in the surrounding areas, the main artery of drug trafficking known as Highway 191 going straight through Moab would become a territory issue. Knowing me, I wouldn’t take it as seriously as these guys were and would mouth off, getting all of us hurt.

Sure enough, less than a year of us disbanding, a new group was formed here and they decided they were going to call themselves an MC and got patches with rockers and all. They were contacted and ‘encouraged’ to take the rockers off. They did. It was a bit silly, as these guys had no idea where the rocker idea had even come from, and for that reason, I grant respect to the MC’s that claim territory. Rockers were their thing to start with, and if you let them have it now, they seem to be fine with whatever little ‘club’ you want to have..just don’t claim a state.

It’s all very high school, until you get ‘encouraged’ by an MC. Then, it gets real!

Then there was this from Greg:

Randy Decastro indicated that one of the club local chapters would not allow the American Legion that he belongs to form a club or be patched.

That’s one thing that Bruce told us at Sunday’s ABATE meeting, that we were not being singled out, but that they were going after everyone. Fine. A bunch of suburban, middle-class guys like the OFMC really has no interest in pretending to be a bunch of 1%ers anyway. But there’s no one who can tell us we can’t have a small, private club of guys who like to ride.

Biker Quote for Today

If she changes her oil more often than she changes her mind, follow her.

That arced part at the bottom that reads "NO CLUB" is the rocker.

Let’s see if you understand what I’m referring to here.

You have a group of people who tell everyone else that regardless of whether or not they believe the same as they do, the others must follow the laws of this group’s beliefs or else they’ll do them bodily injury, perhaps even kill them.

Does that make you think of Muslim extremists and Shariah law? I’m betting that if you’re like most non-Muslim Americans the answer is yes. Maybe even if you are a Muslim American. I’m not saying that is an accurate description of what ISIS and Al-Qaeda are all about but I think that’s a fair statement of how most of us see it.

So what if I told you what I’m really here to talk about is a motorcycle “club”?

On the OFMC trip this past summer Ray was complaining that the Sons of Silence had made his VFW group of riders take the “Colorado” rockers off their patches. “Made” them do it. How can they make you do that, I asked him. Why don’t you just tell them to go take a flying leap? Ray never really answered that question but I think we all know the answer.

Now I was just at my ABATE of Colorado District 10 meeting on Sunday and it turns out the Sons had approached ABATE saying that ABATE cannot use the word “Colorado” on any patches it produces. Never mind it’s part of the group’s name. It seems in their minds that they own Colorado and no one else can lay claim to it.

Telling us about his meeting with two “club” representatives, ABATE of Colorado State Coordinator Bruce Downs said, and I paraphrase: Whether you agree with them or not, it’s their belief system. You put a territory name on a rocker and you’re saying you own that territory. There have been people who have died over this. That’s not what we’re about. I’m not going there. We came to a mutual understanding.

Did somebody say Shariah law? Oh, yeah, I did. Now, no one said anything about physical retaliation but Bruce’s remark about people having died over this issue makes it clear that such things can and have happened and that fact is always in the back of your mind. It leads to self-censorship. It leads to groups like ABATE and Ray’s VFW group giving in no matter how vehemently they despise doing so. And I agree totally with Bruce. This is not what we’re about. There are more important issues ABATE needs to address. It’s not worth anyone getting hurt.

Now here’s a funny thing. Bruce said this applies only to patches, and only to three-part patches, with a top rocker, middle, and bottom rocker. If you’re silk-screening onto a T-shirt it’s OK for ABATE of Colorado to call itself ABATE of Colorado.

I thought Judy summed it up well. When I told her about all this she remarked that it’s like a bunch of dogs going around marking their territory. Some people need to grow up. And I guess if the University of Colorado decides to produce patches they had better just call themselves the University. Because the Sons own Colorado.

Biker Quote for Today

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but dirt bikes break them better.