skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Catch us live on BlogTalkRadio every
Tuesday & Thursday at 6pm P.S.T.
OFF THE WIRE
by Tony Pan Sanfelipo
Resist Injustice
With a renewed ambition around the country to challenge
mandatory helmet
laws, there has been some discussion by individuals questioning the use
of
disobedience to existing laws. When BOLT members began a campaign of
disobedience in California, they were ridiculed and condemned as
trouble-makers. BOLT's stance on the existing helmet law was sure to
bring the wrath of the enforcement community down on all bikers.
Sadly, it took others in that state a few years to catch on to the theory
that these laws could and should be challenged. A short, or should I say long,
three years later, there are several important court cases on record to cite, an
injunction against further police stops for beanie helmets, an appeal to the
Ninth Circuit Court reinstating some of the police power, etc., etc.
There seems to be a cluster fuck going on out there as to what is the
correct interpretation of the injunction, or what the proper enforcement
practice should be (which is exactly what BOLT had
intended -- massive confusion on the streets, in the courts and in the
Legislature). The frustration is further exasperated by the fact that
some members of the motorcycle community still don't understand it all,
and
others think that continued disobedience will bring more trouble to the
bikers.
It's that lack of understanding, that lack of support by our own kind
that is
our biggest problem. The "don't make waves and the problem will go
away"
mentality is our biggest enemy. More so than the law enforcement
agencies that
continue to stop and harass us. More so than the NHTSA overstepping
it's
authority and charge of duty by engaging in activities far beyond the
scope and
definition of it's purpose.
What I'm talking about is moderate position of devotion to order, acceptance
of arbitrary rules in exchange for peaceful existence. I've always admired
those peoples who would sacrifice freedom and blood in search of their
liberties. We have been under the yoke of the protectionist governmental
agencies and the various states for a long time, but we haven't paid much of a
price for our freedom as compared to others who sought redress from their
government. Those who came before us with a passion for their cause almost
always succeeded fully or to some great degree.
We don't have to resort to violence, but civil disobedience and resistance
to these ridiculous mandatory helmet laws should be the only mandatory thing we
recognize. Those among us who try to stifle our attempts in the name of order
are the real problem in our movement today. When Martin Luther King was jailed
in Birmingham, he wrote a letter to the clergymen who criticized his marches as
being disruptive. Two parts of that letter summed up the sentiments I'm trying
to relay to you here.
First he said, "...an individual who breaks a law that conscience
tells him is unjust, and willingly accepts the penalty by staying in jail to
arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality
expressing the very highest respect for law."
He went on to conclude that his people's biggest stumbling block to freedom
wasn't the oppressive hate groups or police, but rather, "...the white
moderate who is more devoted to 'order' than to justice; who prefers a negative
peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence
of justice; who constantly says, 'I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I
can't agree with your methods of direct action'; who paternalistically feels
that he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by the myth
of time and who constantly advises to wait until a more convenient season.
Shallow understanding from people of goodwill is more frustrating than absolute
misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more
bewildering than outright rejection."
If you live in a helmet law state, you should be out resisting that law with
every fiber of your being, unless you agree with it of course. If you aren't
willing to accept that price, you should at least support those who are willing
to face those repressive laws in any way you can. This isn't about safety, as
some uninformed or misguided shallow thinkers claim. Anyone should be allowed
to wear a helmet if they think it will provide them some form of protection.
Nobody should be forced to wear one by any government agency or bureaucratic
Nimrod, by any sanctimonious legislative traitor to our Republic, or by any private
interest (criminal) insurance representatives.
Pan