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The Texas Biker Gang Shoot-Out

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Re: The Texas Biker Gang Shoot-Out

#51

Post by AnimalMuppet »

learc83 wrote: post #21
duaneb wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I really don't think that we should have a problem with the removal of such people from our society. The devil is in the details. I think that most people would happen to agree, but I don't approve of e.g. capital punishment or arresting based on being associated with a gang involved in criminal activity. These kinds of reactions don't just affect the current generation, they affect that generation's kids. Only reh…

The funny part is that many of the people arrested weren't part of gangs that are even alleged to be involved in criminal activity (until that day). Many of them weren't in the Bandidos and Cossacks, but regular 99% biker clubs. Some of the guys arrested were in the Soldiers for Jesus Christian Motorcycle Club, not some outlaw biker gang.

> Some of the guys arrested were in the Soldiers for Jesus Christian Motorcycle Club.

Did you get that from the article, or do you have additional sources? The article had one photo of a Christian biker (or rather, one photo of a biker and the caption said he was with a Christian club). The caption did not say that he (or others with the club) were at Twin Peaks, nor did the article mention them whatsoever. Or did I miss something?

To me, it seemed really odd, like the article was trying to say "see, some of these bikers are really decent people" and imply that some of them were there at Twin Peaks that day, when they really weren't.

Re: The Texas Biker Gang Shoot-Out

#52

Post by mikestew »

douche wrote: post #37

Are biker gangs on the rise following Sons of Anarchy, which depicted outlaw biker gangs in a semi-glorious(?) light, or are they just getting more media attention? The Hell's Angels and such have been around forever, but I never much heard about them until a couple of years ago.

I think you answered your own question. The Hells Angels have been around for-...well, since just after WWII. Hunter S. Thompson wrote a book about them. Made somewhat famous when they provided security for a Rolling Stones concert in Altamont, CA and a concert-goer ended up getting stabbed. Much like Sons of Anarchy, the bikes are just a prop; they're really just organized crime. But they've been around, occasionally making news. I probably run in different circles than you do, but Hells Angels have always been popping up in the news from time to time over the years.

Are people watching _Sons of Anarchy_ and saying, "I want to join an outlaw biker gang?", and hence "on the rise" as you put it? I dunno, when _Goodfellas_ or _The Sopranos_ came out, did the mafia start to be "on the rise"? No. Such things might get more attention by the media when the topic comes out in popular media, which might sell more ads, so more stories are produced.

Re: The Texas Biker Gang Shoot-Out

#53

Post by nosuchthing »

ambiate wrote: post #43

I have lived in Waco for 5+ years. Never experienced a 'biker gang' or heard of biker related violence here. I had my run with the law that disenchanted me. I saw a city worker stealing mail. I was laughed at by the police officer and almost charged for wrongfully calling 911. City worker tried slamming their car door in my face while I was talking to the officer, and the officer laughed again. I just walked away at…

Police almost seem like sales people on commission.. Except their sales quotas put people in prison.

Re: The Texas Biker Gang Shoot-Out

#54

Post by caseysoftware »

freditup wrote: post #27
jbob2000 wrote: post #2

Police say it's the bikers, bikers say it's the police. I don't trust either of them.

Who can tell? Although I bet both groups have some amount of culpability in this one. We'll probably never know for sure what really happened, except possibly if there's video available.

Supposedly there is video footage and there are ballistics reports. So far - as noted in the article - the Waco police have suppressed it.

Since we're over 4 months later, I'm not sure how they're still being held without trial. Criminal thugs or not, they MUST have their day in court and the opportunity to defend themselves.

Or the system is all a sham after all..

Re: The Texas Biker Gang Shoot-Out

#55

Post by nickbauman »

nosuchthing wrote: post #38
nickbauman wrote: post #6

Gangs form around an economy. In the case of OMGs, the economy is drug and human trafficking, extortion, contract slaying and various other illicit businesses. Many OMGs are made up of a large percentage of ex military, with the USMC highly represented. Ditto for police forces, maybe not as much USMC. Considering how many soldiers we have, it's no surprise that OMGs are on the rise. You can thank the GWoT for that. T…

Read the article and you'll see it's more about the legal aspects of a situation where 177 people were indiscriminately sent to jail on rubber stamped charges. Imagine being in an IRC channel with a 200 people and 10 of them got into a fight, presumably hacked each other, and than everyone in the channel is arrested on felony charges, and sent to jail with $100,000 bonds. Allegedly there may have been provocation and…

No I saw that. But this is Texas we're talking about. Texas is one of the most corrupt states when it comes to criminal justice. There have been articles written about how people end up stuck in the system for years based on only one charge of vagrancy. Lubbock is one of the worst places to get arrested in the US, for example.

Re: The Texas Biker Gang Shoot-Out

#56

Post by learc83 »

a3n wrote: post #49
aianus wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I doubt human trafficking would be competitive against legal brothels.

There will always be people with more exotic tastes than a legal brothel will cater to. There will always be human trafficking.

That's entirely possible. Just like there are people who have "exotic" taste for moonshine (or want to avoid taxes), but we have a lot less problems with bootleggers now than we did during prohibition.

Re: The Texas Biker Gang Shoot-Out

#57

Post by a3n »

learc83 wrote: post #56
a3n wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There will always be people with more exotic tastes than a legal brothel will cater to. There will always be human trafficking.

That's entirely possible. Just like there are people who have "exotic" taste for moonshine (or want to avoid taxes), but we have a lot less problems with bootleggers now than we did during prohibition.

I agree completely, and I would rather see prostitution legalized.

Re: The Texas Biker Gang Shoot-Out

#58

Post by kazinator »

kasey_junk wrote: post #18
T-Roy wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

charged != convicted

Nope but in this case it does mean "spent lots (~a month) of time in jail and lost your job".

The justice system can also pull innocent away people from their jobs and families by calling them out to jury duty.
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