tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post7864834170921819799..comments2024-03-22T18:01:20.065-05:00Comments on Geezer with a Grudge: Gangs, Gangbangers, and Biker ClubsT.W. Dayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078254371483458356noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post-22141717120329848172011-06-23T09:54:55.698-05:002011-06-23T09:54:55.698-05:00My neighborhood is blessed with about a dozen moto...My neighborhood is blessed with about a dozen motorcyclists. "Motorcyclists," not bikers. Everything from a full dress Harley bagger (stock pipes) down to me and a couple of other guys who commute on small DP bikes. I've counted six motorcycles in driveways in two blocks (distributed among the twelve houses in those two blocks), which is pretty dense for Minnesota neighborhoods. Whenever one of the unmuffled crowd cruises our neighborhood, he gets the same disgusted look from the motorcyclists as from everyone else. One of two things is coming; active policing of noise makers or outright banning of motorcycles in residential areas. <br /><br />I'm with you on the no-eye-contact rule. That's pretty much how I identify a "gang." If eye contact is considered a challenge, we're talking about disturbed, excess males looking for a fight. I apply the rule to gangbangers on the street, groups of cops (especially if they are wearing SWAT or riot gear), any assembly of military types away from adult supervision, and any group of men or boys not engaged in some useful activity. <br /><br />When I was coming back from Alaska a few years back, my boots had given up any water resistance capability and I stopped at a Montana Harley dealer to see if they had gaiters or something useful to keep my feet dry. What they had was grossly oversized (unless you had no other weather gear on), overpriced, and ungainly for motorcycling on anything other than a paddle boat cruiser. The rest of the gear they stocked was purely retro-gangster outfits. The sales girl, however, was worth taking home.T.W. Dayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04078254371483458356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post-79659182714969175452011-06-22T10:35:17.106-05:002011-06-22T10:35:17.106-05:00I was out jogging on Saturday and along came a pac...I was out jogging on Saturday and along came a pack of chrome noise makers burbling towards me. Whenever I encounter them I always try to not make eye contact. As they passed I wiped sweat off my forehead, trying to make sure I was acting as disinterested as possible. <br /><br />I truly believe that these folks actually think that everyone who sees them is somehow envious or jealous and wishes they too could be on a Hog cruising in a pack of 10-20 others. Being part of the "gang." I just don't get that. In reality most of my neighbors want to pass an ordinance restricting ownership of motorcycles with loud pipes. What is it about that bikers don't understand?<br /><br />I can appreciate that motorcycling is often a little bit about living a fantasy. I may not ever get to be an around-the-world-hardened-motorcycle traveler, but for the weekend I can head up to northern Minnesota backroads and trails and pretend.<br /><br />But, the whole lets-dress-up-like-a-biker-gang thing is just plain silly to me. Maybe bikers like exploring backroads too, but when part of the equation includes the requirement of dressing up like a pirate/badass biker, that just takes the fantasy aspect someplace completely illogical. The times I've walked into a Harley store the first thing that came to my mind was that I had just walked into a costume store.Joe Axberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17602450753406952657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post-85057733665601023902011-06-21T20:17:19.988-05:002011-06-21T20:17:19.988-05:00Thanks for the book referral. I just checked "...Thanks for the book referral. I just checked "Blackwater" out from the library and it is one scary read. It does remind me of Hunter Thompson's "Hell's Angels," but these nutbags are armed to the teeth. If anyone on earth qualifies as a super-villain, it would be Erik Prince. He is the kind of guy that Iron Man, Superman, and Batman would be dedicated to eliminate. Renamed "Xe Services LLC" and moved offshore to avoid US taxes, this collection of gangbangers is growing fat on taxpayer money without paying a cent in corporate taxes. If a Hollywood screenwriter drew these guys up, the producer would trim it down because no one would believe it.T.W. Dayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04078254371483458356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950664143576637249.post-47684962771957524292011-06-21T20:12:02.023-05:002011-06-21T20:12:02.023-05:00I'm reading Jeremy Skahill's "Blackwa...I'm reading Jeremy Skahill's "Blackwater, the Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army" and the descriptive term "gangbangers" raises its ugly head again. Violent young men with no useful skills, time on their hands, and weapons to spare. Probably the most destructive combination in history.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com