VIOLENCE AND PEACE
“I asked Bobby Dylan/I asked the Beatles/I asked Timothy Leary, but he couldn’t help me either/They call me the seeker.” (The Who).
“Turn on your love light/And keep it on.” (Grateful Dead).
“Angel sings, leather wings/Jeans of blue, Harley Davidsons too/On a warm Sanfranciscan night/Young angel old angel feelin alright...” (The Animals).
It has been said that all that lives is born to die, therefore nothing matters. A balance of that view would suggest that there’s no point crying, nor any reason to become heartless. Whatever life throws at you, you should stand firm on your own moral reckonings.
In the revolutionary and rebellious mood of the 50s and 60s, the Outlaw Biker movement grew, enjoined by youths and Bikers who had felt the cold stare of rejection. They wanted out from the hypocritical loathing that purported to be correct society. Rather than be outlawed, many Bikers chose to become Outlaws, in a societal sense of the word. Not a lunge into criminality, but a decision to live outside of that which they resented, which had turned leisure into escapism, and escapism into confrontation. As much as anyone could empathise with their rage against the order, some gangs had gone too far. Their largesse was where their power lay. Their reputation was such that they couldn’t back down. They became inflexible, reflecting that society they had rejected, and were forgiving their own indiscretions, by justifying them against the indiscretions of others.
People’s attitudes toward gangs of drunken motorcyclists were perhaps not surprisingly negative. It was the wholesale attitude towards motorcyclists that was unreasonable, either side of the Atlantic. When the authorities began ordering Bikers around without due cause, the disruption of authority became the target of some people’s energies. Somewhere in all this was an element of antisocialism that was more than just a taunt; it now engendered a hatred directed toward the public - who came to represent the oppressive regime. It appeared that the so-called Outlaw was turning into the genuine item.
In the riots at the races of 1965 at Laconia, New England, Hell’s Angels were blamed for being outside agitators. It is alleged however, that the original Angels only existed in California, which is a long way to ride on a petrol-thirsty Harley-Davidson chopper; the tiny tear-drop petrol tank would make frequent stops necassery. Life magazine published pictures of seized weapons, and reported how Bikers had put up posters en-route to the races, that stated: Come to the riot! See Weirs Beach burn Saturday night! But other sources have said that it was local (non-biking) youths who had exploded into violence.
In the US as in the UK, whoever perpetrated certain acts didn’t always get caught. There were instances of rape and other violence for which the victims, media and authorities apportioned blame inaccurately. The facts amount to something and nothing, because of their questionability. There was actual violence perpetrated by people on motorcycles. Society believed that those who were now joining these gangs assumed the culpability of other members, and some felt they had no-one to blame but themselves, despite society being far from the ideal role-model. It merely engendered more dislike for straight society from among those who’d formed brotherhood ideals. They had put a biking twist on the fraternal brotherhood and sisterhood that blacks used to distinguish themselves as righteous citizens: outside of the white, Christian, Anglo-Saxon norm. The biking brotherhood, like the black unification, included pockets of groups and individuals from various sectors and contingencies. It didn’t matter who you were - it was what you were that created your membership.
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After W.W.II, Korea had reminded the us that despite the cessation of European hostilities (which had drawn in the US), the peace wasn’t won, and the cold war continued. Trends toward individual thinking were growing. Personal rebellion found its (Hippy) Mecca at the Haight-Ashbury cross roads, and the bike as an icon grew in popularity. Almost all of the groups (including bike gangs) being formulated wanted the very freedom that the previous generations had fought for. But elements of those prior generations were trying to impose freedom as they saw it, not how people wanted it. One particular group, the Hippies, were as much against The Man (establishment) as any Biker. The recognition of similar ideals within these seemingly disparate factions began to channel the energies of the frustrated Bikers into productive action, and helped them to recall (yet modify) the basic biking ethic.
In Central Europe, the existentialist movement had created a strain of avant-garde thinking and behaviour. This had affected the American Beats, a 1960’s literary movement, whose members included Ken Kesey and Allen Ginsberg. Existentialism was a philosophical theory emphasising the existence of the individual as: A free person, who was responsible for their own development. As an ideology, existentialism looked good, but in practice it became misinterpreted and sometimes manifested as anarchy for anarchy’s sake.
The upsurgence in the popularity of university education put libraries full of material on social ideals within the grasp of youth. This gave them the ammunition to kick oppression metaphysically, rather than physically. Sadly, in Europe and elsewhere, fears of political subversion caused negative reactions within the authorities and older generations. It was strongly believed that censorship no longer existed to protect innocence, but was being used at governmental levels to manipulate societal thinking and behaviour. In reaction to all this, propaganda was the buzz-word among alternative factions. This was justified as efforts at liberation and peace (like anti-Vietnam war protests) frequently ended in police violence, acted on the Hippies.
