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Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs and Struggles over Legitimation

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Book cover Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs and Street Gangs

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Risk, Crime and Society ((PSRCS))

Abstract

Legitimation of the informal power of transnational outlaw motorcycle clubs worldwide vis-à-vis the public is becoming an increasing concern for the clubs. Using our research material from the US and Europe, we ask if the use of these strategies of legitimation can be seen in terms of increasing integration of this counterculture into society and the progressive consolidation and entrepreneurialism of the clubs. Specifically, the chapter engages with the increased (1) public relations work of the leading clubs worldwide, activities that could be labeled as (2) ‘corporate social responsibility’ and charity work, and finally (3) the biker lobby that addresses the mainstream political structures and defends libertarian positions with the help of legal professionals.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    81 stands for Hells Angels or the positions of H and A in the alphabet.

  2. 2.

    This ability differs significantly across different European countries, something we need to keep in mind, something that often has to do with the various levels of trust in the government and law enforcement displayed by the population. For instance, in Kuldova’s fieldwork, it has become clear that there is a major difference between countries like Norway, where the citizen ’s trust in the welfare state is very high, as opposed to countries like Germany , where the state is increasingly perceived as lacking legitimacy by a significant portion of the population. This difference is crucial, as outlaw motorcycle clubs thrive in an environment of resentment against the state while having difficulties in acquiring support in an environment of high trust in the state, such as in Norway (Kuldova 2017a, b).

  3. 3.

    A widely reported instance of a biker vigilante group (or Bürgerwehr) was one established following the New Year celebration events in 2016 in Köln. While this group was widely portrayed as anti-immigrant, and the notion of vigilante groups connected to the idea of ‘white men,’ there are also other groups emerging. These imitate the organizational structure and aesthetics of outlaw bikers (albeit without the motorcycles), such as Germany’s Muslims, a vigilante group that aims to protect mosques and Muslims against expressions of ‘islamophobia.’

  4. 4.

    In Germany , for instance, the latest law prohibiting all members of motorcycle clubs whose individual chapters have been prohibited, such as Hells Angels MC , Bandidos MC , and Gremium MC , to wear their patches and club symbols in public space (Vereinsgesetz, revision, 2017, for more details see https://www.bundestag.de/dokumente/textarchiv/2017/kw03-de-vereinsgesetz/487070 /accessed February 10, 2017, in German/).

  5. 5.

    In Kuldova’s fieldwork, among the outlaw motorcycle clubs the difference between the level of seeking public legitimacy between Germany (where pressure from law enforcement and government has been mounting), Austria (where the Hells Angels have a monopoly and as such the climate is more peaceful), and the Czech Republic (where the clubs enjoy little harassment and considerably more freedom than in Germany) is significant. In Germany, attempts at legitimization are common with many efforts invested in positive PR . In contrast, in Austria, public outreach is less common and limited to ‘open house’ events, parties, and weekend events, where the public can participate. In the Czech Republic, on the other hand, the clubs use their relative freedom to actively promote and popularize the subculture and expand. Hence, events are directed more at popularization than at legitimization—though the two often go hand in hand.

  6. 6.

    https://hells-angels.com/world/charter-list/ (accessed August 10, 2017).

  7. 7.

    We could speculate here that it is no coincidence that this listing as a ‘public and government service’ popped up in Italy, the mafia having been in the business of providing protection and services normally reserved to the state and having been influential on other groups attempting to imitate it, at least partially (Skaperdas 2001; Paoli 2008).

  8. 8.

    Reproduced in the online blog by Donald Charles Davis or else Aging Rebel, http://www.agingrebel.com/13428 (accessed July 16, 2017).

  9. 9.

    Interview with Fritz Clapp, September 18, 2015, California (Kuldova).

  10. 10.

    ‘Unter falscher Flagge: Hells Angels gegen Marken-Missbrauch’ Biker News 07/17, pp. 18–21.

  11. 11.

    For example, Barger’s Arizona Motorcycle shop(s); see Paul DeRienzo 2000. Sonny Barger Interview http://pdr.autono.net/SonnyBarger.html. It is almost impossible to imagine that clandestine activity could occur at the known business place of a figure such as Barger.

  12. 12.

    Friendly relations between Hollywood stars and the Hells Angels have been obvious; for instance, during the 60th anniversary of the Oakland charter celebrated in Paris in May 2017, Mickey Rourke was present (without serving any official/public function in the event).

  13. 13.

    For instance, several tattoo conventions across Europe are directly organized by the Hells Angels, or in collaboration with the club; an example would be the yearly Tattoo Convention in Prague (est. 1998) or the Austrian traveling Wildstyle & Tattoo Messe (est. 1995).

  14. 14.

    For more details, see http://vdl.route81.com/hjem/historien/ (site in Danish, accessed July 17, 2017).

  15. 15.

    See, for example, the report of the German Bundeskriminalamt, BKA (Federal Criminal Police Office), Organisierte Kriminalität: Bundeslagebild 2015, p. 36, https://www.bka.de/DE/AktuelleInformationen/StatistikenLagebilder/Lagebilder/OrganisierteKriminalitaet/organisiertekriminalitaet_node.html;jsessionid=3D24D1144E658C5EFAAB8BE5779F1B23.live2301 (accessed June 27, 2017).

  16. 16.

    http://www.rcvsmc.net/id21.html (accessed July 10, 2017).

  17. 17.

    http://payback.name/ (accessed July 16, 2017).

  18. 18.

    For example, http://www.bikertrashnetwork.com/ http://bnews.chopperguy.net/ https://www.instagram.com/hellsangels_mc/ https://twitter.com/HELLS_ANGELS_81 http://www.agingrebel.com/ (accessed July 18, 2017).

  19. 19.

    http://www.bikersnews.de/blog/hells+angels+mc+kampf+gegen+diskriminierendes+waffenverbot_178.html (translated from German, accessed August 10, 2018).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Oslo, Blindern, Oslo, Norway

    Tereza Kuldova

  2. University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Tereza Kuldova

  3. Independent Researcher, Denton, TX, USA

    James Quinn

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  1. Tereza Kuldova
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Oslo, Blindern, Oslo, Norway

    Tereza Kuldova

  2. University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Martín Sánchez-Jankowski

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Kuldova, T., Quinn, J. (2018). Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs and Struggles over Legitimation. In: Kuldova, T., Sánchez-Jankowski, M. (eds) Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs and Street Gangs. Palgrave Studies in Risk, Crime and Society. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76120-6_7

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