Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Monday, August 27, 2012

The Revenge of Little Sister: A Female Riders Pet Peeves


By: Sassy,
VP/Founder A.L.L.S.T.A.R.S. MC based out of Cincinnati, OH

When I think of pet peeves of a female club/rider four phrases, questions or comments  come immediately to mind:  “Can you handle that bike?”, “Does your club ride?”, “dance offs”, and “quality over quantity”.

I am sure that many of the ladies can relate to this pet peeve.  When a man sees a female on a bike (particularly a nice bike) they tend to fix their lips to ask the silly question: “Can you handle that?”  Never mind the fact the woman is obviously riding that bike but the question inevitably gets asked. It’s as if the dumb question alarm goes off but they still go ahead and allow it come out their mouth.

But the really funny part or pet peeve is when the question comes from a male who is riding in a car and the assumption is he doesn’t know anything about motorcycles.For example, when I was riding my old bike and a guy was called me “Katana” and had the nerve to ask could I handle that bike and what size was it. 

“Is that a 650? Since when a Katana come in 650cc??”

Or another example is when this guy who was in a club and didn’t have a bike asked me can I handle that bike, tying to be funny because I was the only female riding with the guys. I just simply replied “and this is coming from the guy who doesn’t have a bike” (he was mad at me for over a year, behind my response, lol). Another time is when a guy rolled up on me at the light on a “Katana” (I know it seems as if I’m picking on the Katana motorcycle but I’m not. My first bike was a Katana. Heck, I even put the “pink panther” in bike shows a couple times, had it featured in magazines and in a Katt Williams stand-up video, so nothing against the bike at all).  But please, please do not ride up or should I say walk up (lol) next to my stack (GSXR-1000 that is stretched 8 inches, slammed in the front, shinko tire, with T-Force full exhaust, not slip on) and ask if I can handle MY bike.

“ Ummm can you handle that scooter?”

My second pet peeve: “Does your club ride?” is the question many female clubs get when others on the set (male and female) see them for the first time.  While I understand the reason behind the question and even why the question is asked, it still bothers me.

The question in itself does not bother me (heck I have even asked the question), but the very reason the question even has to be asked OF a female motorcycle club is what bothers me.  The reason is far too many pop-up female clubs that exist rocking either RC (riding club) or MC (motorcycle club), when in reality they are a SC (social club).  Please note that just because you a have President or even Vice-President who rides and no one else in the club rides, does not make you MC. If your club is not at least 80% on iron, then ladies (also co-ed) you are not MC. You are in fact SC.  Pop up clubs especially female pop up clubs who do not know the protocol and only want to start a club because they think it’s hot and want to wear a vest, only to damage the creditability of well established female clubs who have done the hard work and put in the time on them two wheels.  It really makes it hard for female clubs such as them ground pounding A.L.L.S.T.A.R.S. Motorcycle Club.

Ladies if you want respect on the set as a motorcycle club, then you must EARN IT! Invest the time and energy to understand the MC life (world), do your homework, research, research, and research again what it took for women to even be recognized as riders.  Please respect and be respectful, respect even if you do not agree.  Additionally, earn it on them two wheels; wind in the hair and not just in your city. 

Another pet peeve that coincides with “does your club ride” is when there is a tie at a function for largest female motorcycle club in attendance.  Why is it when there is a tie, in order to break the tie, we are reduced to some demeaning act?  For example a “dance off”;.  I am not a member of a dance club, but a motorcycle club.  Are the men expected to do a dance off when there is a tie amongst them????

The A.L.L.S.T.A.R.S. were at a party and there was a tie for largest female club, so they said in order to break the tie, you all will have to dance for it.  (Let me be clear, I could really care less about the trophy, but more importantly the respect and not just as a female motorcycle club, but respect to MCing).  So they actually expected us to participate in this dance off, so we did.  (If you can not beat them join them at their own game).  So as people lined up to see what they thought was going to be “drop it like its hot” dance off, the A.L.L.S.T.A.R.S lined up and proceeded to shuffle down the line with licenses (motorcycle endorsements) in hand pretending to sweep the floor with them.  Needless to say we won, without having to shake our rump, but shake the ground with licenses and bike keys in hand (lol).  I’m just saying, you don’t ask men clubs to dance off, so don’t ask female clubs. 

My final pet peeve is “quality over quantity”.  At the end of the day it should not be about how many members you have, but what your members do (ride that iron pony).  I want to be clear this is a lesson as a founder, I, learned the hard way, but what is important is I learned it and I continue to practice it.  Like Sucka Free MC had touched on in a previous blog, you can have all the large numbers, but without quality brotherhood (sisterhood) you have nothing.  You learn the value and importance of sisterhood when you pound that ground together.  A.L.L.S.T.A.R.S. ride often, but every now in then we are reminded the importance of our sisterhood.  For example this summer (2012) a few of the club sisters rode our sport bikes from Cincinnati to Pittsburgh.  On our way home, I was leading the pack and was cut off by a car, I was quickly reminded, the importance when my sisters (Sgt. at Arms) came up from behind next to the cager to let him know that he had just cut me off.  Let me say it not only felt good but we looked good, as we all quickly lined back up in our staggered formation. 