Inspirational books with existentialist themes and other ideals were becoming available. The various publications marked a freedom in literature that was viewed by outsiders as an abuse of literary privilege. That in itself created a mark of acceptability, just as censored films and chart releases have a greater cachét of interest. Hunter Thompson had written: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a voyage in search of the soul of America. Jack Kerouac had set down a travelogue of the mind called On The Road, a trans-USA epic in a car, in 1957. These titles had a flavour of the road about them, and through that medium, cultural changes were made.
The existentialist beats were the impetus for the peace movement. They had been dismayed by events like the assassination of Martin Luther King, and of US President John F. Kennedy. He had represented hope for America’s future, which was now disintegrating. Someone had to make a stand, and through a cultural trip, Ken Kesey and a group called The Merry Pranksters tried to rejuvenate the spirit of America. The bus on which Kesey and his cohorts travelled was called Further, because that’s where these people were taking things.
T. Wolfe recorded the journey in his book, The Kool Aid Acid Test. He describes one particular event that began on Saturday, August 7th, 1965. It was the in-place to be, and an honour to be invited to, a party that was to be held at Ken Kesey’s house. A huge sign at the house read: “The Merry Pranksters Welcome The Hell’s Angels.” Wolfe described how the residents in La Honda, California, were nailing up their doors and windows as if a hurricane was about to strike. The police tested their patrol car lights and sirens, and packed extra ammunition. Kesey had met some Angels earlier, in the company of Hunter Thompson. He had broken the ice by mentioning that he’d been busted for marijuana, which he said made him appear “Cool and less alien” to Angel mentality. He invited them over to La Honda. It was the kind of altruistic extension of love and brotherhood that society regarded as naive. But the rebel groups of the time sincerely believed it could carry them into a less cynical and more soulful world.
Wolfe dropped famous names of Beats at the event, like Alan Ginsberg and Vic Lovell; he also named Angels like Free-Wheelin Frank and Sonny Barger, Barger being the then Angel President. He said how Angels came into strange situations: “Black and wary, sniffing out the adversary, but that didn’t register at this place.” The Angels had no particular edge - they were going to a party. They didn’t need to test the Hippies; they were reveling in their company. Plenty of beer was laid on, as was marijuana and LSD. They drank together, and the Angels tried the drugs. Wolfe noted that the LSD made some of them catatonic, whereas the Hippies soared on it. The Angel lethargy may have been due to the drink-drugs cocktail, however anyone’s first LSD trip can make them quietly pre-occupied. The use of hallucinogens is a steep learning curve, and unless someone has hallucinated themselves, it is difficult to describe what happens at emotional and metaphysical levels. What drugs did under the party conditions was to lubricate, if not fire up pleasant relationships, because the drugs they were using warm the soul. But drugs can only do certain things if the intention exists within the self, because they are also known to exaggerate attitudes. And this can include conditions of the mind not foremost in the thoughts of the user: finding the truth about oneself can be as much repulsive as wonderment.
One Hippy girl decided to let herself get gang-banged (where a female allows several males to indulge in sexual intercourse with a woman, one after the other). Because Hippy culture sometimes viewed sexual relations without attachment as plausible, this was meant to be regarded not as a mass-rape, but as a passive (active?) demonstration of Hippy trust in Hell’s Angels. To the parties involved it was a gesture of the highest order - outsider reactions were of horror.
It was not regarded as wise to insult an Angel, however, according to Wolfe, Kesey accused one of being a bullshit person. Bullshit people were such as politicians and others who tried to enforce standards onto other people, while not necessarily living by such rules themselves. As far as the Angels were concerned, none of them were, but Kesey claimed he couldn’t have said what he’d said without knowing that person. Perhaps it was the uniqueness of the situation, or the drink and drugs, but the Angels shrugged it off. Not even the Pranksters knew what Kesey was getting at, but Wolfe noted that: “As the ultimate verbal shove, it wasn’t met with a similar if not worse reply”. As a meeting between the two US subcultural super-powers, Kesey’s party was going more smoothly than any international summit. No-one forced anything onto a member of their opposite group, and for a few days, everyone had forgotten their anger.
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Cross-over scenes were also happening in the UK and Europe. Because the (UK) Hippies, like the Mods and Rockers, had grown up under similar circumstances if not actually together with Bikers, these happenings were even more relaxed. They were so low-key as to go un-noticed by the media. It was a true underground vibration that caused the spread, from various different places. This is because like-minded thinking, not some dominant dictatorship, was the force behind subcultural development.
