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Originally Posted by ngdawg
Patriot Guard is not 'similar' to what you're suggesting. It is not anti-protestor, anti-demonstrator, anti-anything. What it IS is support for the military and their families. We provide escort and honor flag lines when it's requested. We escort and welcome home returning soliders and escort and/or support sendoffs. ALL is by invitation ONLY. It is NOT a biker group, biker club or MC-many don't even own bikes, including a few of our State Captains. We work with the military quite frequently.
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Patriot Guard isn't a club. Iron Nation is. I don't know if Patriot Guard accepts club members as riders (being neither American nor a biker, I can't say I've looked into the organization in any great detail), but I don't think it's a huge leap to assume these guys were there as part of the Patriot Guard (or at least in the same spirit), as they seem to have fulfilled the same function:
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Originally Posted by PGR website
Our main mission is to attend the funeral services of fallen American heroes as invited guests of the family. Each mission we undertake has two basic objectives.
1. Show our sincere respect for our fallen heroes, their families, and their communities.
2. Shield the mourning family and friends from interruptions created by any protestor or group of protestors.
We accomplish the latter through strictly legal and non-violent means.
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Biker clubs are by and large not terrible people. There are a few high profile examples to the contrary, but you don't hear about the groups who don't cause any trouble. On the other had, there's a certain machismo that runs through the subculture and a certain disregard for authority and/or custom is part of that. Wearing the double lightning bolts of the SS may be an example, whereas I doubt the same individual would wear a swastika. I realize the difference is a subtle one, but the swastika carries a far greater and more overt message. The SS was a military group, whereas the swastika symbolized an ideology.
This is all just extrapolations based on my own experiences, of course.
This is an excerpt from the Iron Nation website. It's a bit overwrought, but it gets the point across. Anyone wanting to read the whole thing can find the site with a quick google search (it's the first result) but I warn you; their site is like a clinic in bad website design.
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Originally Posted by Iron Nation MC
I saw you;
hug your purse closer to you in the grocery store line.
But, you didn't see me;
put an extra $10.00 in the collection plate last Sunday.
I saw you;
pull your child closer when we passed each other on the sidewalk.
But, you didn't see me,
playing Santa at the local mall.
I saw you;
change your mind about going into the restaurant.
But, you didn't see me,
attending a meeting to raise more money for the hurricane relief.
I saw you;
roll up your window and shake your head when I drove by.
But, you didn't see me, driving behind you when you flicked your cigarette butt in my face out your car window.
I saw you;
frown at me when I smiled at your children.
But, you didn't see me,
when I took time off from work to run toys to the homeless.
I saw you;
stare at my long hair.
But, you didn't see me,
and my friends cut ten inches off for Locks of Love.
I saw you;
roll your eyes at our leather coats and gloves.
But, you didn't see me,
and my brothers donate our old coats and gloves to those that had none.
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I find that this relates much more closely to the majority of the bikers I've known, as opposed to the stereotypical gang member image.