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Post by dynadaddy on Sept 13, 2009 6:08:36 GMT -6
Same reason you cannot smoke or feed ducks in Surfside Beach,nanny laws. You can go out & be active or stay home behind a keyboard. 100s of 1000s of activist were in DC yesterday protesting. It's going to take alot more than a boycott.It's going to take knocking on doors,signing people up to vote & letting the powers to be know we are coming into the city. General Patten said it best.If we all think alike then somebody isn't thinking. Take care bro,ride safe & hope to see ya at candlelight vigil or elks run. See flyers
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Post by dynadaddy on Sept 13, 2009 6:16:51 GMT -6
I've been quiet up till now but what happened to "Not a Dine in '09" and maybe "Again in 2010" that you have been preaching so heavily Bird? I live in the City so I have no choice other to wear my helmet and drive through the City like Range & Train. But I'm far from burying the axe with the City and do any business until I know what kind of support we are going to get from BOOST and HELP durring the election and what we end up with after. So far I'm not seeing too much in our favor or request for our support from any organization or canidate. Rhodes and Gray must go as a package or we're in trouble. As much as some people don't like McBride he must be elected along with Karon & Donny. Randal Wallace is ok, he is anti-helmet and would side with Karon & Donny in a heart beat (I know him). Mcbride is the reason Rhodes got into office.He cannot be trusted anymore today than when he was in office before. As far as organizations go then now is show time but unless people are voting in our favor & residents are sick of the present administration then nothing will change.
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Post by dynadaddy on Sept 13, 2009 6:17:32 GMT -6
Bird, Had a great time yesterday & last night,awesome show!
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Post by Pat on Sept 13, 2009 7:17:19 GMT -6
Thanks for the insight Pat. Let me be the one to pose a question to all. Perhaps it will enlighten me? Why, suddenly, is it okay to roll over to the laws of Myrtle Beach and allow them to demand that we wear helmets in a State that has no law. It isn't, and of all the ordinances that were passed, that one seems to me to be on the shakiest legal ground, although the whole raft of ordinances runs up against 1st amendment issues in my mind since they stated explicitly their purpose was not "public safety" but to deliberately harrass a certain class of citizens out of MB. The lawsuits are winding their way through the docket, and there are fall elections in two months. Not much more to be done on the legal front except perhasp to generate some more ticket challenges via additional protest rides (good opportunity for which will be upcoming at the end of the month), but how many of those do we need to make a point? I believe they are still trying to determine a venue to even hear the first batch from back in February. On the political front, well, that is up to all y'all down there, finding good candidates to challenge, helping them raise money, and pounding the streets to generate support. But few people are going to cast a vote on any single issue, so they need to be well rounded and have good ideas across a broad spectrum, not just be anti-helmet-law. Since the deadline has passed, the candidates are who they are. Public pressure in the way of the boycott has had some effect and that should be continued IMHO. But, there are other arms of government above Rhodes' little feifdom. If Columbia gets to disliking his Majesty (or to a lesser extent Horry County), they can exert more pressure than any mere mortal citizen since they could potentially take away his and MBACC's checkbook. I suspect the courts have been dragging their feet on this because they still would rather see it settled in the political process, although they never move very swiftly anyway. I haven't seen anyone here voice the opinion that those ordinances are okay. WHat I have seen is a three way division of approach. Some choose to ride where they will in order to make a statement, and wear a lid in order to avoid the accusation made by some in the city that we are incapable of playing by the rools. Second group chooses to ride where the will in order to make a statement and doesn't wear a lid in order to add an exclamation point to the statement. Third group says ain't nothing in MB I can't find elsewhere so F'em, I'll be back when they ask nicely. I can see logic in all three, but I think all three still have the same goals of getting rid of the Mayor, the council, the MBACC leadership, and anyone else who thinks past generations suffered and bled so that in any city in America it is okay to discriminate against fellow citizens or abridge their constitutional rights. Mebbe I am missing something though. PS - When it comes to public-type events within the city limits, I think I tend to come down on the side of those who choose to attend and make their presence known (esp if they would otherwise have gone were it not for the anti-biker hostility), but who do not spend money with local businesses while there. Simultaneously says "I am not going anywhere but you aren't going to turn a profit on me until the abuse ends." Witholding $ makes sense as a political tool. Witholding presense is just giving them what they asked for, or so it seems to me. Telling a local business person "Here I am standing right in front of you, and you would have gotten my $ except for these ordinances" and repeating that message all over town has got to have more impact than if no one ever walks through the door. The latter will be interpreted and claimed to just be the bad economy. Kinda like... you have to be present for your absence to be missed! We already have seen the hotels spinning like crazy as the summer numbers roll in. Occupancy, they claim, was about like last year, but revenues were significantly down. How's that? Well, they were drastically cutting rates from what they would typically have been in years past. Kinda like Cash for Clunkers program. If you give something away, people will show up to take it. That ain't rocket science. But how long can they operate and maintain those huge properties on rates that are more appropriate for a Motel 6? Showing up and still not spending rubs it right in their face until it is raw and bleeding (hopefully). Anyway, I have rambled on long enough. Mebbe makes you wish for the old days when I didn't have enough time to drop in and pontificate.