On one street of terraced houses, lived a Biker-Hippy, and his wife. He was a hard-working family man, and the local drug squad officer recognised this. He was after people who abused harder stuff, and who abused society’s good will. Nonetheless people were very uncomfortable when he called on social visits. “Watch what you’re pulling out of there,” He’d say with a smile, as they fumbled after roll-up tobacco in their pockets. The Biker-Hippy and his wife had a record collection that embraced both cultures. They also had guitars and harmonicas kicking around, that got well used the more stoned people got. The party here lasted more than a few days, and the relationships between the Bikers and Hippies grew closer. There were no pretenses or atmospheres beyond the natural few seconds it takes to start laughing with a total stranger.
Just up the road was evidence of the couple’s other life. They rented a garage, that was filled with British bikes. It was only their family responsibilities (and the constant stoned state they were in) that caused the machines to get parked up. There were no gang-bangs on this scene, but couples seemed to mingle freely on occasions. People came and went from open houses like these across the UK, at all times of day or night, over a period of several years.
Parks and other public places continued to feature as venues for youth and alternative culture’s development. Smoking dope, riding bikes and discussion were shared activities. Topics hammered out included violence and peace, and a great deal of rational thinking stabilised these factions. They weren’t just tolerant of one another, but actively sought each other’s company.
Inside every storm is a quiet place. What had happened at La Honda, and all over the US and UK, was the meeting of youthful minds. The Hippies had leapt beyond the hyped-up storm-front of Biker society. They were in a position to try to understand the reasons for the furor, just as many Bikers regarded the peace movement as righteous. Any act, including an act of violence, is an isolated incident. It is the discourse leading up to, during and afterwards when the vehicle of logic can break down. The rules of conduct within clubs (and gangs) represent a consensus of opinion that didn’t always gel with other clubs. There are over-riding and unwritten codes of conduct that govern righteous behaviour between them, but any law is susceptible to being misconstrued, if not deliberately broken. This ambiguity was the flaw in gang mentality and logic. It was societal development in the making.
Arbitration hasn’t quelled every disquiet, but the influence of the peace movement on Biker society had substantial benefits, by allowing close-knit Biker units and individuals to see a greater plan. The concept of One Nation, of a shared culture was sprouting. Because it was born in new times, it felt new to these Bikers. But more importantly, it allowed the barriers between them and older generations of Bikers to soften and blur, even as they were being made distinct.
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The Altamont rock festival, in 1969, was more than just a musical occasion. It was to be a coming together of alternative cultures, a sign of unity. The Rolling Stone’s Mick Jagger and Keith Richards had invited Hell’s Angels to police the festival. It was naive yet idyllic of the Stones to think that the Angels could be respected as a peace-keeping force. In the social climate of the time, it was also naive of the Angels to think that their kind of authority would encourage good behaviour - their reputation certainly wasn’t love and peace. The underlying ideal at festivals was that (most) people attending such events were peaceful anyway, and simply needed directions for parking and finding facilities. Marshalling also included assistance with stage erection and security - there were those who would help themselves to guitars, whatever, if they weren’t guarded. Chances are, someone with similar beliefs to your own was more likely to retrieve a wandering Stratocaster than any disinterested copper. To those who believed that the involvement of the authorities would blight the atmosphere of peace, the Angels seemed a good substitute for officers of the law.
The Altamont festival changed the 60’s. There were births, which compounded the belief that society was being renewed. However, there were also deaths, and Angels were charged in connection with them. This put a downer on the peace movement. Among other things that would eventually destroy the initial festival spirit, the arrival of Lager Louts (before they became known as such) was despoiling the altruism. From this time on, some festival organisers included wording like No Pissheads in their advertising.
Some doubt in the Angel’s ability to act as marshalls was allayed in the UK. The Beat Instrumental magazine of August 1969 published a letter describing how they’d kept order at the Brian Jones memorial concert in London’s Hyde Park. Jagger made a speech, based on one of Byron’s poems, saying: “It is we who keep with phantoms and unprofitable strife.” By which he inferred that Brian was now free, but the living were in a tangle. This became acted out, as there was some disturbance - mostly verbal - with the press. Due to their record so far in (miss)representing alternative culture, members of the mass-media were regarded with contempt if not suspicion; and this was not unreasonable. News reportage on the death of Jones had focused on the cause of his death (a drug over-dose). The media again was a far cry from the streets crowded with mourning admirers for a talented musician, and from the free concert, where the Stones released butterflies. With acts like this in focus, the righteousness of youth and alternative culture was stamped indelibly on the crooked face of straight society.
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Besides the efforts of youth and alternative society, various other moves to rationalise the state of biking in the US were also now happening. Small associations like the American Association of Motorcycle Road Racers (AAMRR) and Motorcycle Racers Incorporated (MRI) grew up to regulate Outlaw racing. Even the AMA relinquished old rules and encouraged all competition. This external recognition showed that if true harmony was what people wanted, it could be achieved if only they would recognise others as equals.