Thread: The other side of the coin.

Oregon Bikers Help Find Answers for Vulnerable Missing Woman - Salem-News.Com

All that help and still told to move the bike...love that it never got moved either. Great story, I'm sure the family was relieved to have their loved one back.

It's funny the biker looks like Opie from "sons of anarchy," don't understand why he couldn't move the bike though...

I'm not really sure why that last paragraph was even included. It doesn't have any relevance to the point of the story. Cool story though.

Knowing the reputation of the Gypsy Jokers I was a bit surprised. I guess I shouldn't have been, though. Most people aren't sociopaths, even among outlaw biker gangs. People generally do the right thing given half the chance.

Originally Posted by joesixpack

Knowing the reputation of the Gypsy Jokers I was a bit surprised. I guess I shouldn't have been, though. Most people aren't sociopaths, even among outlaw biker gangs. People generally do the right thing given half the chance.

I think it depends on whether the organization has its own code of ethics or not.
for example, with a Mexican drug kartel, I would not count on them doing the right thing, considering they are known to brutally slaughter people along with their friends, family and pets if you annoy them. Prison gangs are another good example of a bad example.

Otoh, organizations like the yakuza or the IRA have a criminal element in which they obviously break the law, but they are otherwise expected to behave. I was told by English and Irish friends that if you were in the IRA, you were expected to not engage in petty crime / rob people / vandalize things etc. If you did you got one warning, and the second offense got you a kneecapping or execution. Such organizations have a structure in which empathy and ethics are allowed, and to a certain point expected.

Absolutely correct there, Bruno. The inclusion of petty criminals into an organization exposes that group to informants, infiltrators, and otherwise untrustworthy people. A revolutionary group like the IRA, or a well disciplined organized crime syndicate needs the same sort of members as a well run corporate enterprise.

Prison gangs are able to enforce "loyalty" through intimidation and fear simply because there are no avenues out for any of the members. The Mexican cartels (like the Colombian cartels before them) try to operate in that way, but it's not really possible outside the walls of a prison, and as a result, it can't be maintained in that manner. The Colombian cartels crumbled (or, more accurately, they evolved into organizations more like the Mafia of the mid 20th century or the Yakuza), and so will the Mexican cartels.

You are comparing motorcycle clubs to organized crime, so my point has been lost on you. "Motorcycle gang" is a media term. I was hoping that by showing a MC doing something positive,I might be able to get people to realize that if you only hear negative news about a group,you will think negatively about that group.


SYLO!!

Originally Posted by HarleyFXST

You are comparing motorcycle clubs to organized crime, so my point has been lost on you. "Motorcycle gang" is a media term. I was hoping that by showing a MC doing something positive,I might be able to get people to realize that if you only hear negative news about a group,you will think negatively about that group.


SYLO!!

Great story! Nice to hear something good about an MC for a change. However, I am curious about your point your trying to make...the 1% kind of gives it away.

Originally Posted by Catrentshaving

Great story! Nice to hear something good about an MC for a change. However, I am curious about your point your trying to make...the 1% kind of gives it away.

1% was a label started by the AMA (not the docs) that was later embraced by the people it was attached to. Ask the black community about the N word. Ask an Oklahoman about Okies. Taking a derogatory term,and making it a point of pride is no new concept. I guess my point is: Take any large group,and publish only negative things about them,and never a positive story, and soon every single person in that group will be thought of negatively by the mainstream. Most of the older motorcycle clubs were started by returning servicemen after WWII.