Lately I have seen more and more patches (upper rockers) on vests. What used to be the sole uniform of one percent motorcycle clubs has now been adopted by various associations, federations, and confederations.
While it’s incongruous to see a ninety nine percent club wearing a one percent-type cut (especially Christian ones), it is even odder to see ‘independents’ and lone wolves wearing these patches. It’s like I call myself French, but wear an English uniform, or call myself a soldier but wear Marine clothing. It produces a sort of cognitive dissonance in me – two opposing ideas trying to coexist.
Not satisfied with just a bit of incongruity, these ostensible lone wolves even wear a middle patch…
I just have to wonder how independent a person is if he or she wears a patch in emulation of others, of clubs that are definitely not independents. I can get the whole patch thing – the Army is filled with various patches and badges and etc. It is cool to wear patches that have been honorably earned, ones that set you apart from others, and are recognized as badges of honor and accomplishment. Yet I flash back onto the old USMC uniform – it didn’t have a nametag, or even a USMC tag. It didn’t have a unit patch, or any badges or other accoutrements. It was simply a blouse with the globe and anchor stamped onto it. No name, and none needed. All Marines, all riflemen, all interchangeable. I thought that was kinda classy. They knew who they were, and didn’t care if anybody else did. I like that.
So while the ‘Army’ part of me gets the whole patch bit, the ‘Marine’ part of me wonders why a person needs a patch to display who they are, how they are affiliated, or whatever. If you look at me walking down the street at some rally, would you need to see a patch to see if I ‘take care of business’? Would you need to see a patch to tell if I fit in better with the vast majority, or with the one percent (or less)?
Still, as potentially ludicrous as it seems, I support all peoples’ right to wear any damn-fool thing they want. Yet I can’t help but think the best way to show I am a lone wolf is to…not wear a patch, or a cut, or anything else – just wear whatever I ride best in.
Would that express my individuality? Would that show I am unaffiliated? I dunno. Maybe I need a patch saying ‘Jed, the Saddletramp’ so everyone can tell who and what I am. Yet I think how I walk and talk and act shows that. How I ride and who I ride with (or don’t) might give a hint about that…to the observant.
By golly, people have even done Masters’ dissertations on this…
https://ttu-ir.tdl.org/ttu-ir/bitstream/handle/2346/20284/31295019190353.pdf?sequence=1
This is one of those questions that has no right answer; each biker does what he or she chooses, and lives with the results. I’d like to interview a few of the guys who wear such patches and hear their experiences. I can imagine some one percent clubs don’t dig it (and are quite, uh…vocal about their disagreement). Still, I can only imagine, so instead I’ll ask those I meet on the road. Should be interesting, and may result in a follow-up blog at some point.
Until then, I can only wonder…and maybe grin a bit as these lone wolves saunter down the road, looking like some outlaw from a distance. Is it the invasion of the Mongols? Is the Red Machine roaring into town? Uh, no…as my eyes focus better, I see it’s just a Lone Wolf, wearing a patch like some non-lone wolf (a ‘clubber’).
So, he’s basically an independent, unaffiliated rider like me, except…he has patches. Instead of buying a K&N air filter for his bike (or some other performance improvement or necessary riding gear), this guy went out and bought a
Big ole middle patch ($24.99 at e-Bay)
A 12″ lower ‘rocker’ (patch) ($12.99 at e-Bay), and presumably an upper patch (possibly saying ‘Independent’) for the same price.
…and sewed them on a leather vest
($250 at Harley, for a nice ‘distressed’ one so you look like a salty ole veteran, or about a third of that if you go for a cheap vest).
Well, that’s (let’s see, uh…) 26 for rockers, 25 for middle patch and 250 for the vest, uh…about three hundred bucks to show the world you are an independent lone wolf. The price of a new set of tires, or thousands of miles worth of gas, stuff a real lone wolf could use.
It begins to seem blatantly affected, perhaps a symptom of our ‘fronting’ culture, where people seek easily recognizable icons to identify their group or affiliation. It begins to look like this travesty…
$54.88-79.99 at Amazon.com
Not shown are the affected chain wallet, hip knife (a Bowie, preferably), and illegal S&W M&P Shield in the back pocket, for real ‘realism’. Well, maybe we don’t need to go as far as that (it’s a felony), but maybe a plastic replica to scare off any bad guys who aren’t intimidated by the SOA vest.
I can only imagine the ‘adventures’ one might have, wearing this around other bikers (especially one percenters). Who knows? With the right face and expression, and perhaps a bit of self-deprecating humor, one might get away with it. Might.
Still, to wear a fake ‘cut’ can be seen as an affront to the one percent MCs….and possibly to the legitimate associations. No one likes someone who trivializes what you hold dear. To those outlaws, cuts and patches are earned, not bought on Amazon. Just like the Army tries to ‘protect its tabs’ and prevent ‘stolen valor’, MCs want to protect their rockers. They want to keep patches for those who have earned them, through actions.
The other potentially offensive thing about ‘independent’ cuts is that they implicitly denigrate MCs and the MC lifestyle. Patches with ‘no rules, just ride’ imply those other clubbers are weighted down with rules, while lone wolves just ride…without rules. It’s kind of a passive-aggressive way of snubbing your nose at those guys. Nobody is gonna like that.
Patches trying to make one seem more elite than the one percent are even more of an affront. The one percenter acts and lives in ways that define him as a one percenter. All it takes to wear a 0% patch is $12.95 at e-Bay. You can be a compliant, complacent RUB (Rich Urban Biker) and wear a zero percent patch.
Running around hollering independent is like someone running around saying you are free and others are somehow slaves or dependent on the club. No one’s gonna dig that.
Free rider assumes others aren’t free…and no American iron-riding outlaw is gonna dig that. It could even get ugly, if you met the wrong guys in the wrong place, at the wrong time.
To me, part of being independent is that you just ride, giving respect to all, and simply ride on through, without calling attention to yourself or fronting what an independent fuck you are. Poking the bear is never a good idea. Emulating outlaws, wearing outlaw type clothing, and subtly poking fun at outlaws is like poking a grizzly bear. It just don’t make sense; it’s like pissing into the wind.
So,, while I defend the right of any rider to wear whatever he or she wants, I also would not be surprised if they A) didn’t make any friends among clubbers wearing that shit and B) if they got the boots put to them for their hubris and fronting.
This lone wolf wears a sort of uniform – whatever clothes make riding more safe and comfortable. Whatever clothes allow me to ride without bothering anyone or offending them. I just want to ride and let ride, to leave people alone and be left alone.
My uniform is the look in my eyes as I roll up after a nice ride. It is the dirt on my bike from exploring the back roads of the mountains. It is the fact that I arrive as a ‘lone wolf’…alone.
Note: Today I’m going to a biker event; the annual ‘humdinger’ at High Country Harley Davidson (Frederick, CO, my home dealer). While there, I’ll ask a lot of clubbers what they think of this, and independent patch wearers, if I can find them. If I get any good feedback or stories related to asking, I’ll do a follow up blog. Your comments and thoughts on this are welcome. Let the discussion begin! Just refrain from calling each other poopy-pants, okay?
Tales of a Lone Wolf 