Let me say if you are going to start a club, press the issue of quality.  Additionally, if you are starting or joining a club, know their history.  Know the significance of the patch and how it came about.  If the club does not know its significance of their patch I would carefully re-evaluate being a member.  When we founded A.L.L.S.T.A.R.S. we did our research. There was considerable thought put into the design of the logo.  The first thing we did was research to ensure that there were NO other motorcycle clubs that existed with the name A.L.L.S.T.A.R.S. even though it is an antonym.  (S/N I wish all clubs did this, esp. the one in Florida that recently popped up, bearing our name). Nothing like going somewhere and another club has your name, but is associated with negativity.  Our name has its own meaning= Alluring Lovely Ladies Sophisticate Talented AndRiding Steel.  So our name in itself tells you that we ride.  Our colors red, white, and blue symbolized freedom.  Freedom from BS, the freedom we feel when we mount them iron ponies and the wind blows in our hair.  The freedom you feel, when you are having a bad day and the only thing that makes you feel better is a nice ride on the motorcycle.  Our patch has three ladies and three bikes, which further demonstrates that we ride (s/n do not put a motorcycle on your patch if you are a SC, ijs).  Our city is in the background with the road behind us, which demonstrates that we pound the ground and not just in our city (which is why the city is behind us).  Don’t just pop-up a club or use colors because they look good or have symbols/pictures with no significance to what your clubs does (quality over quantity).  When you put your thought in to it, you then put your heart in to it, and when you put your heart in to it, it is usually lasting and you will do what is necessary to protect it and what is necessary to earn respect. 

Please note that this blog is the opinion of mine and mine alone, not that of A.L.L.S.T.A.R.S. Motorcycle Club.  It comes from Sassy, who has been riding for over 20 years and around the MC world via my dad and uncle who were members of clubs when M.C. meant Men’s Club. 

Be safe out there and please, stay Sucka MC Free.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Friday, August 17, 2012

SPORT BIKE RIDERS vs. CRUISER RIDERS: THE COMING WAR



The more things change the more things stay the same. Unfortunately that's very much the case with the current state of the union when it comes to today's MC community regarding many things but specifically between the culture clash between the cruiser and sport bike crowd. In the 60's across the Atlantic in London there waged a war that went on for years between the Mod's and the Bikers. The Mod's were the scooter cats and the Bikers were the cafe racers (American translation: bikers who seriously modified their stock bikes so they were the English version of the US Chopper Bad Boys). I know what you're thinking: only pussies rock scooters but the brawls between the two groups were vicious and quite bloody. It was like West Side Story meets Glee but with chains and knives. While the body count was low, the haunts frequented by both sides saw a lot of blood, broken teeth and bruised ego's destroyed and laid to waste.

Like any war whether between countries or between biker groups, it all started somewhere and the root cause of it all is misunderstanding and a failure to communicate. If cruisers and sport bike riders don't learn from the mistakes of the past, we are doomed to repeat them. (repeat that please, and yes, pun intended)

Whenever something racial happens in this country news outlets do their special segments on racism and where it comes from and ultimately it always starts in the home. With bikers, I believe biker racism starts within the club or your associations. I was introduced into this life by outlaws who of course swore by Harley Davidson. I heard day after day after day how any other motorcycles weren't motorcycles and people, especially people who rode those rice burners, were not only un-American, but they weren't considered bikers. As a child listening to this it made an impact on me but as an adult I took the time to examine the origins of that racism and this is what I discovered.

Biker racism is deeply aligned with the battle lines between the Allies and the Axis in WWII. Russians, Americans and the Brits were the "good guys" as the Allies and of course the Italians, the Japanese and Germans formed the Axis. When GI's came back home bike clubs and the 1% attitude that continues to this day took root. It makes perfect sense that the GI's who came home harbored deep seeded resentment towards all things Japanese, Italian and German because they had just spent years being killed by them, killing them and watching their friends killed by these people. That hatred became culturally ingrained within the MC's that were formed as most of those MC's had military men within their ranks. Harley's, Indians and Triumphs were the only bikes allowed in most these clubs. Keep in mind as well that sport bikes had not yet been created so there was no opportunity for them to be included in the advent of MC culture.

When the Japanese started mass producing bikes in the 60's and revolutionized the biker world with the introduction of the CB, battle lines were drawn. While the Japanese bikes were superior the patriots of the MC community remained true to Harley (Indian had died out by that time) and the animus towards all things Japanese became pure hatred and racism. In fact in the 80's President Ronald Regan passed a tariff on Japanese imports that specifically slowed down the invasion of Japanese bikes and allowed Harley time to regroup (after the AMF debacle) and come back strong and better than ever. I theorize that the hatred has waned towards Italians and Germans because of two things: the Italians and Germans never had a Pearl Harbor moment against this country and secondly, the Japanese were especially uncivil towards prisoners of war during WWII. It's not easy to let go of those things. I do know Jewish riders who will never purchase a German motorcycle and culturally speaking, I understand that. So Italian and German motorcycles aren't as viled ( though not acceptable in OMC's for jewelry consideration) as anything Japanese and they remain politely outcasted from outlaw and traditional MC consideration.

