You do’t seem to know anything about the outlaw gangs.
And anyone IN the mafia, that is an official MEMBER of the mafia, is part of the criminal gang called the mafia, and is part of the criminality.
The Hell’s Angels MEMBERS, are not the non-member front men.
At issue is not whether there are criminals in the world, nor whether some of them ride motorcycles. Some drive, some are driven, some have jets, and some ride in limos, while a bunch of them walk or take the bus or subway.
What is at issue is whether the people at the Twin Peaks were all criminals as many here assert. We have seen repeated posts that two thirds had no criminal record, and even a criminal record does not mean they were engaged in criminal activity at the time.
We have, in the American system of jurisprudence, something called the "presumption of innocence". I am not seeing that in play with numerous posters here who have it just backwards and are applying that twisted logic to the entire group present, well, because they were present.
I have never been a member of a 1% group, but I have been often in the presence of members of such groups, at numerous and various club functions, ABATE rallys, toy runs, and multiple times at Sturgis.
What I have not seen is the overt conduct of criminal activity. That isn't because I have bad vision, but because any criminal activity is kept out of the public eye.
I have seen as many as ten different patches in the same bar, all getting along just fine, because the purpose for being there was to discuss legislative issues. Inter club and intra club problems would be aired in the appropriate venue--not such meetings.
This was, as advertized, a Confederation of Clubs and Independents meeting. That is the sort of meeting where patch holders and independents gather to discuss legislative issues, event calendars to avoid conflicts in scheduling charity runs and fundraisers so attendance can be maximized within any region or area.
So there are likely to be a large number of people present representing groups which do not engage in any criminal activity (unless you count the occasional incident of driving too fast).
This wasn't a Banditos function as some assert, although there were Banditos present. It wasn't a Cossacks function, either. Any breach of peace at this sort of meeting is way out of line.
Since these are normally (overwhelmingly) peaceful functions, the presence of SWAT, ATF, and other law enforcement elements raises questions. Especially considering their advantageous tactical positions and apparent callous disregard for those present who were not involved, the number of fatalities, and the sequestration of witnesses and evidence. The blanket roundup style arrest is questionable as well, considering universal ridiculous bonds and the tardiness of their reduction. It should have been simple enough to weed out the known miscreants and actors from those who were not involved in any wrongdoing unless there is a presumption of guilt merely by being present.
That has implications for everyone who spends any time in public. That lethal force was likely applied in the presence of a large number of people downrange when the threat to LEOs is questionable is another dangerous precedent. The absence of video justifying the shoot by LEOs is striking--such exculpatory evidence is usually released almost immediately to the press--and the absence thereof hints strongly that the recordings, should they still exist, show police actions as less than justified.
I also object to the pejorative "gangs", mainly because it is applied willy-nilly to any motorcycle group flying a patch--whether they are the Hell's Angels or the CMA.
That assumption that anyone on a motorcycle who isn't riding a crotch rocket in a t-shirt, sandals, and shorts is some sort of social monster is pure BS. The leathers are protective clothing, more resistant to abrasion than virtually any other fabric. They come in a variety of colors, most of them black. The very expensive brightly colored ones are normally worn by people engaged in racing, who have sponsors with deep pockets.
Yes, ansel, I know about "outlaw gangs" but the minute one engages in the pejorative assumption of individual guilt going on around here they become part of the Star Chamber, and I'm not going there.
We have the rights of the accused to guard against such crap. I will stick with those rights, and try not to play the guilt by association game.