When bias/prejudice slaps you in the face

[palavra]

Today, I went to a gas station/snack store for gas. As I pulled up, I could see about 30-40 bikers and motorcycles to one side of the store. I guess I have a learned bias toward bikers from my family. No, I don't automatically think "Hell's Angels," but, here in the South, redneck and trouble makers do come to mind. So, I go in the store, taking care to avoid the bikers. While paying, I hear the cashier and customer talking. The cashier is telling the customer that the bikers are riding to raise money for a little boy who just had a heart transplant. After paying, I walked quietly out the store a lot more humbled. I hope I'll remember this when I am making assumptions about other individual/groups in the future!

 

[mhsjax]

Today, I went to a gas station/snack store for gas. As I pulled up, I could see about 30-40 bikers and motorcycles to one side of the store. I guess I have a learned bias toward bikers from my family. No, I don't automatically think "Hell's Angels," but, here in the South, redneck and trouble makers do come to mind. So, I go in the store, taking care to avoid the bikers. While paying, I hear the cashier and customer talking. The cashier is telling the customer that the bikers are riding to raise money for a little boy who just had a heart transplant. After paying, I walked quietly out the store a lot more humbled. I hope I'll remember this when I am making assumptions about other individual/groups in the future!

I learned my lesson also. It involved a biker. I was 32 and 8 months pregnant. I was driving to my mom's house to go shopping with her. DH was at work, almost 1.5 hours away. My car died. It locked up, I couldn't get into neutral to move it. I called my mom and she was in the process of getting my dad to come and get me and calling a wrecker. A biker stopped and asked if I need to borrow his phone, I told him no, that I had one. The scruffy, scary looking, Harley riding guy, stayed there with me until my dad got there. He wouldn't leave. He told me no way was he leaving a woman, much less a pregnant woman out there on the busy highway. I was very glad he stayed and so was my dad. He got out and shook his hand and thanked him for staying with me. What can I say, my dad is very old fashioned and all though he believed that women can do anything, he was happy to see a man watch out for his daughter and so was I.

 

[phorsenuf]

Yeah, it's pretty sad the preconceived notion people have of bikers. I've known many bikers over the years and most will give the shirt off their back for you.

 

[Poohforyou]

Around here biker groups do a lot of fund raisers. I've found most of them to be big teddy bear type guys. One of my brothers, who is as clean cut as he comes, rides so I'm a bit biased.

 

[mamacatnv]

When the biker groups across the country started silently surrounding the idiot, soldier funeral protesting groups they forever earned a hero's place in my realm of thinking.

 

[mhsjax]

When the biker groups across the country started silently surrounding the idiot, soldier funeral protesting groups they forever earned a hero's place in my realm of thinking.

I hadn't heard about them doing this. Good for them, someone needs to be able to handle that creep and his followers.

 

[JKMJ441724]

Those are two GREAT stories.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Yeah, it's pretty sad the preconceived notion people have of bikers. I've known many bikers over the years and most will give the shirt off their back for you.

This...My dad's best friend is actually a Hell's Angel. Now, I'll be homest, I don't know what kind of unsavory things he may or might not do to/around rival gangs, but he is the nicest guy you will ever meet...And so are all of the others I've met.

They, themselves, do A LOT of charity rides or various causes and people.

 

[Uncle Remus]

I hadn't heard about them doing this. Good for them, someone needs to be able to handle that creep and his followers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwigMTjup70

 

[mhsjax]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwigMTjup70

That was great, thanks for the link.

 

[TwingleMum]

Thank God there are people like those bikers who stand up and do something.

 

[doxdogy]

Here is a link to their website.

http://www.patriotguard.org/

 

[Uncle Remus]

That was great, thanks for the link.

You're welcome.

Thank God there are people like those bikers who stand up and do something.

And thank the people that actually do it, they deserve it.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

We have biker fundraisers here all the time.

 

[cm8]

This...My dad's best friend is actually a Hell's Angel. Now, I'll be homest, I don't know what kind of unsavory things he may or might not do to/around rival gangs, but he is the nicest guy you will ever meet...And so are all of the others I've met.

They, themselves, do A LOT of charity rides or various causes and people.

Yes they do and some are truly some of the most loving and gentle people you would want to meet

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Yes they do and some are truly some of the most loving and gentle people you would want to meet

My dad and he and are a stange couple! LOL...My dad is ANTI-mototrcycle and is a total Star Trek geek(not that that's a bad thing). It was always said that if anything happened to my father he would walk me down the aisle at my wedding.(He was more crushed than my father to learn that I had a courthouse wedding). He was always the first one to arrive at any family functions or any of my school events. AND he doesn't drink or smoke! REALLY throws the notion of what a Hells Angel is for a loop!

 

[mtblujeans]

Don't be frightened of people with multiple tatoos or piercings, either. If you treat them with respect, they are respectful in return.

 

[Maridw]

Years ago my sister was at a stop sign and there was a Hell's Angel in front of her. He came back to her and asked her to give him a push. She was not sure exactly what he wanted but after he explained that he just wanted her to push his motorcycle with her car, she said sure.

Afterward, he stopped and told her that to tell any other Hell's Angels that "Joe" said that she was okay in his book and not to let them give her any trouble.

We have a lot of bikers ride for fundraisers in town too. We have a group of Patriot Riders in town too and they always show up for funerals of soldiers or vets.