Amazingly enough people who haven't even fought in Vietnam are carrying the resentment of GI's from WWII simply as a result of it being passed down from generation to generation. This generation has their Pearl Harbor with 9/11 yet the current biker culture fosters the rightfully deserved shock, hurt and anger from an event at least three generations removed for reasons that don't include patriotism. The resentment has diseased the biker community to the point where its permeated the cruiser mindset causing an unjustified animus towards bikers riding Japanese bikes. The final result is racism and as we all know, racism whether by race, culture, religion, sex or bike brand, is stupid. The cruiser segment has a deeper division that fortunately is not shared in the sport bike community. Harley owners have earned their reputation as nasty elitists by refusing to do the biker wave to any non-Harley riding biker and putting down other bikers simply because of the brand of bike they ride. I remember getting into a very intelligent debate with a skin head explaining to him the difference between a racist group and a race group.

"A race group is proud of their race without finding the need to put down other races. A racist group makes putting other races down their priority above celebrating their own racial pride." Harley riders are generally thought of as biker racists who put down other bikers and the animosity from other bikers towards Harley owners is not only justified in some cases, but well deserved. 

Today, the "battle lines" are as rigid as Wolvernine's adamantium bones and the animosity between cruises and sporties has grown. However it's important to note the responsibility for that growing animus should be mutually shared by the sporties and cruises as both sets have done very little to cultivate an atmosphere of mutual respect for each other.

Speaking in generalities, sport bike riders are younger and with age or the lack thereof, an undisciplined nature that is reflective in how sporties ride their bikes and conduct themselves as MC's. It is very rare to see sport bike MC's ride their bikes in tight formation and maintain that formation given the opportunity to "blast off" on clear highways. There's nothing wrong with opening the throttle from time to time but when sport bike clubs make it a habit of endangering their own lives and the members of their clubs on public streets, the ones they endanger also become the cagers who already have a very low to little tolerance for all things motorcycle. Once the cagers begin getting annoyed the police are mobilized and when the police who can't or won't distinguish between sporties and cruises get involved, they pull everyone over. Where as many sporties will happily get involved in a chase from police, cruises more then likely will not and what happens the cruiser rider is left to deal with the aftermath of annoyed cops while the sporties who caused the issue in the first place are long gone. Not only is this a common issue that cruiser riders bring up, but it's one that seems to be growing worse every year.

A cruiser rider from NY shared the following: 

"I was at an event this year and, yeah I'm riding dirty. I ain't go no papers or nothin' but I'm out with my bros and everything's all good until some young fuck on a sport bike starts poppin' wheelies in the street up and down, up and down. Eventually the cops came and me and my bros had to scramble. That kid fucked up the day for all of us 'cause we got weapons and shit and we can't be interacting wit' no cops. If we had seen that kid later not only would we have fucked him up but we would've fucked up his bike too."

There are places sometimes sanctioned for this type of riding but when you do it on the public streets it brings the ire of civilians and that in turns brings everything down on the entire event. It's wrong, it's selfish and it's a continual problem that highlights the selfish, juvenile and undisciplined nature of sport bike riders.

On the other hand, according to highway statistics motorcycle accidents have gone up the last few years for a number of reasons including the influx of new inexperienced riders, old riders too old to be riding and too many drunk riders. Those same statistics highlight that many of the drunk riders are cruises. The traditional image of the biker is a leather clad demon on a Harley drinking and partying hard. It's ridiculous however the image doesn't include that same leather clad demon on a Harley drunk inside a jail cell after being pulled over for erratic riding. Cops may be alerted to the community by the reckless antics of sporties with their speeds and stunts on public streets but they're equally drawn to the community by the irresponsible personal vices of cruises and their need to live up to an image.

A sportie from WA shared the following:

"You got these accountants and dentists watching Sons of Anarchy and they come out here on the weekends looking like bikers and because of the gun laws in some of these states, they rockin' a burner trying to be a tough guy. They get into a fight at a bar and like a true pussy, are too scared to pull their tool but they call the cops 'cause they got beat up. Cruiser posers are more dangerous to the MC community than we are. We ain't doin' nothin' but riding our bikes at least. They're out here barely riding their bikes and then doing dumb shit when they get off 'em as if the bike gives 'em the right to be tough. Fuck you." 

When asked what responsibility sporties have in the bubbling feud the rider said the following:


"Old heads are trying to force tradition and protocol down our throats but the thing is this, speed bikes weren't around when these rules were being made so why should we be forced to follow them? If sport bike clubs were around I'm sure things would be different so we're establishing our own type of tradition and the old heads just need to move over. All old heads get replaced by new thinking in a new generation. It's happening now and they don't like it. Move the fuck over. Period." 

While controversial and chest beating, the comments do suggest a very interesting sociological dichotomy. Motorcycling which already is a sub-culture within a culture has become so large that the sub-culture is creating its own sub-cultures within itself. What's even more interesting those sub-cultures don't have figureheads to guide them per say but rather are being led by the types of vehicles the people within those sub-cultures ride. I can't think of any other example where peoples behaviors and train of thought are governed not by a charismatic leader but rather an allegiance to a mechanical apparatus.

Which of course now begs the question, what are the two cultures being created?

