By Bruce Arnold

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Fellow Riders and Freedom Fighters:

Across our nation and throughout the year, "bikers" are called upon to ride for this cause and donate to that charity. And now that the holidays are upon us, requests that we "open our hearts and wallets" will be pervasive.

That's all well and good. Those of us with something extra should be willing to help those who are truly needy and deserving. But being "needy and deserving" should not be the only test a charity has to pass to get a bucket of biker bucks. We must also consider where the money will actually go, and how it will ultimately be used. Before we let those eagles fly, we need to know whether the net result will be complementary ... or counterproductive.

What I Mean By "Counterproductive"

Let's say, for example, your SMRO is asked to sponsor a poker run to raise money to fight some nasty-sounding disease or disorder. Who gets the money? The afflicted patients' families, their doctors, the hospitals, or some physicians' research institute? If the answer is "the families", will it not then be applied to medical bills and insurance premiums? One way or the other, will not most or all of the money end up in the hands of doctors, healthcare firms or insurance companies? And will they not in turn spend at least some of what was our money to lobby against freedom of choice and other motorcyclists' rights?

Everyday and everywhere motorcyclists--our brothers and sisters--are being injured, maimed, crippled and killed in accidents resulting from right-of-way violations (ROWVs) by care-less, negligent, distracted and impaired cagers:

http://tinyurl.com/6nmvcg

And everyday and everywhere safetycrats ... paid with our tax dollars and appointed by politicians elected with our contributions ... ally themselves with healthcare and insurance lobbyists bankrolled by our premium payments and charitable donations to condemn motorcyclists for the "social costs" of all this carnage ... unjustly and unacceptably blaming the victims for the crimes. Must we continue to donate the dollars directed to deride and defeat us?!?

What I Mean By "Complementary"

Bikers may like breasts, but we are not breasts. We do not have to feed the mouths that bite us. And we do not have to look outside of our tribe to find potential beneficiaries who are needy and deserving. According to NHTSA, nationwide last year 103,000 motorcyclists were injured and 5,154 were killed in traffic accidents:

http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811017.PDF

That's more than 108,000 biker households who suffered loss of income, limb or life, incurring catastrophic medical costs and other expenses to boot. And I ask you:

WHO IS MORE DESERVING OF BIKER CHARITY THAN OUR OWN?

This holiday season, please remember the brothers and sisters in your area who went down, and do what you can to make sure their families have something under the tree. Even a small gift from you could mean the world to them.

Happy Holidays!

Bruce Arnold :-)

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