My mother used to go to large events and just watch the people for fun
Humans are very strange in their behavior patterns. Reading some of the posts here is very entertaining. We make an image of who we want to be and then we spend our lives trying to live up to that. We tell our children about the dangers of peer pressure-----------only to discover that grown ups are just as influenced by peer pressure as their 4th grader. Imagine that!
I own 4 "helmet liners"--- not doo rags. I like to put them on out of sight because I DON'T WANT to be viewed as one of those guys. One of the main reasons I left Harley, was to distance myself from that image that so many are rushing to embrace. :shrug: When I get the "Harley snub" it does make me a bit miffed, but that is soon replaced by pity. They may see themselves as big, bad Billy Bad Ass--- I see a fully grown 11 year old wanting to be with the popular crowd in school. It's not just in the motorcycle world, either. Try speaking your mind against a politically protected group and see what happens, especially if you own a business such as Chick-Fil-a--Duck Calls or you are a member of the media or a public figure. :catfight: Personally, I don't care as I am mostly neutral in almost all matters and what one person does or thinks is their personal freedom, but the point I am making is that society as a whole exerts a lot of pressure to think and conform to the ever changing standards of the opinion of the masses. Freethinkers are becoming scarce. If you speak your mind and you are poor, you are called crazy. If you speak your mind and you are wealthy, then you are brilliant. A good example is Steve Jobs. A lot of people admired him, but nobody who worked for him wanted to be caught in the elevator with him.
30 years ago you were looked down on if you had facial hair and rode a Harley----now they look down on you if you don't. If I may quote your mother from years ago---"If everybody else jumped off a cliff, would you?"
PS--- I learned long ago about the dangers of posting while drinking. :yikes: Very dangerous.