The stereotypical image of a cruiser rider being a person who is older with the presumption of maturity and the dexterity to ride long miles at a pedestrian pace is the Bizzaro reflection of a sport bike rider who is younger, a speedster and more of a short distance rider with very little interest or ability to ride considerable distances (whether that's due to the bike or their proclivity to stay local and impress locally with their daredevil speeds and antics) Both generalizations have negative connotations but some definite truths. The generalizations also have positives in that highway police tend to pull over cruises less because more often then not their paperwork and bikes are legal while sporties adopt the ill advised aura of youthful invincibility in not just how they ride, but what they do in terms of skirting the law and not understand the impact if and when they become entangled in it.

There is a rapidly growing culture of African Americans and Hispanics moving over to cruisers specifically Harley Davidson and the mega popular Suzui-M series. Unlike Caucasians, the average age of the minority biker on an H-D or cruiser is actually younger so cruiser manufacturers have been building cruisers that are capable of never before seen performance in the category and sleeker looking machines. The results have been favorable but whether or not this causes the diverging cultures to come back together is something that has yet to be determined.

In terms of clubs I know traditional clubs and OMC's who while shaking hands with their sport bike support clubs, would never ever consider those members for inclusion into the "big" club based on not only the bikes these guys ride but how they ride and how the club conducts itself.  If the big club has accepted the fact that their support club allows females to wear rags that are identical to the men (and that's a big IF) the sporties still have to demonstrate the discipline within their own ranks to be considered for membership into the big club and that's a very unlikely scenario for a few reasons that have been shared with me.

"There's honor in this shit. It's not about panty chasin', trophy parties and all this club circuit bullshit. It's a certain pride in being who you are and being wit' the team you wit'. And then you layer it with decades of history and tradition you realize just how special this shit is. Problem is, these young cats don't know shit 'bout that and they ain't trying to learn it. If they knew about the cats who lived and died for this shit, the cats out here bangin' hard still they'd look in the mirror and see how stupid they look. If you don't know where you came from you sure as fuck don't know where you at and there ain't no tellin' where you gonna be. And that's whats fucked up wit' them dudes. They dumb as shit and they happy being dumb as shit."

Sport bike riders for the most part do not know MC history and rarely follow traditional MC protocol which means they're already starting off wrong. Because their members are so young including their leadership, the knowledge that the old heads have is either seen as being, "old head shit" or not applicable to today's circuit. That attitude fosters a lack of respect in the dominant club and relegates the sport bike clubs to being a Mickey Mouse Club; a club for children. That furthers the divide between the two. In the same breath, many cruises presume that many sporties know nothing about history, nor care to know when actually many sporties do know their history and despite having a sport bike, conduct themselves with the honor and prestige that goes with being a biker.

"You are not a biker unless you have a Harley. Period. No exceptions"
That clearly is wrong and just absolutely nuts. What cruisers and especially Harley riders have forgotten is that two wheels means they are in the community. Their actions and how they ride and conduct themselves should determine whether or not you will ever call them brother.
 

"Cruisers are for old people who can't cut it on a sport bike."
Again, a quote that I hear all too often. Cruisers are not built to do what sport bikes can do and in turn, the full capacity of what a sport bike can do is not built for civilian streets. It should be on a track. Cruisers like sport bikes if ridden correctly coupled with maturity and experience can do things that can impress. Stupid comments like this are not impressive and reflect an immature and juvenile mindset. 

"Unpatriotic." 
I know GI's who ride Japanese motorcycles. I'll be damned to tell a man or woman who has killed for this country that he or she is unpatriotic because they ride a non-American motorcycle. In fact, I dare you to try it.

In 1861 this country experienced a civil war and to date it is the bloodiest affair to have ever marred this country's very young existence. When principles clash and passion and fervor become blunt instruments of hatred, blood will be shed. The biker culture is clashing and history says the divide will eventually become intense enough that blood will be shed again.

That is unnecessary and what I am proposing is a maverick idea of preemptive peace. I'm not suggesting formal conferences like PRO conventions or anything of the sort and I'm not even advocating more Facebook forums or blogs. What I am suggesting are mixed bike rides and events where the different cultures can come together and interact. Riding is fundamental and while many so-called bikers today are challenged to actually ride their bikes (coupled with many sport bike riders physically unable to do long distances because of their bikes riding position) compromises can be made that ensure the two sides ride together and enjoy that camaraderie that only riding can bring. Like anything I think we'd find that the obsessive love we have for our bikes can lead to mutual understanding and tolerance of each other and perhaps something even greater.

Thanks for reading.

Preach

" All wars are civil wars, because all men are brothers."-Francois Fenelon

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

CLUB MANIA: NEW CLUBS, MORE BULLSHIT


CLUB MANIA: NEW CLUBS, MORE BULLSHIT
BY: $O ICY
THROTTLE BURNERZ MC
UNIONDALE, NY

For those that don’t know me, They call me $o Icy.  I’m the VP of Throttle Burnerz MC out of Uniondale, New York.  The club has been around since 2004, but I’ve been in the MC circuit since early 2008.  I’m going to talk about a situation in NY circuit that started out bad and has just gotten progressively worse as time has gone by:  the influx of “New Clubs” that constantly pop up on the set and why starting a new club is more commonplace than prospecting for an already established club in the NY circuit.

