Many of you have been around motorscikle clubs before, if even for a brief moment, riding past you in your cage, entering a restaurant or local bar and you may wave to 'em or even buy 'em a drink and some even cower and hastily leave the establishment or roll up your windows locking your doors as we speed by. It's cool, all good, we don't care so long as you don't impede our forward progress or try to exclude us from a relaxing meal or beverage we will get over it.
What we won't get over or let you get away with is lack of respect!
Respect for the patch we wear, respect as a human being living in a FREE country perusing what our fore father's fought for, just like you! Only difference is, we chose to celebrate that FREEDOM in a way different to yours,
It is that Simple.
Yes, our ways may be a bit out of the norm for most citizens, not so much as time goes by and the government shows it's ass more and more, but we are different than most and we relish it. We embrace it as that sense of comradery that comes with it, just like your Kiwanis Club, Moose Lodges, Elks Lodges what have you. The vast majority of Motorsicle Club members are veterans if not active duty men and women who will put their life on the line to protect you and this land we live on. So, when you see us, don't look at us as if we are the dregs of society, scum to spit on, we just folks like you, mostly, give us our due, give us our room as we do you, show some respect and you will see that you get respect in kind.
This brings me to the patches we wear, the 3 of them you may have seen, we call 'em 3 piece patch and in our world it is respected for a reason, The one wearing it as he/she rides along the hi-ways and by-ways of America has earned it. Regardless of how you or anyone else feels about it or him and y'all need to give that to him/her. You don't even have to like the ne wearing it, but you do have to show the respect they deserve because they put up a portion of the life to earn the right to wear that patch, each piece earned and, in most cases, fought for.
So, as you go through your life, and you see someone wearing a patch on their back, remember, they are proud of their accomplishment in attaining that patch be it in 1, 2 or 3 pieces and give that individual some respect for wearing that patch, even if you don't like them much.
We don't want to take long walks with you at sunset not take a hot shower with you,
We just want the respect we deserve, GIVE it, the world, your world just may be in a better place, worth a try, eh?
Patch and respect
Re: Patch and respect
Great post!!!
I want to thank you for sharing your prospective, as someone that has fought for, earned and worn three pieces that you respect and honor.
When it comes to the types of people that ride motorcycles, they are as many variables as there are types of bikes. But the ones that seem to get the most attention are either the kids on crotch rockets that are young, wild and irresponsible on public highways OR the larger groups of patched members that ride in formation and have been the subject of movies and news headlines for many decades.
What most outsiders don't realize is how hard it is for someone to "earn" the right to wear a patch. We will NOT discuss MOST of the RULES or Regulations of any club in public, but will state that ALL clubs have certain rules as to who they allow in and what type of information is shared with others.
While some clubs may restrict their membership to people that hold a certain type of jobs such as military, police or firemen, and others may be just for men or strictly for women, etc. To have a criteria to only accept individuals in a club or organization, that meet certain requirements is as old as mankind.
Just like many soldiers that returned from Nam were frowned upon and spit on by certain American Citizens during the 1960's, many bikers also get lied about and blamed for things they were not responsible for.
Thankfully as OLDER bikers, those of us that consider ourselves Old School BIKERS with a kindred spirit, have paid our dues for many years and helped to pave the way for many of the newer riders that don't have a clue why we still cling to those handlebars and patches, in spite of the skin that has turned the color of tanned leather or knees, hips and back, that ache with every movement, as a result of sleeping in fields, kick starting bikes that would backfire so hard it could break a knee or leg if the fuel, spark or compression was off, or kicker springs that would break and possibly cause your knee to come out of it's joint.
I still remember having a nurse take a stiff scrub brush across my elbows because I slid down a blacktop road, on my butt while holding my head up off the blacktop, and I wasn't wearing a helmet. But no matter how many wrecks I was involved in, I kept getting back on the bike. I was even trying to ride my bike home, when I woke up in the hospital after having a heart attack and passing out while on the bike. But a club brother had already taken it home, so I couldn't ride it. WHY do I keep getting back on those bikes? Because those handlebars, the wind in my face and the patch on my back, make up 90% of who I am as a person. IT represents ME being FREE and ALIVE. It's not a hobby or for show. It's a lifestyle for me. It is MY life and the patch on my back says I belong to a unique club that consists of many like minded individuals and when we ride together, eat together and camp together, as we sit around and share stories and memories, we know we are kindred spirits, in different bodies.
Just my thoughts
FTW
I want to thank you for sharing your prospective, as someone that has fought for, earned and worn three pieces that you respect and honor.
When it comes to the types of people that ride motorcycles, they are as many variables as there are types of bikes. But the ones that seem to get the most attention are either the kids on crotch rockets that are young, wild and irresponsible on public highways OR the larger groups of patched members that ride in formation and have been the subject of movies and news headlines for many decades.
What most outsiders don't realize is how hard it is for someone to "earn" the right to wear a patch. We will NOT discuss MOST of the RULES or Regulations of any club in public, but will state that ALL clubs have certain rules as to who they allow in and what type of information is shared with others.
While some clubs may restrict their membership to people that hold a certain type of jobs such as military, police or firemen, and others may be just for men or strictly for women, etc. To have a criteria to only accept individuals in a club or organization, that meet certain requirements is as old as mankind.
Just like many soldiers that returned from Nam were frowned upon and spit on by certain American Citizens during the 1960's, many bikers also get lied about and blamed for things they were not responsible for.
Thankfully as OLDER bikers, those of us that consider ourselves Old School BIKERS with a kindred spirit, have paid our dues for many years and helped to pave the way for many of the newer riders that don't have a clue why we still cling to those handlebars and patches, in spite of the skin that has turned the color of tanned leather or knees, hips and back, that ache with every movement, as a result of sleeping in fields, kick starting bikes that would backfire so hard it could break a knee or leg if the fuel, spark or compression was off, or kicker springs that would break and possibly cause your knee to come out of it's joint.
I still remember having a nurse take a stiff scrub brush across my elbows because I slid down a blacktop road, on my butt while holding my head up off the blacktop, and I wasn't wearing a helmet. But no matter how many wrecks I was involved in, I kept getting back on the bike. I was even trying to ride my bike home, when I woke up in the hospital after having a heart attack and passing out while on the bike. But a club brother had already taken it home, so I couldn't ride it. WHY do I keep getting back on those bikes? Because those handlebars, the wind in my face and the patch on my back, make up 90% of who I am as a person. IT represents ME being FREE and ALIVE. It's not a hobby or for show. It's a lifestyle for me. It is MY life and the patch on my back says I belong to a unique club that consists of many like minded individuals and when we ride together, eat together and camp together, as we sit around and share stories and memories, we know we are kindred spirits, in different bodies.
Just my thoughts
FTW