Thunder Roads Magazine of Oklahoma/Arkansas June 2015 | Page 6

Letter from the Editor:
Hello to all Motorcycle Club Members, Associations, Organizations, Independents, Ministries,
Patchholders, Bikers and Riders! (Note: No Gangs were mentioned.)
That may be a long salutation, but this editorial letter has been one of the most difficult ones I’ve
ever written. I feel an overwhelming sadness in our motorcycling community as the number of deaths
of riders on the highway has exceeded that of the same month in many previous years. But not only
that, our community has lost 9 members of our riding community to gunfire amongst grand amounts of
skepticism and negative criticism of our riding community in general. It’s a sad situation that not only
were 9 killed but 170 are now being held on Million Dollar bonds which appear as if most of them were
simply attending a meeting that many of us have attended in an effort to keep peace and justice among
the riders and the world around us. The irony of a shootout with the police in a meeting where legislation
and club guidelines are discussed to keep us safe while we are all riding the black tar of America side
by side.
I cannot say that I have any intel as to what business was to be discussed in Waco that day or if
any of those involved are actual guilty partners to any criminal acts. However, I do know that there are
170 people who are losing their livelihood and their rights are stripped while they sit awaiting a trial on
what appears to me to be an unjust bond. This could have been me or a number of my friends as I’ve
attended many Confederation of Club meetings. These people are all being held on charges of engaging
in organized crime, the underlying crime being capital murder. There’s a high possibility that the bullets
came from those police officers who have all been suspended. Why were they there when all this went
down anyways? I would be shocked to think that any of the clubs would have attended this meeting had
they known, as the media leads us to believe, that there was a fight planned between the rivaling clubs.
In my experience, motorcycle clubs, questionable or not, have kept their “club business” discrete and out
of the public eye. As a matter of fact, it’s questionable as to whether they would have held a business
meeting of any substantial questionable agenda on a public patio of a public restaurant such as Twin
Peaks. It all raises so many sketchy questions for me.
Lastly, I have to say to the many non-riders and independents who have asked me, yes, I have friends
and acquaintances who are in clubs, groups, organizations, associations, chapters…the list goes on.
I have not in all my years of riding or owning and operating Thunder Roads Magazine OK/AR, felt that
I was in danger around any of them