 

[Jennasis]

This has happened to me twice in my life...both times while I was working as a cameraman for a local news station.

The first did involve bikers. I was sent to cover a biker rally, by myself. I was annoyed by the assignment, having covered a few bike rallies before, I have often found it hard to deal with them between the massive crowds, and the constant...CONSTANT leering and getting hit on by the bikers themselves. Really, it would usually get so bad that I'd have to park my tripod and camera smack dab next to a patrol car. And anytime you're shooting a crowd, it is hard to get candid shots because every idgit and their mother feels the need to WAVE at the camera when they see it pointing in their direction. So I am quickly gathering video at the rally (which was a toy drive for toys for tots) , and I had set my camera on the ground to get a low angle shot of the bikes and I'm kneeling next to it. I see this very large, heavily tatt'd and pierced biker heading my way. I'm already formulating my icy rebuff to what I am sure is going to be either him hitting on me or trying to get on tv. He gets right up behind me and says "'Scuse me ma'am..." I reluctantly turn around to give him the brush off and he says to me "Could you tell me where I'm s'posed to put my Teddy Bear?" He whips out a large stuffed animal he had under his arm for the toy drive. Poor huy just couldn't find the drop box in the crowd. I helped him out.


The second time was actually 9/11, also while working for the news station. I was operating our live truck, feeding video and such being brought back from the scene...yes I was in NY. Our station was based on Long Island. It was about 5pm...and I was glued to the screens in the truck watching video from all the major stations in the city (NBC, CBS, FOX etc). Mostly I was looking to see if any of my friends working for those stations had been wounded or killed. Our live truck is always an attractive nuisance for looky-loos who always have to come up to our truck, knocking on the windows and annoying us while we are working. I've had people just walk up and open the door in the middle of us working on editing or shooting, and try to climb in the truck! So Here I am sitting in the truck watching the most horrifying thing I've ever witnessed, and I see this young guy heading my way. I had the truck doors open that evening because it was such a beautiful warm day. The guy was in his late teens and he looked like Syd Vicious...Spiked hair, chains, tats etc. He makes a bee-line for my truck and I reach for the door to slam it shut before he can get there, but I got tangled in some wires and couldn't reach it before he got to me. The guy pokes his head into the truck, and now I'm MAD. I know he's here to gawk and with the tragedy of that day I was not about to deal with him. As I'm about to unload both barrels of my "righteous fury" he looks at me, teary eyed and asks me "Excuse me, so you know where I can go to donate blood???"

I burst into tears, made a phone call to my assignment editor and found that guy the local place for him to go donate blood for the 9/11 victims.

 

[LuvCuteBoys]

This has happened to me twice in my life...both times while I was working as a cameraman for a local news station.

The first did involve bikers. I was sent to cover a biker rally, by myself. I was annoyed by the assignment, having covered a few bike rallies before, I have often found it hard to deal with them between the massive crowds, and the constant...CONSTANT leering and getting hit on by the bikers themselves. Really, it would usually get so bad that I'd have to park my tripod and camera smack dab next to a patrol car. And anytime you're shooting a crowd, it is hard to get candid shots because every idgit and their mother feels the need to WAVE at the camera when they see it pointing in their direction. So I am quickly gathering video at the rally (which was a toy drive for toys for tots) , and I had set my camera on the ground to get a low angle shot of the bikes and I'm kneeling next to it. I see this very large, heavily tatt'd and pierced biker heading my way. I'm already formulating my icy rebuff to what I am sure is going to be either him hitting on me or trying to get on tv. He gets right up behind me and says "'Scuse me ma'am..." I reluctantly turn around to give him the brush off and he says to me "Could you tell me where I'm s'posed to put my Teddy Bear?" He whips out a large stuffed animal he had under his arm for the toy drive. Poor huy just couldn't find the drop box in the crowd. I helped him out.


The second time was actually 9/11, also while working for the news station. I was operating our live truck, feeding video and such being brought back from the scene...yes I was in NY. Our station was based on Long Island. It was about 5pm...and I was glued to the screens in the truck watching video from all the major stations in the city (NBC, CBS, FOX etc). Mostly I was looking to see if any of my friends working for those stations had been wounded or killed. Our live truck is always an attractive nuisance for looky-loos who always have to come up to our truck, knocking on the windows and annoying us while we are working. I've had people just walk up and open the door in the middle of us working on editing or shooting, and try to climb in the truck! So Here I am sitting in the truck watching the most horrifying thing I've ever witnessed, and I see this young guy heading my way. I had the truck doors open that evening because it was such a beautiful warm day. The guy was in his late teens and he looked like Syd Vicious...Spiked hair, chains, tats etc. He makes a bee-line for my truck and I reach for the door to slam it shut before he can get there, but I got tangled in some wires and couldn't reach it before he got to me. The guy pokes his head into the truck, and now I'm MAD. I know he's here to gawk and with the tragedy of that day I was not about to deal with him. As I'm about to unload both barrels of my "righteous fury" he looks at me, teary eyed and asks me "Excuse me, so you know where I can go to donate blood???"

I burst into tears, made a phone call to my assignment editor and found that guy the local place for him to go donate blood for the 9/11 victims.

Okay, both of those stories hit me for some reason. I'm kind of teary-eyed right now.