Margaret Falk
Christine Wyatt
English 122
May 2, 2004
Life Behind Handlebars
Biker. That word alone brings up all kinds of mixed feelings. Some people love them, some people hate them, and then, there are those that don't understand them. That is what I am going to try to do, if it is just to convince one person that Bikers are no different than any other group of people, I have done my job. I have not yet seen nor experienced any other passions than those in the biker community, which most people don’t understand. Be it just a rider or outlaw, they stand by their kind and the most important word in this community is respect. Bikers even help others by having rides to help the needy. From cancer to diabetes to children’s organizations, funds are raised by organized rides.
They have something going on every weekend for charity. They sponsor long rides that participants pay to go on. The money raised from the attendance is collected and given to the organization for which the ride was held. Local bike clubs, dealerships, parts stores, gift certificates for tattoos and the like are donated as prizes for those who finish the ride and have that particular raffle ticket to win a prize. This also gives incentives for people to come to these types of gatherings, and in turn they are fed and get a memento.
Biker’s get together in bunches just to ride with each other, whether there is a charity going on or not. I have never seen where a bunch of people who actually gets together and do activities with fellow enthusiasts more than bikers. Be it sailing, fishing, hiking or many other sports and gatherings, bikers have the most activities. Someone is always up for a ride, and a friend will know a friend and before too long you have a bunch riding together. This is also a great way for people to meet other people who have this passion for riding. Not all motorcycle clubs are associated with violence, drugs and rowdy behavior. Louise Hillen, 65, used to run with a Milwaukee biker club called the Beer City Riders in the mid 1970’s. They weren’t dangerous, but they were not winces. They were macho and tough guys, but there weren’t many fights.
Catholic organizations help with the under privileged also through Christian organizations like Church World Service, who’s assistance help to give the Afghan refugees $6.28 million in aid or Food for the Poor, who aid the poor of Latin America and the Caribbean. Although, catholic organizations are attacked by reports of child abuse over and over. Over 400 Catholic priests in North America were caught molesting children between 1984 and 1992. The Church has paid out over $400 million in settlements and the Church tried to cover it all up.
The San Diego Police Officers Association, for example, supports numerous charitable organizations throughout the region. They support public safety, community events, and programs for children and families in need. Others include the YMCA, United Way, MADD, Crime Stoppers, and the Crime Victims Fund. Yet many police officers can be dishonest as well. Big cities, like Cleveland Ohio, Jackson Florida, and Los Angeles, California. In Cleveland, Ohio, 59 people in Cleveland, including 51 police and corrections officers, were arrested for protecting the transfer or sales of cocaine. In Jackson, Florida, a Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Deputy was arrested by DEA agents for transporting kilos of cocaine. Los Angeles, California is not immune to dishonesty. The Rampart scandal is already one of the most outlandish cases of police corruption and abuse of power in American history. So far five Los Angeles police officers have been charged with felonies ranging up to attempted murder and more than a dozen face internal police department charges along with 70 more officers are under investigation for terrorizing. Officers involved are accused of shooting and then framing the suspects, stealing and dealing in drugs, and lying on official documents and in sworn testimonies.
The motorcycle community is plagued by dishonesty too. Some members of the motorcycling community were coined “1 percenters” by The American Motorcycle Association in the 1960s because 1 percent were hard riding, law-breaking partiers and the other 99 percent of riders were religious and family-oriented. Soon afterwards some people began referring to the hard riding, law breaking members as “1 percenters”. There are “1 percenters” in every form of life as I have shown you through other communities and organizations. Nothing can replace that sound of a Harley.
To ride a motorcycle is a good way to let one self go. From the minute you throw your leg over that bike to get it ready to start it and hear the rumble of the motor, the excitement builds in you. You are getting yourself ready for an adventure like no other. Be it going down a straight road or taking the twists in the road is like a roller coaster ride. As you are leaning with the roller coaster through it’s straight-aways and curving banks, the bike leans with those same types of straight-aways and curves, yet you have the power of the motor underneath you and you have control of the speed. It’s a natural high that has no comparison. There is not a worry in the world as you leave all your troubles behind. There is no beginning, middle or end as long as you are going down the road.
As Helen Keller said: "Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is a daring adventure or nothing at all." Yes, life is daring or nothing at all and that is why people of different walks in life can corrupt one or make that person good by giving in charitable ways to the community, family and friends. There is just as much corruption in the church, police department, biker community, big corporations and the list goes on.
National Catholic Reporter, 2001 by Gill Donovan http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m1141/1_38/79965738/p1/article.jhtml
Lead Us Not Into
Temptation: Catholic Priests and the Sexual Abuse of Children.
Berry, Jason.
Foreword by Andrew M. Greely. Doubleday, New York, 1992. http://www.healthyplace.com/Communities/Abuse/holli/facts_stats/abuse_religion_stats.htm
http://www.sandiegopoa.org/faq.asp
A Barrel Full of Bad Apples: Police Corruption and the War on Drugs
8/4/00
StoptheDrugWar.org: the Drug Reform Coordination Network (DRCNet)
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/148/overabarrel.shtml
http://www.gmtoday.com/news/local_stories/2003/August_03/08302003_06.asp