I’m sure that if you’re reading this blog and are a member of a club in the NY circuit(5 Boroughs and Long Island). If you don't know this, get ready for a shock. There are currently well over 200 clubs on the New York set, including MC/SC/AC/SUV/VC.  If you were to divide this evenly for the sake of argument, this would give you at least 40 of each type of club in the New York Circuit alone and there seems to be a new club being formed daily.  I don’t see why it’s necessary to have over 40 of the same type of club in the same area so what better way for me to figure this thing out than to chop it up with the presidents of some of these “New Clubs” that are popping up and see why they chose to go this route as opposed to checking out the existing clubs on the set. Why didn't they go one of the established clubs having some research to see which one would fit them the best and prospect for that club.  

 These are the most common scenarios that I’ve encountered:

Scenario # 1 – This is a “New Club” where a few members of an existing club left the existing club as a group and decided to start a “New Club”.

“Why did y’all leave your old club to start a new club?”
Prez: “We couldn’t deal with being in that club anymore. We didn’t see eye to eye with them and decided to start our own club”

“What’s going to be different/special/unique about this new club than the club you just left?”
Prez: “We’re Loyal!  We can do this thing better than they did and we’ll show them!”
Is it just me or did I just hear this fool that just LEFT his club say that they started their own club because they’re LOYAL?!?!  I’ve officially entered the twilight zone!  The LOYAL thing to do would have been to work out your differences with your original club and move forward.  Instead they chose to take the “Easy” way out, leaving an established club to start a “New Club”. 

Scenario # 2 – This is a “New Club” that comes on the scene, and all the members are related.

“What made y’all decide to start a new club when there’s a lot of clubs on the set already?”
Prez: “We figured that it would be better to start our own club since we’re family instead of joining a club with people we don’t know like that!”
These guys have completely missed the purpose of joining the circuit entirely!  You don’t need rags to hang out with your family; that’s why they’re your family.  The common bond you share with your club members is the love of what those 2 letters on your rags signify, in my case the love of riding Motorcycles (MC).  

The third and final scenario I’m going to discuss is the most common one that I encountered when speaking to the Presidents of “New Clubs” on the set:

Scenario # 3 – This is a “New Club” where the members are all new to the circuit (usually a group of friends). 
 
“What made y’all start this club?  There are a lot of established clubs on the set already, did you look into joining any of them before you decided to start this club”
Prez: “No.  We wanted to join the circuit, so instead of degrading ourselves by prospecting for one of these old clubs we decided to start our own club.”

This is what I like to call the recipe for destruction in the NY circuit.  The classic “Everybody wants to be a chief, nobody wants to be an Indian” mentality is what is destroying the NY circuit and causing this abundance of New Clubs, “Pop-Up Clubs”, and Fly-By-Night clubs to surface on a daily basis.  There is NOTHING degrading about prospecting to be in a club.  On the contrary, once you prospect for a club and earn your rags, you will respect them more and will be more respected by your peers.  Look at historically Black Fraternities as an example; if your frat brothers find out that you got your letters by “Skating” instead of enduring the pledging process, your letters hold no weight at all!   

The best comparison I can make to show the damaging effect of new clubs constantly popping up in the circuit on the integrity of the established clubs in the circuit and the credibility of the circuit as a whole is to compare it to money.  The more new money you print, the more you devalue the existing money as a whole.  The end result is there being a whole lot of money in circulation but it’s not even worth the paper it’s being printed on.  It's basic economics and we can take these economics and apply it to the circuit. There is no true demand for more clubs. People are just forming new clubs. There are plenty of clubs out there, too many as a matter of fact so the overpopulation will cause an overage which therein makes the clubs available a commodity 'cause everyone becomes watered down. Eventually it leads to an economic crisis and that's where the MC community stands in NY today.

If things keep moving this way, the end result will be a whole lot of clubs in circulation, but they won’t even be worth the price of the cuts on their back!   So instead of adding to the problem, we need to become a part of the solution.  Instead of starting that new club, find an established club on the set that you think you can make a contribution to, and help make them even stronger.   

Let’s put the value back in the NY circuit and keep it Sucka Free!


Monday, August 6, 2012

A Note From the Publisher

You ever notice when you share a passion with someone it's called mutual interest but when someone has no interest in what you're interested in it's now called an obsession? I want everyone and anyone who doesn't take the MC life seriously to stop reading right now. That includes WEAKend warriors, ride-when-you-can riders but most especially the so-called "bikers" who don't know, haven't learned and aren't interested in learning about MC protocol, values and culture. Nothing against you, but this one isn't for you. You might find this weeks blog...obsessive.

I'm about to have a family discussion with my fellow bikers and what we're gonna have is what I say is a "coming to Jesus" meeting which basically means I'm gonna be completely honest with you.

Last week a few Facebook opinions surfaced that challenged the merit of the Sucka Free MC movement, specifically the people who have supported us by rocking a Sucka Free MC shirt. I was going to ignore it but that's not my style. Avoiding confrontation has never really been my M.O. so why start now?

