The Patch Holder by E.T. (3 of 3)
July/24/2011 Filed in: Hangarounds and Prospects
The Patch Holder
You've put in your time as a hangaround. You've worked for half a year as a prospect. You've earned the trust and brotherhood (and hopefully the affection) of your chapter. Your sponsor stands up at a meeting and makes a motion. Time to lay the cards on the table. You leave the room, butterflies in your stomach. You're sure you've done everything you could and should have done; you just hope the majority of the patch holders in your chapter agree. You stand around, feeling awkward at being outside the meeting, but after a span that probably seems much longer than it really is, the Sergeant at Arms calls you back into the room. The President probably makes you sweat for a couple of minutes, leaving you unsure of the vote before cracking a smile and welcoming you to the family. The SA stands you in front of everyone, your back to the crowd as he places four safety pins in the corners of a shiny new Pickle Patch, attaching it to your Gold vest. You feel ten feet tall. What time is it? Party Time, of course!
Fun
This one is pretty obvious. It's what everybody, even (especially?) the non-riding public, sees from the outside. Riding with your brothers and sisters. Bar hopping, road trips, parties and bike runs. The glossy finish on the paint job of our lifestyle. It's most likely what attracted us to an MC in the first place. But this aspect alone isn't enough to create the loyalty and inspire the devotion most of us have for our club.
Acceptance
One of the really cool things about Gypsy MC is how accepting we are as an organization. So many groups, especially MCs, tend to be very specific about who they'll accept. With us, you just have to be old enough to ride, have a bike, and ride it to qualify. Not that you're a shoe-in, of course – there are no guarantees. That just gets your foot in the door. We still have to see your character and personality. Once you've proven your character makes you Gypsy material, we don't care what brand you ride. We don't even care what style bike it is. Full dresser, cruiser, bagger, home grown chopper, high dollar turnkey custom, cafe, crotch rocket, dual sport. Hell, we don't even care if you built it yourself out of tin cans, as long as it's at least a 250cc, street legal and can keep up.
You can be independently wealthy, self employed, blue collar, white collar, retired, or collecting disability checks. We don't give a damn about your wealth or lack of it. As long as you keep your bike on the road and can get yourself to runs, you're good.
We also don't care if you're a man or a woman, Christian, Jew, Wiccan, Buddhist or atheist. You'll most likely find a kindred “spirit” among our Gold family. White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, Indian, mixed heritage. Republican, Democrat, Tea Party, Coffee Party, Green, Libertarian, whatever your political affiliation – doesn't matter. You may wind up debating a lot, or avoiding political talk, but it won't keep you out of our family.
Brotherhood
Yeah, everybody talks about it. Every douchebag frat boy and biker wannabe at the bar throws around the word “bro” until it means nothing. Except to us. For us, it's short for “brother”. And much like telling a woman “I love you”, I'm not about to say it unless I mean it. When you put that Gold vest on, you're joining (or taking the steps to) a family. Family may not always get along, but they're always family. Now, it's true that not all your brothers (or sisters) are Gypsies, and sadly, there are some members who will prove themselves not to be your brothers. However, unlike independents, all Gypsies get the benefit of the doubt. When I meet a Gypsy for the first time, I will and do call him or her “brother” or “sister”. Because I intend to treat them just like I treat my blood family. When you're part of a family this big, you know you can roam damn near half the country and be approximately two phone calls from seeing a friendly face; from the Rio Grande Valley to Wichita, Kansas, from Arizona to Florida. Actually, when you get to the RGV, you can keep going south and visit our family in Mexico, and you can fly over to Germany to visit the Bavarian branch of the family.
Purpose
Part of the reason for belonging to Gypsy MC is to be a part of something bigger than yourself. You're not just an independent individual anymore. Sure, you're still an independent person: you're you, with your own thoughts, ideas, beliefs, desires and dreams. But now, you're a part of a whole group that meshes together as one. It's a cliché, but it fits: United we stand, divided we fall. We have more strength as a unified group than we would as an unorganized mob. Together, we put on benefit events to help fellow members in need or help members of our communities. We ban together to raise money for various charities. Sure, we party while we do it, but we do it. Bikers raise more money per person for charity than any other group in this country, if not the world. We also have become a force to be reckoned with in the political arena. Sure, it can be argued that bikers as a whole are part of that force, independents included, through membership of the many Motorcycle Rights Organizations. However, as a common group, with a common line of communication, we are even more organized and able to spread word throughout our ranks.
So there you go. Why we do what we do. Because we can be a family, welcoming anyone to our ranks. A family who is there for each other, and for others in need, who fights for what we believe in, and who has fun doing it.
This is why I can say this:
Gypsy Forever, Forever Gypsy
Live Gypsy, Die Gypsy
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