The Beginning

My interest in Motorcycle Clubs started this summer when I started watching the show "Sons Of Anarchy". "SOA", as most people call it, is a show that is about a Motorcycle Club in California. It can be classified as a "crime, thriller, and drama" ("Sons of Anarchy"). I am only on the first season but so far it has shown many aspects of being part of one. All the members of the club work at a car repair shop during the day and do work for the club mostly at night. They do however They have a strong brotherhood. The club is considered an outlaw club and is involved in illegal arms trading. They do however keep drug dealing away. The club also has connections within the police and the community. There are rival clubs in different counties that they compete with to keep drugs away and protect their armed weapons from. The show however, is mostly centered on one of the members and his involvment. His name is Jax and his dad is the founder of the club. Jax becomes a father in the first season and struggles to be involved in the club because of its illegal busniess and the consequences that come with it, like murder. He struggles to find a balance of being a good father and how he wants to raise his son and contuining to be part of an outlaw club. Jax also learns of his fathers original plans for the club and how it wasnt supposed to be an outlaw club. This triggers his unloyalty even more.

As you can see, the show portrays different aspects of a motorcycle club and how it works. This portrayal of an outlaw club sparked my curiousity and interest in the idea of a motorcycle club and its dynamics. It also made me interested in the personal aspects of how it affects one person and the club in general. I also became curious in what the rules were of the club and how to join. For example, in SOA if you get kicked out of the club you are not allowed to wear the official jacket and you can have the logo tattoed on your back.

Although SOA is an outlaw club, its depiction of both the personal and business aspects of the club draw an emotional connection and interest in the show. I was in Panama City this summer and began to notice all of the groups of motorcyclists would drive by. It reminded me of the show and I began to wonder if all clubs were like the show. I noticed they all had similar leather jackets with the logos on them and each group rode specific bikes that were distinct to each group. Because there are multiple clubs in Panama City, I wondered if they had rivalry or bounty lines like in SOA. Because of SOA and the connection the show builds, I was also curious if the members of clubs in real life are affected in a positive and negative manner. For example if they have that strong of a brotherhood and or if they struggle to find a balance with their personal family lives and being part of a club. I chose BACA because they are a motorcycle peace club and i want to challenge the common stereotypes of outlaw motorcycle clubs and explore the similarities and differences.

At first I chose a motorcycle club that is located in Panama City, Florida called the Infidels. I chose this club becasue on the first page of their website they said they were a club for veterans who fought in Iran. I liked the idea of the club and how it provided a strong brotherhood for veterans that went through similar experiences and could share their stories and what they learned. However, after researching more about their club I learned that they were an anti-Islamic group and held events that mocked the religion. As an American Muslim this hurt me a lot. I did not realize that some people still had such strong feelings against my religion. I do know that there are some people that have misjudgments but I had forgoten that there are other people that have genuine hatered against Islam. After 9/11 I did feel the tension sometimes going to school and having to talk about my religion or when I would be with my mom because she wears the headscarf. However, nowadays I feel like more poeple have a better understanding of Islam, are more open minded, and do not intentionally put in effort to hate on it. After finding out that a group of veterans came together to form a motorcycle club that was against Islam, it really hurt my feelings but also opened my eyes to the fact that some motorcycle clubs are anti-religion. My experience made me realize that there are many different types of motorcycle clubs. Some might be considered an "outlaw" club because they are involved in illegal work but others are anti-religion, pro-religion, or even just normal clubs like Harley Davidson. Because of this finding, I chose a different club that actually does good work. I really liked the idea of BACA and how it helps abused children find their inner strength and confidence. BACA will help me prove that not all motorcycle clubs fit the steryotypical bad view.

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