The Sucka Free MC movement started because like so many of all of you, I had grown so incredibly frustrated and embarrassed by the current state of the MC community. The influx of new MC's, the lack of protocol and respect given to the culture and the arrogant ignorance of bikers proudly not knowing nor understanding basic MC etiquette had reached its crescendo with me. However unlike so many people who just ramble on Facebook but never actually do anything about it, I decided I'd do something and I founded Sucka Free MC.  Sucka Free is all about educating and sharing the knowledge I've attained and continue to be exposed to about this MC culture to everyone who would care to listen (read). Yes, I make no apologies for my blatant support of OMC's and Outlaw culture. Yes, I make no apologies for my disdain for sport bikes and how sport bike riders and sport bike MC's behave. And, yes I make no apologies for my stubborn hard line approach to what's "right" and what's "wrong" in this culture. And let me be crystal, I have never, not once created a rule nor stated something that I could not back up or support with either facts that I researched or shared without the approval of my One Percent benefactors. Let me repeat that because this is important...."I have never, not once created a rule or stated something that I could not back up or support with either facts that I researched or shared without the approval of my One Percent benefactors." And when it comes to One Percent Diamond support, Sucka Free MC has plenty of it and that's because what we promote is the LIFE and not the lifeSTYLE of MC culture. I'm not going to entertain a debate as to whether or not trophy parties, bikini washes, bike blessings or even having social clubs is part of this lifestyle. If there's a criticism of Sucka Free MC that I do accept it's that we don't acknowledge what could very well be the contemporary MC life which does include all the things I stated above. That's fine. I'd rather focus on what I believe are the core principles of MC culture which are brotherhood, bikes and riding; not parties and bullshit.

Brotherhood, Bikes and Riding are the Holy Trinity of the MC thing and like the good book says, faith with no deeds adds up to nothing so if you're not living up to brotherhood, you don't own a bike and you're not riding, then you're just full of shit.

So speaking of people full of shit...

When you see an out of shape person wearing a  NIKE track suit do you think that person is disrespecting NIKE or better yet, do you call NIKE on their customer toll free number to alert them to the fact that a big person has on their merchandise? When you go to the basketball court and you see a person who obviously can't play ball bricking all his shots do you call Spaulding to let them know that they sold their ball to a person who can't play? So, why do some of you think it's completely fine for you to bash Sucka Free because a person YOU believe is a sucka is wearing the shirt? First of all, realize that's strictly your opinion and that person could very well think you're a sucka. Secondly, if you believe so strongly that person is a sucka and isn't worthy to wear the Sucka Free MC shirt, then why attack the shirt instead of the person wearing the shirt? Is that out of shape person at fault for wearing NIKE gear or is NIKE at fault for that out of shape person wearing their gear? Are there NIKE officials standing at every Foot Locker saying, yes to that person and no to the other person? Is Adidas measuring the BMI index of people wearing their sweat suits before selling them to those people? Obviously the answer is no so is Adidias or NIKE at fault for selling their products to these people? I don't know any other way to say this but for those people who attacked the shirt instead of the person wearing it, you are what I'd call a pussy. Ladies forgive me by attributing that reference to men who aren't even man enough to have a pussy but apparently are weak enough to act like they do. Make no mistake about it; the message on the shirt remains a positive one and something that all true MC's should follow but by you showing your lack of testicular bravado you choose to go after the shirt because you know the shirt won't slap you in the face in case you say the wrong thing. I have no respect for that. I'm not so vain that I'd compare Sucka Free to NIKE and obviously I'm accessible whereas the principles of NIKE aren't, so I don't mind people calling me and asking me, "Why does this person have the shirt?" but please understand this, Sucka Free MC is not the FBI nor the CIA and the Sucka Free MC shirt is NOT a pistol. We are not doing background checks on people who buy the shirt to see if they ride, how long they've been riding or how each member of their respective clubs move. Did you stop to think that the person wearing the shirt is aspiring to become a better biker or share that knowledge with his or her MC because they know they're NOT doing it right? Maybe they're wearing the shirt to remind them how to do this thing correctly and want people to know that they're intent on moving correctly. I know a woman who has a Sucka Free MC patch and shirt and she refuses to wear it until she and her team are 100% right in terms of how they move MC wise. That's respect. However, if YOU feel so passionately about that person not wearing the shirt then you obviously have knowledge of the things that person is doing wrong so step to THAT person and address it. In other words, man up. I find it hilarious that people are scared to do that but will instead turn their "hate" towards the manufacturer of the shirt and attack us instead.

So speaking of people full of shit...

Someone on a thread last week said Sucka Free MC was a fad. Let's think about that. The ONLY thing Sucka Free MC does is share knowledge about the MC culture, politics and protocol of this life. That's all we do. The shirt is an extension of that message. So essentially by labeling us a fad you're saying MC culture, politics and protocol that have governed this culture for the last seventy or so years is also a fad.  Unfortunately from his comment I can tell you for sure what definitely is NOT a fad: ignorance. We are the only people in the world who could possibly hate on a text book. You get a bad grade so you throw out the text book? Is that how it's done? You never stop to consider maybe you should've studied what was in that text book instead of saying it's bullshit? If Sucka Free MC is a fad then so are those rags you're rocking and your MC and your whole "biker thing". But then again, to you this biker thing might just be "an interest" and you think "we're obsessed" so of course you'd think we're a fad. Tell you what, don't ever wear this shirt because for the people who wear this shirt and support this cause, Sucka Free MC is not a fad. We take Sucka Free MC as seriously as we take our Peek Freen cookies...so very, very serious.

So let's continue with the theme we've established and keep on speaking about people full of shit...