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Post by bigbuck on Sept 13, 2009 8:44:09 GMT -6
Pat
You speak with wisdom and understanding. I could not agree with you more. Our presence without our contribution to local revenue shows we will not tuck tail and run but rather stand fast and deprive those around of our fruits. Taunt them with our presence yet deprive them of any profit from it. I much like you, not being a local, can only do so much. it is up to the courts and the voting population of MB to decide our future in MB now. If i had time, I would be riding MB on a regular basis just to let them know we are still there. But not spending a DIME unless like the BBQ, it was for and to a charitible event or group. I don't feel we should ever boycott those who are raising money to help others, but that is just my opinion. Apparently some have issues with that if it is within the city. I respect their opinion on that and hold no hard feelings.
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Post by hdgoddess on Sept 13, 2009 9:19:11 GMT -6
If all the folks that post on here & the other discussin boards could vote in the city then the problems would be solved but that isn't the case.So all we can do now is support the candidates that are probiker & hope the people that do vote do the right thing for all. We could do alot better running MB than the idiots in power now.
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Post by geezer on Sept 13, 2009 11:22:10 GMT -6
So, who does the biker community support for Mayor? And can the biker community agree on just one candidate?
With less than 60 days to the November election, who is HELP endorsing for mayor? Anyone know?
When the state of South Carolina says it is OK for me to ride everywhere without a helmet and a very small pocket inside the state says that I'll get a ticket if I ride there without a helmet, I'll just ride around that area. When the leader of that area says that they don't want my kind, I'll just stay away and support places that either want me or haven't publicly said that I'm not welcome. I'm not giving in to their demands but it seems like a lot of people have softened on this issue.
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Post by freebird on Sept 13, 2009 11:51:58 GMT -6
Bird, Had a great time yesterday & last night,awesome show! Same here. Tell the misses we said hi. Hope all enjoyed Freedom Fest.
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Post by DG1 Phillip on Sept 14, 2009 7:20:20 GMT -6
Nice pics with the article on the mayor.... Made my day to see him being dunked too bad it wasn't hot oil.... Who was the BIG ugly dude in the pics with him in the white shirt??? ;D ;D ;D
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Post by howardstern on Sept 14, 2009 12:23:48 GMT -6
I still find it odd that nobody has really answered my question. My point is yours Geeze. Nothing at all has changed (in fact it's probably gotten worse) since these laws went int effect. Why suddenly do some folks find it okay to attend and ride during these events that are held in the City? (Under the guise of making a "statement") During the Fall Rally is that going to be the status quo. "It's okay to ride in the City, just don't spend any money"? Cut the Bullshirt! I understand that from the start there were several different opinions regarding this issue but riding (motorcycles) in the City was ALWAYS a NO! Much like a game of chess, when you establish a strategy, you must see it through to the end. If not, you're sure to lose!
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Post by howardstern on Sept 14, 2009 12:38:23 GMT -6
Hey bird and buck...had a great time riding with ya'll last Saturday. And it was fun dunking JR. Have to agree the BBQ or whatever it was sucked. Let me know if there's any other city riding you wanna do. I don't have the least bit of problem riding in the city. And remember, complaining is like sitting in a rocking chair. It takes a lot of work but don't get you anywhere. So what blazing trail have you gone down? Because you ride your motorcycle in Myrtle Beach (wearing a helmet) makes the unlawful acts of the City upon motorcyclists acceptable now? And then you throw barbs that all others do is complain? ?? Looks good on the Evening News I guess. Changes nothing.
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Post by bigbuck on Sept 14, 2009 12:48:15 GMT -6
Howard It has never since the beginning been my impression that riding in the city was a "No No" Rather that the absence of our presence would be viewed as a sign of surrender. Some argued the boycott issue regarding biker friendly businesses however a boycott to deprive the city of revenue must include all. My only vice with riding in city from beginning was muffler issue. Didn't want to take chance of having bike impounded. I have overcome that and will irritate the haters every time I come down now but no longer stay or eat or shop in city.We all comprehend things differently and we are all entitled to our own opinion. I guess the simplest way for me to explain myself is to say let them see us and hear us but not make any profits from us otherwise they will feel that they are winning or scaring us away. Just my opinion of situation
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Post by howardstern on Sept 14, 2009 16:24:42 GMT -6
...so, if I'm reading correctly, you've changed your stance.
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Post by bigbuck on Sept 14, 2009 16:36:51 GMT -6
...so, if I'm reading correctly, you've changed your stance. only on muffler issue I live in NC helmet no big deal with me Rather ride without but i have overcome some personal issues regarding the impound issue and am more willing to take the chance of impoundment to maintain presence and irritate the haters.
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Post by geezer on Sept 14, 2009 17:21:16 GMT -6
No one knows which mayoral candidate that HELP is endorsing?
I hope that I'm wrong but, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Rhodes is re-elected. At least his side is organized, ours is not. All of us want the same results, new leadership in MB. None of us agree on how to achieve this. We are our own worst enemies.
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