Waco "Ride for the First" protest draws hundreds of riders
Let's get something straight. I don't condone groups of grown men getting into brawls in public. People get hurt, people die, and at the end of the fracas, people end up in jail.
The Waco shootout was 'started' by any of a number of things - use of a parking space, someone got called a dirty word, or maybe even a bunch of guys showing up where they weren't welcome, but it boils down to this word: TEXAS.
5 letters, 1 word.
Two rival gangs got into a fight over who gets to display that word on their jackets, and who gets to pay for the privilege. And 9 men died, 18 went to the hospital, and over 170 people went to jail over that one word.
My issue isn't with the brawl. The cops did their jobs, and amazingly, the only people hurt or killed were the brawlers.
My issue is the dragnet and the subsequent judgement of ALL bikers present following the event.
Think about this: If 170+ people got into a fight, why only 18 hurt? Since so many "weapons" were found, why only 9 dead? And if we have cause to doubt that all 170 people were indeed 'involved'... why are a hundred of them still in jail three weeks later?
And what gives anyone the right to hassle anyone else over the patches on their jacket or the vehicle they use?
More thoughts after the fancy pinstripes.
The protest in Waco (which I attended, rode all the way down from Dallas to do so) wasn't about cops shooting bikers. It was all about cops JAILING bikers, and keeping them in jail without a trial. It was about having one's rights whittled away, or being presupposed as guilty by association. It was about being held on bond way out of proportion to the alleged 'crime', which in many of these cases, would be considered exercise of the 1st Amendment right to 'peaceably assemble'.
Of the 100 people currently held in the McLennan County lockup, it is unknown as to how many were actually guilty of fighting in public, or committing murder, or assault upon a peace officer. It's been remarked that in contrast to places like Baltimore or Ferguson, the scenes of the Waco arrests were amazingly calm and relaxed. Keep in mind that, regardless of whether someone wears a Banditos or Cossacks rocker, or that of any other 1%'er group, we ALL have certain rights under the US Constitution:
Amendment 1: "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
The Twin Peaks gathering was EXACTLY such an exercise. Regardless of who showed up, or what happened, the majority of those present were there to discuss matters of pending legislation (15% ethanol fuel, lane splitting, helmet laws, etc.) and motorcycle safety. Apparently, however, the police are stating otherwise, and justifying the mass arrest and incarceration of as many participants as they could round up. This, to me, stinks.
Amendment 6: "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence."
So far, 75 people have been released after posting the original bond, having their bonds reduced via legal counsel, or released without bond after bystanders to the fight stepped forward as character witnesses. Of the remaining 100, most have not yet had access to a lawyer, and are likely in the dark as to what role they specifically played in the melee, other than simply 'being present'. Remember that up until the fight broke out, this was a First Amendment right, and as of yet, everyone is still, legally, allowed to gather, to discuss, and so on.
So the charge of "engaging in criminal activity vis a vis capital murder" is REALLY nebulous, and I doubt any DA will put that in front of a jury - without actually proving that person XYZ attended this gathering SPECIFICALLY to start a fight, the charge is just too vague.
Yet this is exactly how this is being spun in the press. Mugshots are paraded on page one. We are all warned of the "Biker Menace". According to the media, everyone present was there to kill someone. Everyone there was a Bad Person, or 'supported' a Bad Person because they had a patch on their jacket.
I say bullshit.
We want specific charges levied, specific roles accused, or unlock the cells and let these people go home. No ankle bracelets, no GPS monitors. Send them home and leave them alone.
Amendment 8: "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."
One million dollars. That's the BOND imposed on each of those sitting in McLennan County lockup, not by a judge, but by a magistrate, a "justice of the peace". In imposing this bond amount, the JP used the word 'Punitive'... thereby bypassing the trial portion of the whole mess, and going straight to sentencing prior to any guilt or innocence being established.
Think about that. A million dollar bond.
Most of us will never see that much in our entire lifetime. Even a significant portion ($100K) posted as bail would bankrupt a lot of people. So one would expect that for such a high amount, the alleged crime would have to be really egregious. Conspiring to cause a volcanic eruption in downtown LA, for example. Real Evil Genius stuff, right?
Wrong.
Every one of these people are held on $1 Million Dollars Bond... for a bar fight.
Seriously, a BAR FIGHT.
This is so out of proportion it's not even funny.
There is of course a caveat, one I've commented on. One of the clubs involved is huge. Their membership is worldwide, and in the thousands. So theoretically, a lower bond would easily be posted for the club's members out of the club's operating cash, and the Bad People go free. However... as we already stated, no one is really sure WHO the "Bad People" are here. Apparently they're all Bad People, and this bar fight was the preliminary to a statewide pillage and rapine orgy the likes of which us law-abiding folk would not even comprehend. Or, maybe the McLennan County court system simply wants these folks staying put, and doesn't really give a crap over who loses their jobs, whose families can't pay bills, or any of that real life stuff. However, if this is indeed the case, then the McLennan County court has trampled all over the Eighth Amendment... not just once, but over a hundred times.
That's what I'm pissed off about, that no matter where we look, in Ferguson, in Baltimore, in Waco, people's rights are being bludgeoned by the police.
And this is the punchline:
The more we stand silently by and say "They deserved it" or whatever other rationale we come up with, we are agreeing that the Next Time It Happens... it happens to US.
I'm not at all cool with that.
Sun Jun 07, 2015 at 8:32 PM PT: UPDATE:
This is an example of the people caught up in this fracas.
http://www.usatoday.com/...
All fine and good (except they still have to go to trial).
Sun Jun 07, 2015 at 9:37 PM PT: UPDATE again! I found this editorial that is much more eloquent as to the actual issues at hand.
http://www.wacotrib.com/...
And while I expected a few "enh, they're biker scum" comments, most have been thought-provoking.