Sucka Free MC is not for sale and honestly, neither are the shirts. People have chosen to make the shirts a retail item instead of an earned item. At least once a week I remind everyone that if they simply contribute to the blog with their own submission they would get a shirt for free. As of this writing, I've given away at least ten shirts based on blog submissions but have an average of 50 shirt sales a week. Sucka Free MC is read in twelve different countries and most blogs average more than 1000 readers each week with the most currently around 3000. It's clearly a stage to share your opinion and voice your thoughts with an interested and engaged community and we've asked people to take advantage of it. However what I've found is rampant insecurity coupled with a fear of an invisible boogie man that prevents most people from doing that electing instead to buy a shirt to show their support. That's fine but remember what I've always said and will continue to say,  "Your money is great but your opinions are worth a lot more to me." Last week it was said, "Anyone can buy the shirt." Yes, that's true, anyone can buy the shirt and the presumption is made that the people buying and wearing the shirt respect MC culture and they appreciate and support what Sucka MC is trying to do. Maybe that person isn't a biker and people have attacked us for selling shirts to non-bikers. To them I ask,  "But you're a biker and you don't have a shirt. Does that mean you DON'T support traditional biker values and protocols? And if that's the case, why are you here wearing rags and attacking someone who does?" I honestly don't understand how ANYONE who calls themselves a biker or in an MC who follows and honors MC tradition and protocol doesn't have a shirt. That's not me making a sales pitch but me being upfront. If your club follows the Ten Sucka Free commandments on the back why wouldn't you want to celebrate that? Why wouldn't you want every member in your club to rock that? Why wouldn't you want every prospect who crosses over to have a shirt so they remember what they have to live up to every day as a member of your club? Answer those questions for me.

Right now I want to praise the club who ordered ten shirts from us because they wanted the shirts to serve as reminders to each one of their club members the high standards to which an MC must consistently function. I want to praise the club who ordered three shirts for their prospects who were about to become fully patched in members and said now as part of their traditional crossing over ceremony, each prospect will be given a Sucka Free MC shirt as well. I want to give praise to to the Independents who are out there and have consistently called me when they've seen something suspect to ask if that's MC protocol because they want to be sure of a club before they go from independent to hang-a-long to prospect. I want to praise the clubs who have invited me to their clubhouses just to chop it up with them where discussions and debates have gone from MC history to contemporary protocol and politics. 

So speaking of people full of shit...

Wolverines and women are the most vicious animals on the face of the Earth. Mark my words. I have the most beautiful friends on Facebook. Trust me, my wife reminds me of that all the time and yes, some of the most beautiful women have supported Sucka Free MC by posting incredibly sexy shots of themselves wearing the shirt. I have been chastised for this as well and while I've ignored it for some time I'm going to address this now. I cannot tell people how to take pictures of themselves in the shirt. I simply make the suggestion that they post pics with them on their bikes or doing something biker related. Not everyone wants to do that for whatever reason. I'm just happy that not only did they support the movement by purchasing a shirt, but they're helping promote a positive biker message by posting pictures of themselves in the shirt. I'm not going to tell them to stop because for one, the women are having a great time with it and the men absolutely love it and secondly, three of the women have secured paid modeling shoots because of their Sucka Free MC pictures. I have friends from all walks of life and they include professionals who work in motorcycle publishing and they have made note of the Sucka Free MC movement as well as our beautiful supporters. I'm proud to say I've put money in peoples pockets strictly based off the sexy pics they've posted of themselves in their Sucka Free MC shirt. A few weeks ago I had a woman attack me (literally) for posting "sexy pics of those whores" in the shirt. She said and I quote, "I don't want my picture near those bitches."  I found that to be completely disgusting and tasteless and a flagrant display of that particular woman's insecurities. She presumed not only that these women were NOT bikers but whores as well. Let me be clear: a few of those women in the Sucka Free Nation Album have motorcycles and their families know nothing about it and they want to keep it that way. They bought the shirt to show support for the cause but couldn't take pics by their bikes to make sure no one knew they rode. That sure doesn't sound like whores or bitches to me. They sound like people who are supporters of a true biker movement. I have a few women who said they just couldn't take a sexy enough picture in public on their bike the way they would have liked so they just went for the sexy without the bike and that's fine as well. Nothing in that says bitch to me.  I've had women say to me, "You know that girl slept with this person, that person and this person" to which I've responded, "No, I don't know that and what the hell does that have to do with me?" In this community I don't even know most peoples real names so why in the world would I know or care about who they slept with?  It's none of my business and what does that have to do with Sucka Free MC? Lastly, some people are just supporters and they happen to be beautiful. Being beautiful does not mean you're a whore and it's not a crime to be sexy. It's only a crime to the insecure women who aren't as beautiful nor as confident to wear a tank top as a dress. I have nothing but love for the women and the men who have made Sucka Free MC quite possibly the sexiest and best looking MC in the world. I don't hate you 'cause you're beautiful...I just hate you 'cause I need you to stop what you're doing and post more pictures.

Stop me if you've heard this before but speaking of people full of shit...

