AHC: Have Bikers Not Wear German-Military Themed Regalia

I'm not a biker, so I don't understand the subculture. However, many wear helmets that look like they are German from WW1 or WW2 and Iron Crosses on their clothing. How can we change this? Bonus points if the Biker start adopting regalia from another country, like Tommy helmets or Soviet gear.

2006may03.jpg
 
It has to do with the whole out law culture thing. Plus Germany was a defeated enemy with lots of surplus gear. But mainly it's outlaw gear. Wearing Soviet gear would be seen as verboten . A lot of bikers served in the ETO and saw the gear as cool. Plus Jap or tommy helmets suck as bike gear.
 
Outlaw biker culture (that is, the "1%ers", the people with the three part patch) is about defining ones self against the normal. About shocking the car-driving, peaceful norm by your actions, and so bringing you into a close fraternal society. One of the ways to do that - especially in the late 40s / early 50s when Sonny Barger et al formed the Hells Angels in California - is to use the imagery of the recent foe, and German imagery is more obvious than Japanese, and there was less racism against Germans than Japenese, making it less difficult to wear German insignia.

I don't think you can have the same biker culture and have the wearing of Allies kit, even Soviet - when it was starting they were still friendlyish.
 
But, in a hyper-PC society, could it be something that people reject because it is obviously racist? I mean, would Americans vote for a President who did a photo-op wearing a nazi biker helmet before the advent of Trump?

Why aren't American Jews, who are quite vocal about anti-semitism, more vocal about Biker gear? It's not like people can wear KKK regalia without being relegate to the fringes of white trashdom.
 
But, in a hyper-PC society, could it be something that people reject because it is obviously racist? I mean, would Americans vote for a President who did a photo-op wearing a nazi biker helmet before the advent of Trump?

Why aren't American Jews, who are quite vocal about anti-semitism, more vocal about Biker gear? It's not like people can wear KKK regalia without being relegate to the fringes of white trashdom.

Probably because the Bikers, well at least most bikers, aren't actually that racist, even if they do wear things associated with Nazis. Like how there are Nazi and non-Nazi Skinheads. Though I do guess there may be Nazi bikers.
 
But, in a hyper-PC society, could it be something that people reject because it is obviously racist? I mean, would Americans vote for a President who did a photo-op wearing a nazi biker helmet before the advent of Trump?

Why aren't American Jews, who are quite vocal about anti-semitism, more vocal about Biker gear? It's not like people can wear KKK regalia without being relegate to the fringes of white trashdom.

Having re-read your first comment, a quick definition. Apologies if it's teaching people to suck eggs. Outlaw bikers are those in Motorcycle Clubs (MCs) who intend to live outside the law - the 1%ers, such as Hells Angels, Mongols, Outlaws etc. They'll wear a three part patch on the back of their jacket / cut with the club name, logo and location.

By now, the German insignia etc is tradition - it's what bikers wear, and outlaw bikers are already marked (now) by their patch and association with the club that they don't need / want to change, or to be fair even probably think about the why of wearing Iron Crosses and the like. Non outlaws do it because outlaws are "cool" - which the outlaws are happy about as long as no one tries to wear a patch or otherwise assimilate into their style.

So to change it you need to go back to the founding of the culture in the 40s and 50s and change the taboos in effect then - changing modern taboos will do nothing.

Most non outlaw bikers also don't wear things only associated with Nazis (eg swastika) - the coal scuttle helmet is the design of the US army helmet, the iron cross can be seen on modern Luftwaffe planes etc - these things aren't inherently racist and so there's no benefit in going after them.
 
P Like how there are Nazi and non-Nazi Skinheads.

I might be wrong, but I read that originally skinheads weren't really racist at all - in England, they used to be mad into reggae because coming from poor backgrounds, they identified with it and the culture it came from. They saw themselves as the blacks (i.e. poor and discriminated against) of England, essentially.

Or I could be wrong - I was sure I read that somewhere...
 
I'm not a biker, so I don't understand the subculture. However, many wear helmets that look like they are German from WW1 or WW2 and Iron Crosses on their clothing

It's a helmet design, not a symbol that they're Neonazis or something.

Firefighters in Germany still use helmets based on the design.

Feuerwehrhelm_Niedersachsen.jpg


Likewise, the Iron Cross is still being used as a decoration in the German military. There's nothing inherently racist about it.

The Biker cross was a symbol of Rebellion.

Part of this feels like you're automatically assuming that "Looks like German gear = Racist/bad", which isn't necessarily true.
 

Tovarich

Banned
Probably because the Bikers, well at least most bikers, aren't actually that racist, even if they do wear things associated with Nazis. Like how there are Nazi and non-Nazi Skinheads. Though I do guess there may be Nazi bikers.

Sad to say, but both the UK and US Biker scenes had large elements who were White Supremacist :(

Fortunately, that didn't make it integral to Biker culture, and as wider society progressed to find WS an unacceptable idea, this became reflected in Biker culture too.

I might be wrong, but I read that originally skinheads weren't really racist at all - in England, they used to be mad into reggae because coming from poor backgrounds, they identified with it and the culture it came from. They saw themselves as the blacks (i.e. poor and discriminated against) of England, essentially.

Or I could be wrong - I was sure I read that somewhere...

Pretty much spot on, except it wasn't Reggae (that came later) but Ska and Dancehall.
 
Top