Recently I was asked by an associate of mine who does not share my lifestyle (but whom I respect greatly) what it was like to be a biker. "We don't feel different than anyone else" was my immediate response. However, after some reflection, I must admit that as someone who projects this image I was forced to ponder as to wether I "chose" this lifestyle or if it is simply a place at which I have arrived or been brought to by things that have happened to me or as the result of other choices I have made. I think that bikers come from all walks of life but they are tied to one another by one identifiable thread. Most real bikers have at some point or another adopted a common "detached" philosophy. We are not necessarily non comformist but we resist at every opportunity forced comformity. We agree with most of the popular ideals shared by most Americans, we just don't like to be told we have to. At any rate I have listed a few of my personal thoughts on a few matters. These are indicitive of me alone and do not necessarily reflect bikers as a group. After compliling the following I had felt it required to consider in light of these statements, am I a "bad American" or just unpopular. (Not that I care.)

• I like big trucks, big boats, big houses, fast motorcycles and naturally, pretty women.
• I believe the money I make belongs to me and my family, not some mid-level governmental functionary with a bad comb-over who wants to give it away to crack addicts squirting out babies.
• I don't care about appearing compassionate. I look out for and do the best I can for those whom I love, care about and respect. That's actually a pretty large group. The rest of you can kiss my ass! (Just for the record, the amount of money I and my personal group of associates have raised for local charities over the past several years is now well over a quarter of a million dollars. This does not include the thousands of toys donated for local children's charities or the truckloads of new and used clothing for the homeless. At any of our many fund raisers or parties any left over or unused food goes immediately to an area Salvation Army shelter for the homeless. We, the most undesirable of all social elements, probably puts more of our time and spendable income back into the community than the average shirt and tie wearing corporate yuppie with his half a percent United Way payroll deduction ever thought about.)
• I think playing with toy guns doesn't make you a killer. I believe ignoring your kids and letting them be raised by Prozac and MTV might.
• I think I'm doing better than the homeless. But certainly not as well as I could were I willing to abandon certain values I hold to be dear.
• I don't think being a minority makes you noble or victimized.
• I have the right not to be forced to be tolerant of others because they are different, weird or make me mad. This is my life to live, and not necessarily up to others expectations.
• I know what SEX is and there are not varying degrees of it.
• I don't celebrate Kwanzaa. But if you want to that's fine; I just don't feel like everyone else should have to.
• I believe that if you are selling me a Dairy Queen shake, a pack of cigarettes, or hotel room you should do it in English. As of matter of fact, if you are an American citizen you should speak English. My uncles and forefathers shouldn't have had to die in vain so you can leave the countries you were born in to come here and disrespect ours, and make us bend to your will. Get over it.
• I think the cops have every right to shoot your sorry butt if you're running from them after they tell you to stop. If you can't understand the word 'freeze' or 'stop' in English, see the previous line.
• I don't use the excuse "it's for the children" as a shield for unpopular opinions or actions.
• I know how to count votes and I feel much safer letting a machine with no political affiliation do a recount when needed.
• I know what the definition of lying is, and it isn't based on the word "is" -ever.
• I don't think just because you were not born in this country, you qualify for any special loan programs, gov't sponsored bank loans, etc., so you can open a hotel, 7-Eleven, trinket shop, or any thing else, while the indigenous peoples can't get past a high school education because they can't afford it.
• I thought the Taco Bell dog was funny. (Chihuahua's ARE from Mexico and if they COULD talk they probably WOULD have a Mexican accent.)
• I want them to bring back safe and sane fireworks.
• I believe no one ever died because of something Ozzy Osbourne, Ice-T or Marilyn Manson sang, but that doesn't mean I want to listen to that crap from someone else's car when I'm stopped at a red light. But I respect your right to.
• I think that being a student doesn't give you any more enlightenment than working at Blockbuster or Jack In The Box.
• I don't want to eat or drink anything with the words light, lite or fat-free on the package. (Unfortunately age and my lifestyle are forcing me to compromise on this one.)
• Our soldiers did not go to some foreign country and risk their lives in vain and defend our Constitution so that decades later you can tell me it's a living document, ever changing and is open to interpretation. The guys who wrote it were light years ahead of anyone today, and they meant what they said - now leave the document alone, or there's going to be trouble.
• I don't hate the rich.
• I know wrestling is fake.
• I've never owned, or was a slave, and a large percentage of our forefathers weren't wealthy enough to own one either. Please stop blaming me because some prior white people were idiots - and remember, tons of white, Indian, Chinese, and other races have been enslaved too - it was wrong for every one of them as well. My brothers come in many colors.
• I believe a self-righteous liberal Democrat with a cause is far more dangerous than a Hell's Angel with an attitude.
• I want to know exactly which church it is where the "Reverend" Jessie Jackson preaches; and, what exactly is his job function.
• I believe Marin Luther King Jr. was a modern day saint.
• I believe Malcom X was a felon who took advantage of, and was killed by his own people.
• I own a gun, you can own a gun, and any red blooded American should be allowed to own a gun, but if you use it in a crime, then you will serve the time.
• I think Bill Gates has every right to keep every penny he made and continue to make more. If it makes you mad, then invent the next operating system that's better and put your name on the building.
• I don't believe in hate crime legislation. Even suggesting it makes me mad. You're telling me that someone who is a minority, gay, disabled, another nationality, or otherwise different from the mainstream of this country has more value as a human being than I do as a white male. If someone kills anyone, I'd say that it's a hate crime. We don't need more laws! Let's enforce the ones we already have.
• I think turkey bacon, turkey beef, turkey fake anything sucks.
• I believe that it doesn't take a village to raise a child - it takes a parent with the guts to stand up to the kid and spank his butt and say "NO!" when it's necessary to do so.
• I'll admit that the only movie that ever made me cry was "Ole Yeller".
• I didn't realize Dr. Seuss was a genius until I had a kid.
• I will not be frowned upon or be looked down upon or be made to keep silent because I have these beliefs and opinions. I thought this country allowed me that right.
• I will not conform or compromise just to keep from hurting somebody's feelings.
• I'm neither angry nor disenfranchised.

Yes, I guess by some people's definition, I may be a bad American, but that's tough.