Geezer with a Grudge: Ironic, Ain't It?

Jan 10, 2018

Ironic, Ain't It?

"There’s a new special license plate promoting motorcycle safety available starting today! ABATE of Minnesota designed and sponsored the new motorcycle awareness license plate. The plates cost $10 and there is an annual $10 contribution that will go toward motorcycle safety education and training programs.

Plates are available for purchase at deputy registrar offices: http://ow.ly/D0KB30huk1R"

That bastion of anti-helmet, anti-government, anti-anything that might make motorcycling safer and more responsible, ABATE, convinced the dimwitted Minnesota legislature to create a "Start Seeing Motorcycles" (and Unicorns) special license plate and the character on the plate could not look less like an ABATE member.

5 comments:

RichardM said...: That is ironic. But I like the look of the plates!; 1/11/18, 11:41 PM
Paul Y said...: If it said "Start Learning How to Ride" I would consider them, but the "Start Seeing" just offends me on too many levels. And I taught MSF class in the past.; 1/13/18, 2:45 PM
T.W. Day said...: I am totally with you on this (and many other) viewpoint.; 1/15/18, 3:19 PM
Unknown said...: It is the motorcyclist's responsibility! I am a firm proponent of: "Motorcyclists Start Being Seen".; 10/14/18, 6:02 PM
T.W. Day said...: Fred, that is a better slogan on multiple levels.; 10/15/18, 5:59 AM

The Geezer Story

I stumbled upon this column name (Geezer with a Grudge) almost 20 years ago, in 1999. The first Minnesota Motorcycle Monthly editor I worked with, in late 1999, complained that the magazine was getting no mail and the editors wanted to know if any readers were still out there. I fired off a sarcastic note, as a joke, intended to provide a little humor and some feedback. He published it as an article and later called me to say he'd received more mail on that letter than he'd received in the past year! I followed that with an offer to write a monthly column attempting to piss off a particular section of the magazine's readership to see if that tactic would generate some mail.

It did, probably more regularly than the magazine wanted at times, and I wrote a monthly column for MMM until the magazine died in 2018.

I plan to post an occasional old Geezer article into the blog, followed by short comments about the current status of my perspective on our activity/sport/vehicle of choice.