This article published by The Daily Texan illustrates that news reporters still like to paint bikers as drunken out-of-control lunatics...

http://media.www.dailytexanonline.com/....2816407.shtml

It's a story about Bikers Against Child Abuse (BACA) and their mission to provide protection for abused children. Yet, The Daily Texan makes it sound as if normal everyday bikers are drunken derelicts looking to start fights...

Members of BACA aren't there to start a drunken brawl or rough up anyone - quite the opposite - they come dressed in slacks and button-down shirts for the formal ordeal.

Sure, bikers usually look mean and tough with their tattoos, leather and unkempt pony tails, but don't let that fool you. BACA is different from other motorcycle clubs that have bad reputations such as the Hells Angels or Warlocks. Instead of riding their motorcycles from bar to bar raising hell, members of BACA spend their time with abused children, helping to make reality seem a little less like Hell.

Labels: Biker Discrimination, Mainstream Media

I've come to believe the mainstream media hates motorcycles, and loves to glorify the deaths of motorcyclists.

It seems every biker death gets coverage in the news. I've made a policy on this blog not to report on biker deaths, except when very unusual circumstances surround.

On the one hand, you could argue that news coverage of this sort provides some memorial value because it makes us think and feel sorrow for the rider who died. But on the other hand, the media doesn't report on each and every person who dies in a car crash.

I ran a search on Yahoo News for the word, "motorcycle", and 15 of the 20 headlines were about a motorcycle crash/death.

In California, where helmets are required for all riders, the media always mentions the rider was wearing a helmet. I've yet to hear about a rider in California that died in an accident, who wasn't wearing one. So why does the media always say, "the victim was wearing a helmet"? Because they want people to know that even if you wear a helmet, you're still gonna die.

And I think that's what it is. The media wants to scare people away from riding motorcycles. How often do you see reports that motorcycle deaths are rising? How often do you see reports that more old guys are crashing big V-twin bikes?

I think motorcycles is one of the last great embodiments of freedom. When someone asks a biker why they ride a motorcycle, despite all the dangers, the answer is always the same, "I love the freedom of riding".

This love of freedom is why bikers are always fighting against "big brother" laws, like helmet laws, safety goggle laws, loud pipes laws, and what have you.

Bikers always show their appreciation for our military. They always claim that freedom is not free.

To me, the mainstream media is still the ally of liberals and socialists, it's still the enemy of our military, still the enemy of freedom. You can't control people who are free. I think that's why the media hates motorcycles.

Labels: Mainstream Media, Motorcycle Deaths