The lack of support for Sucka Free MC from so-called "real" bikers and MC's speaks to the heart of one of the true problems in this MC community and that's a lack of brotherhood. If you're a "true" MC and you believe in what we're doing then why haven't you ordered a shirt or written a blog? Why haven't you ordered a patch or asked us to come to church to speak to your crew and chop it up? I've sat in on church and just discussed MC protocol for hours with clubs. I've sat down with bikers on the side of the highway and debated different points while cars zoomed by us. If this MC life is not a lifeSTYLE for you but a LIFE, I have no idea why we don't have your support. How many blogs have we published but you've yet to leave a comment? We post an MC related topic every day on FB but we've yet to see you comment...even if you disagree. So many of you sit on the sidelines and talk out the side of your face but lack the courage and intelligence to share your opinion. I have no respect for you and you're actually part of the problem. You throw blanks on Facebook but your mouth becomes a silencer if and when we meet. I don't know what business you're in, but I'm in the grown man business and it's obvious too many of y'all don't want to be in business with meWe will never make this community right unless we engage, share and debate each other.

I was at an OMC's clubhouse not too long and the conversation went like this:

"You're the Sucka Free Preacha-Man?" and I responded "That'd be me." That outlaw reached into his pocket and gave me $50 and started to walk away. I stopped him and said, "What's this for?" He came back over to me and said, "I can't wear the shirt for political reasons but too many people out here need to wear that shirt. Take my money, make more shirts and make sure those fuckin' assholes out there get the shirt. Love what you do, Preach."

Do you know what that is? That's brotherhood and for those people last week who said Sucka Free MC was a fad or a joke, you don't know a damn thing about brotherhood but then again, that shouldn't surprise me. You don't read the blog and you don't have a shirt. You just go on Facebook threads and contribute nothing to anything.

We've received emails and comments lately that the fervor and passion behind the shirt is so strong that cats are going to start snatching shirts off people they don't believe are worthy enough or living up to the principles of the shirt and what Sucka Free MC is all about. As advised by our attorney Sucka Free MC wants to make this crystal: WE DO NOT CONDONE, ADVOCATE OR ENCOURAGE VIOLENCE ON BEHALF OF THE SUCKA FREE MC MOVEMENT IN ANY SHAPE OR FORM. We recognize that people are and can be at different stages of their MC life and as people evolve from being WEAKend warriors to actual bikers, Sucka Free MC may serve as a conduit to help them get there. We are an educational tool and teaching and learning is a constant thing. Even the most hardcore One Percenters who wear our shirt can be schooled on a few things. No one knows it all and Sucka Free MC is here just to share what we do know. We do not judge or look down on people for what they don't know about this life but we do take issue with people who don't care to educate themselves or better themselves to make our circuit a stronger one.

My friends keep telling me that Sucka Free MC is big and I don't see it. It's hard for me to see past the blog. To share a bit of the inner workings of the company, my wife handles the retail and I handle everything that pertains to the message and obviously that includes the blog and the upcoming projects speaking to the life. The only reason why I attend events where the shirts are going to be sold is to meet the many supporters we have but in terms of me truly grasping the concept of Sucka Free being big? No, I admit that I don't see that. The other day someone said to me Sucka Free is now commercial and the implication was a negative one. I had to really think about what that meant. Was the intention to keep Sucka Free underground? Was it meant for the message NOT to spread? That'd be like telling Martin Luther King Jr., "Y'know, this whole Civil Rights Movement thing is really spreading. Is that a good idea?" Y'know who said bullshit like that to him? The racist haters who didn't want the message to spread at all. So to the haters who said Sucka Free MC is now commercial because it's too big or because too many people know and participate in it-all I have to say is your mind is too small to understand how this works so play your position and step to the side and don't interrupt the adults in the room when we're talking. If you truly believe in the Sucka Free MC message you should be posting the blog on your page, you should be encouraging people to buy support merchandise and posting those pictures and most importantly, you should be living a Sucka Free MC life. When every single person in this MC thing is doing the right thing then I'll say, "Y'know what, maybe Sucka Free MC is big" but right now all I see are people doing the wrong things so Sucka MC isn't big enough.

My friend MzNez Independent Rider Nezzy and I had a "conference call" at least once a month since I launched Sucka Free MC last year because she warned me that a lot of people would hate me for this and being well versed in being hated, she wanted to make sure I was handling it. During our last conference call before the Lord called her home she said to me, "Preacha, if people don't hate you, then you're not doing something right."  She hit me with the Pow-Pow with that comment and she was right. Nezzy and I didn't agree on a lot of things but one thing we did agree on was a lot of people in this community are full of shit.

For the next few weeks Sucka Free MC is going to feature a number of guest bloggers. They are people who care deeply about this community and wanted to use the Sucka Free stage to get their words out there. Newark Knight Weasel, Phyllis Bryte Knight of The BRATS MC, Firestarter from The Outsidaz Femme Fatale SC  and OD from Triple XXX Riders are some of the bloggers you can expect to see in the next few weeks. If you'd like to be a guest blogger, find me on Facebook and we'll email you the submission guidelines. Like I said before, "I'd love to sell you a shirt, but your opinion is much more valuable to me." I'm lookin' forward to givin' away some shirts in the next few weeks.

In fact wait a minute...stop me if you've heard this before, but speaking of people full of shit...

My name is Preacha and on behalf of the staff of Sucka Free MC and the 200+ members of this movement, we thank you for your love and support.