War on Leather

February 4th, 2010 by Liz

Is it true?  Surely, you’ve read this one:

Three Reported Missing After Animal Rights Activists Take
“War on Leather” to Motorcycle Rally.

“Something just went wrong,” said a still visibly shaken organizer of the protest. “Something just went horribly, horribly, wrong.”

Johnstown, PA: Local and state police scoured the hills outside rural Johnstown, Pennsylvania, after reports of three animal rights activists going missing after attempting to protest the wearing of leather at a large motorcycle gang rally this weekend. Two others, previously reported missing, were discovered by fast food workers “duct taped inside several fast food restaurant dumpsters,” according to police officials.

The organizer said a group of concerned animal rights activist groups, “growing tired of throwing fake blood and shouting profanities at older women wearing leather or fur coats,” decided to protest the annual motorcycle club event “in a hope to show them our outrage at their wanton use of leather in their clothing and motor bike seats.” “In fact,” said the organizer, “Motorcycle gangs are one of the biggest abusers of wearing leather, and we decided it was high time that we let them know that we disagree with them using it… Ergo, they should stop.”

According to witnesses, protesters arrived at the event in a vintage 1960’s era Volkswagen van and began to pelt the gang members with balloons filled with red colored water, simulating blood and shouting “you’re murderers” to passers by. This, evidently, is when the brouhaha began.

“They peed on me!!!” charged one activist. “They grabbed me, said I looked like I was French, started calling me ‘La Trene’, and duct taped me to a tree so they could pee on me all day! I… I was trying to show my outrage at a man with a heavy leather jacket. And, he…he didn’t even care. I called him a murderer, and all he said was, ‘You can’t prove that.’ Next thing I know is he forced me to ride on the back of his motorcycle all day, and not left me off, because his girl friend was out of town and I was almost a woman.”

Still others claimed they were forced to eat hamburgers and hot dogs under duress. Those who resisted were allegedly held down while several bikers “farted on their heads.”

Police officials declined comments on any leads or arrests due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, however, organizers for the motorcycle club rally expressed “surprise” at the allegations.

“That’s preposterous,” said one high ranking member of the biker organizing committee. “We were having a party, and these people showed up and were very rude to us. They threw things at us, called us names, and tried to ruin the entire event. So, what did we do? We invited them to the party! What could be more friendly than that? You know, just because we are all members of motorcycle clubs does not mean we do not care about inclusiveness. Personally, I think it shows a lack of character for them to be saying such nasty things about us after we bent over backwards to make them feel welcome.”

When confronted with the allegations of force feeding the activists meat, using them as ad hoc latrines, leaving them incapacitated in fast food restaurant dumpsters, and ‘farting on their heads,’ the organizer declined to comment in detail. “That’s just our secret handshake,” assured the organizer.

Putting on a brain bucket…?

March 19th, 2009 by Liz

Senate Bill 1351, A law to force Illinois motorcyclists to wear helmets was approved by the Illinois Senate Public Health committee and moves to the full Illinois Senate but faces a long road ahead. Supporters say the mandatory law is a matter of safety but opponents say it should be left to each motorcycle rider and the bill faces an uncertain future. The wording is weird: Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code to require every operator and passenger on a motorcycle, motor driven cycle, or motorized pedalcycle to wear a helmet that meter federal safety standards.
Senate Committee Amendment No. 1
Provides that the helmet must be properly fastened under the person’s chin with a chin strap.

 Wanna protest?   Contact your state Senator!