It’s been said in the past that the biker might be one of the last bastions of hope in defending our freedoms in America. Since the start of our grass-roots movement in the early 1970s, the American biker has proven a resolve and resiliency in doing battle with government agencies trying to regulate every aspect of our lifestyle. Of course, when this movement started, motorcycle registrations were hundreds of thousands less than what they are today. The motorcycle community was much smaller and inundated with veterans and progeny of the protest era. The motorcycle rights movement was alive and flourishing.
Along with growth came the desire to put on a happy, positive face. Most ABATE groups changed the original meaning of the acronym to something more positive. After all, A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments was not only hard to spell, many members didn’t even know what that meant. There was also a desire to put forth a positive image and provide “entertainment” for the members. This may have been an attempt to simulate what Harley-Davidson was doing with its H.O.G. program. So we got into the charity and party business during lulls in the legislative arena.
Today, it seems there is more attendance at poker runs and chili cook-offs than there is at legislative endeavors. Thousands show up for breast cancer rides or similar good causes, but only hundreds or less for freedom rallies or lobby efforts. Even more concerning is the abandonment of the watch-dog mentality that challenged every encroachment of our rights.
On November 15, 2015, something happened in Milwaukee that exemplified the surrender of the American bikers’ rights activist. A call went out urging riders to form a motorcycle welcome for the USS Milwaukee, coming to the port for its commissioning ceremony. The notice came from Rolling Thunder Chapter 2 in Milwaukee. Right at the top of the mass email was this:
NOTE: Absolutely NO WEAPONS allowed. Please leave at home or you will just need to stay home. THANKS! This is a directive from the U.S. Navy and Milwaukee County Parks.
My immediate response was, “by what authority are they using this directive?” I had an extended phone conversation with the chairman of the board of Rolling Thunder Chapter 2, and it was apparent he was going to honor the request of the Navy and Harbor Park for what he considered a good event honoring veterans. If you don’t see the problem with this way of thinking, you probably shouldn’t read any further because you won’t understand any of the reasons this is so wrong.
We’re facing an onslaught of anti-motorcycling sentiment from the government, law enforcement agencies and the media. Motorcycle profiling is at the top of the list of problems we’re dealing with. Bikers and veterans are considered a domestic threat by many agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI. Is this the reason the Navy requested no weapons at the USS Milwaukee event? It’s not hard to fathom that such a request might be put forward, but what is absolutely mystifying is why such a request was agreed to. Defining bikers as a threat group and using our own resources to disarm our community is proving to be a successful tactic by the anti-biker, anti-gun advocates. It is not a trivial matter. Agreeing to give up or abandon a Constitutional right in order to attend an event like the commissioning of a naval ship is a disgrace and dishonors all the brave Americans who sacrificed for our freedoms.
Rights are like chastity: you cannot surrender just a little
The problem with agreeing to “not carry” is much deeper than first glance. Would such a request be made of any other group? Is it a coincidence that the Navy would single out bikers to make such a request? Right now, motorcycle club members are being considered domestic terrorists and should not be allowed to possess weapons. Don’t be misled by some in the biker rights movement who might claim this is a 2nd Amendment problem, not a bike issue. This is totally a motorcyclist profiling problem and ABATE should have issued an immediate press release condemning the fact that bikers were being asked to surrender their right to concealed or even open carry during the ceremony. Foolishly, some people I spoke to said they intended to covertly carry their weapon, thinking they were somehow getting one over on the authorities. That meant nothing and achieved nothing. The fact that no protest was made over the no-carry rule made the Navy, the Harbor Park or whoever issued the request the big winner.
According to the Motorcycle Profiling Project, “disarming bikers, even those associated that have no criminal records of any kind, is a strategy to cripple the rights base of one of the most visible and active grassroots social and political movements in America.” Yet, Rolling Thunder Chapter 2 and all those bikers who agreed to attend the event, leaving any weapons behind, had no desire to miss the opportunity to pose for pictures and wave flags, oblivious to the fact that even a small or single acquiescence is another seed sown in the black ground of regulation, attempting to germinate even more gun control. Waving flags is not patriotism; refusing to attend an event trampling on a basic right is.
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The biggest enemy of the Constitution is apathy!
Real patriotism is the defense of all of our rights and total refusal to relinquish any of them. These bikers, although thinking they were honoring a ship being commissioned, were really pawns being used to make the ceremony look pretty while at the same time agreeing to an invalid request. Equally disturbing is, after a careful reading of the email string, it appears an apparent request came from the Navy and/or Harbor Park authorities (I saw nothing official to substantiate that claim), but the mandate came from Rolling Thunder Chapter 2 in order to ensure a good participation by the apathetic riders who were out to have a good time while thinking they were being patriotic. The event was attended by riders from Rolling Thunder, two area H.O.G. chapters and ABATE of Wisconsin members. I can understand the lack of understanding coming from some of the riders, but the ABATE members should have been well aware of the problems with motorcycle profiling issues. Whatever happened to the mantra, Question Authority?
As I see it, we have inherited the rights we hold so sacred, without having had to fight for them. Does that make it easier to overlook asserting our rights when there is the prospect of doing something pleasurable? I think Thomas Paine described this very eloquently in December 1776 when he wrote these words in The Crisis: “Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly.”
Unless we stand together, speak out and refuse to submit to illegal transgressions of our rights, we will lose even more of them. In the above referenced instance, I cannot blame the Navy or Harbor Park for presumably issuing a request to leave weapons at home. The blame falls squarely on the shoulders of the Rolling Thunder chapter leadership and the riders who blindly followed a request to participate in the disintegration of personal rights while others around the country are fighting to end this sort of discrimination.
Tony “Pan” Sanfelipo Co-founded of A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments of Wisconsin (ABATE) in 1974 and Bikers of Lessor Tolerance (BOLT) in 1992. In 2002, he was the first person inducted into the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum Freedom Fighters Hall of Fame.
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