[Jeff Higgins]

In the '70's and '80's it looked like these biker gangs were on a sharp decline. Something changed in the '90's, and ever since then, they have been enjoying pretty good growth. I can't believe the number of young people being attracted by these "clubs".

They take their little self-created world very, very seriously. It is, after all, all they've got. And today it is very, very lucrative - if you are on top of their particular dung pile.

They guys we see out there flying their club colors in public are, for the most part, just the dumb (and quite willing) grunts. The foot soldiers who dearly love to be tough guys and play the biker game, but are too freakin' stupid to understand the power structure within their own clubs. We'll never see the really big fish out on the street dressed like that; they wear expensive business suits, are clean cut and well spoken, and are making a ton of money off of these fools. It's the perfect crime, with easily recruited, fiercely loyal stooges at the bottom to do the dirty work.

Unfortunately, the boys in the trenches continue to believe their own press. Back in "the day", they were indeed simple bike clubs, masters of their own destinies. Those days are long gone. Today it's Hells Angels Inc., Bandidos Inc., Outlaws Inc., etc. The big money on top are pulling the strings, with the street level biker being merely a puppet. The big problem the big money boys run into are incidents like this - the clowns on the bottom of the heap still behave how they have been taught "real" bikers behave. This is very, very bad for business, as it raises LEO's scrutiny on them, making it difficult for the stooges to go about their daily chores.

The guys with the patches really are just role playing at this late stage of the game. They are attracted to the biker lifestyle, and follow its "rules" to the death. They honestly believe there is some form of "honor" attached, and that that "honor" flows through their particular club. They are very territorial, very proud, and absolutely unyielding. Useful idiots for sure, but this is kind of what happens periodically. You can bet the guys on top are all face-palming, shaking their heads, and already working on damage control. The dogs got off their leashes...