BIKER CULTURE

Biker Culture



Biker Culture

Introduction

Motorcycle gangs got started after World War II, when they were thought to be nothing more than youthful rebellion. Thanks to high-profile Hollywood movies and other public events, they gathered an exaggerated reputation. The Wild Ones in 1954 and Easy Rider in 1969 glamorized biker activity and the biker lifestyle. The Hell's Angels gained broader exposure when they were hired to handle security for a Rolling Stones concert at the Altamont Speedway in California in 1969 (Baker, 2012). Sometime during the show, the Angels reportedly turned on the audience and killed a fan. During the 1970s, nearly 900 outlaw biker clubs existed, some of them with a large number of chapters that operated inside the United States. By the '80s, the FBI recognized motorcycle clubs as a national threat, ranked just behind La Cosa Nostra.

Discussion & Analyses

All motorcycle enthusiasts enjoy a culture and a lifestyle all their own. How that lifestyle is defined is different for each rider. For some, calling themselves a biker means that they have ridden for thousands of miles on their bike. Some claim the moniker of a biker because they simple cannot stand being away from the open air, or they get antsy when they are forced to exist within a metal box like a car or a truck (Davis, 1982). Still others claim the biker lifestyle because they love to tinker with, and improve the various bikes that they come in contact with. Still others identify more with the act of attending and riding through various rallies. Of course, there are also those who see the biker lifestyle as being centered on riding and riding alone. For others, there is something almost sexual about being around the bikes. There is a type of primal power that can only be experienced on the back of a motorcycle, and it has a way of being very, very attractive. The bottom line is that if a person is a part of the biker culture, the motorcycle and all that comes with it is an integral part of their lives.

While concentrated law enforcement actions are disruptive, the gangs have responded by recruiting attorneys who specialize in organized crime cases. Some bikers even found that going to jail has its benefits. They learned new and possibly more profitable techniques from other prisoners (Kraft, 2010). The most common question I receive when I am asked about bikers is what the 1% patch means on the vests outlaw bikers wear. Simply put, it is the signature of an outlaw biker. The outlaw biker feels that society has never given him the respect or breaks he deserves or allowed him to be a member, so now he does not want to be a part of it and rejects all of its rules, instead living by the “biker code.”

All outlaw motorcycle clubs have bylaws or a constitution that sets an acceptable standard of conduct and administrative procedures for the ...