carnivorous chicken
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I teach a course on governance and social norms that covers a variety of material. One of the authors I assign writes about "nod lines" -- where members of a group recognize each and make acknowledge with a nod. I've taught this course a few times over the years, and I always brought up the motorcycle nod or wave -- and include the dig that most Harley riders won't nod or wave to anyone else not on a Harley (although I also know there are exceptions, especially regionally -- here in Boston I get more waves from Harley riders than in Phoenix, maybe shorter riding season? Fewer folks on bikes? I digress...). This term, one of my students took it and ran, and wrote his term paper on the subject. He did a bang up job, interviewing folks at biker hangouts and finding some academic literature related to this kind of behavior. I should add -- he chose it because he rides a Japanese bike, and he got the example I gave.
He chalked it up to snobbishness and elitism on the part of Harley riders, wanting to maintain a distance from people who ride other bikes. Makes sense to me.
But I also tend to think that it's the newer, stereotypical Harley riders who try to maintain this snobbishness. And that, in turn, makes me think they're the dipshits. I've DJed at Hell's Angels and other events, and always rode my old Japanese bikes to the events (when I could). The older (wiser) guys always appreciated it, the younger guys turned up their nose (which also leads me to believe, based on behavior of some of the younger guys, that HA and others have a weeding out system (prison, basically, as well as other gangs --- err, clubs) which means that the older guys who are still around are the smarter ones).
Where I am now it's a little different from Phoenix, like I said. When I need something like fuel line I visit a local Harley shop first -- the guy is older and has been in the game for a long time, he likes my old bikes, he never charges me much because he knows I've been doing it for a while and I'm not an idiot. The local shop that services old Japanese bikes charges more per hour than the Harley shop, the guy is in a perpetual bad mood, and his prices for shit are ridiculous.
My question is: what's your nod line like where you are? Why?
He chalked it up to snobbishness and elitism on the part of Harley riders, wanting to maintain a distance from people who ride other bikes. Makes sense to me.
But I also tend to think that it's the newer, stereotypical Harley riders who try to maintain this snobbishness. And that, in turn, makes me think they're the dipshits. I've DJed at Hell's Angels and other events, and always rode my old Japanese bikes to the events (when I could). The older (wiser) guys always appreciated it, the younger guys turned up their nose (which also leads me to believe, based on behavior of some of the younger guys, that HA and others have a weeding out system (prison, basically, as well as other gangs --- err, clubs) which means that the older guys who are still around are the smarter ones).
Where I am now it's a little different from Phoenix, like I said. When I need something like fuel line I visit a local Harley shop first -- the guy is older and has been in the game for a long time, he likes my old bikes, he never charges me much because he knows I've been doing it for a while and I'm not an idiot. The local shop that services old Japanese bikes charges more per hour than the Harley shop, the guy is in a perpetual bad mood, and his prices for shit are ridiculous.
My question is: what's your nod line like where you are? Why?