So, CNN has a special today on the Twin Peaks shootout. Apparently, the Bandidos are the largest and most powerful biker club in Texas, and they charge other clubs “dues” for the right to have a “Texas” patch on their jacket. If you wear a Texas patch and your club doesn’t pay the dues, and the Bandidos find you at a bar, they just might beat you.
Pretty much the same behavior as cats or dogs peeing on trees to mark out territory and demanding tribute from other animals if they want to live there.
Anyways, one thing not mentioned in the articles is what the dollar amount is for the “dues”. If you’re a motorcycle club and you want to wear that Texas patch and you don’t want to risk getting shot by Bandidos, what’s it cost? In the Twin Peaks shootout, all but 1 of the victims were the Cossacks, the smaller, weaker gang that has been trying to stand up to the Bandidos. I for one suspect that if I were a biker, I’d want to pay up rather than risk it.
The article says it’s money. Hence, I wonder how much is enough to put a cloth patch on that says Texas without risking an ass kicking or worse. The wiki article says they confronted one biker and actually gave him a chance to take off the patch, only beating him senseless after he refused.
Not the one who made the post but I’ll take a swing at it. It’s not so much dues as it is a license to use a “Texas” patch as part of your design or uniform. (Colors or “cut” in biker terms) It’s like one car company making an agreement with another car company to use a model name. When AMC wanted to use the name “Pacer” for one of their cars, they got permission from FoMoCo; the last company to use that as a model designation. You want “Texas” as part of your design, you better come to some agreement with the Bandidos first. Value of this “right” can differ from club to club. A small riding club may be assessed “Y” while a larger group active across the state may be assessed “10X-Y”.
Some money does change hands but its more admitting you are subservient to the Bandidos. It could possibly (depending on who you believe) involve moving drugs, backing them in any war with another club, participating and donating to charity events they may host, and allowing them to “scout” your membership for potential members for their club. Lots of other stuff (fencing parts, etc) could be involved as well. Note that having the Texas patch on your clubs colors or “cut” doesn’t make you a Bandidos patch holder; they won’t back up some move you make. But it does give you some (not complete) protection from them making a move on you.
Patch-holding (full) members of the Bandidos are aware of which clubs are allied and which aren’t so there really isn’t a receipt or anything for you to carry.
It’s not a situation where the Bandidos MC has a website where you can use PayPal and get a 1-year license or anything. They’re very territorial, and they take the position that no other outlaw motorcycle gangs get to operate in Texas without their express permission; even their allied clubs don’t usually get to wear the Texas patch. But there are some that are too big to remove, like the Cossacks or the Banshees, and they have these turf fights from time to time.
Most people outside that particular subculture don’t notice this stuff, but colors are a big deal to motorcycle clubs. There was a case in Austin about a decade ago where a man was killed apparently for wearing Hells Angels colors in Texas, which as far as I’m aware has never been solved. (There was a question as to whether the Bandidos did it for him encroaching on their turf, if the Hells Angels did it for the guy making trouble for them with the Bandidos, or if it was related to other beefs that the guy apparently had with all sorts of other people.)
When Sonny Barger’s book came out, some promotion ween at the publisher came up with the idea of giving away bandannas imprinted with the HA emblem. Barger reportedly leaned very close to the ween and quietly said, “We beat the shit out of people who do that.”
Until you get an upper level Bandidos to tell you all about how their particular club works, ( clue, → never going to happen ) you will only get stupidity and ignorance and slanted information from the media & police ( starting with the totally slanted and doctored video and deliberate misreporting of CNN etc. )
Sonny B’s book leaves out much of the 1% world. But remember who & what he is. About as much of a 1%'er as you can be.
Read his book, do not think you will get accurate or not out of context or correct quotes from the media.
I am sure this thread is going to be entertaining.
Thread presently running 95% incorrect information IMO.
Well, why don’t you tell us what you think the correct info actually is? Unless you’re worried the computer hacker branch of the 1% biker gangs will track you down? Heh.
Probably nobody here ever plans to become a “1%” biker gang member. I mean, public-ally telling everyone you’re a criminal and then spending your free time doing dangerous things with other open criminals? Not a good way to stay outta trouble or live to retirement age.
I just wondered if the Bandidos wanted cash or credit to slap that Texas logo on if you wanted to ride with a more sane biker gang in Texas. I didn’t realize you had to be a group of criminals of similar stature of the Bandidos, willing to help them commit crimes, I just thought you had to pay tribute.
If it serves as any indicator, according to this not very official blog the Hell’s Angel’s 2010 pricing plan for one gang in a similar situation was as follows:
I don’t think these things are very tightly regulated by the Commission for Fair Gangster Extortion Prices. The closest thing to a factual answer to the OP is probably “As much as they can get away with.”
Yikes. If I were a texas biker gang I think I’d just decide to leave “Texas” off my colors. Safer and cheaper. Maybe a patch that says “we’re just peaceful pussies” and “hi, I’m an architect!” or something.
You would be surprised. I’ve known quite a few to reach geriatric age.
I seriously considered patching with one of the bigger known clubs. I was young and an offer was made and I thought hard before saying no. I’ve spent time around people from almost every club listed by the FBI and a couple I’m not sure they know about yet. Most are pretty nice people. Just because someone is a 1%er it doesn’t mean they are a criminal; even in the worst of the OMGs some of the people are pretty average citizens. They are just looking for a sense of brotherhood and membership most places/things don’t provide.
And not every “outlaw” club is like a Mafia family - mostly living outside the law. Many, especially the smaller ones, are about as criminal as the average frat house; a little more likely to beat the shit out of someone in a bar but not really what you could call organized crime. Again, its the fraternal thing they are trying for more than the crime thing.
Now that being said, you want to have a non-AMA club (which means you are basically “outlaw”) in a certain area, you have to face facts. Bandidos, Hells Angels, whoever – they claim a certain area as their turf and you have to play by their rules or be prepared to fight about it. And my money says you are going to lose. Best bet is design a two piece patch, a one piece patch, use “RC” instead of “MC” or just ride and have fun as a group and leave the patches out. But if you want a 3 piece patch and the MC box, this is some of the stuff you have to deal with. It’s to the point where some cities/areas have formal councils with reps from the Major Player and smaller allied clubs; you want to start a new club you apply to them and they decide the terms. Some areas; very businesslike. Some other places, the mileage can vary greatly.
I will say, as always YMMV ---------- for some places the info here is spot-on. For some places not so much so. But it is an interesting read and has a lot of info for someone looking around the universe in general.