The Hells Angels PDF

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Mr. Malizia
The essay covers "Biker Gangs," but mainly the Hells Angels and their background....

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1 Running head: THE HELLS ANGELS

The Hells Angels Cooper Larche (0860079) Fanshawe College

2 THE HELLS ANGELS Abstract This article presents descriptive details on the criminal activity surrounding the Hells Angels between 1948 and 2001. Along with providing statements from Hells Angels members and crimes committed by members. Furthermore, the article provides historical background on the origin of the Hells Angels and context into how they established their dominance. It will give details on the Hells Angels involvement with the drug population and distribution. How the Angels have had an impact on society and positive effects they have on society. Through the article, it explains the hierarchical status the Hells Angels have, along with the strategic recruitment of member and the ‘code' or ‘rule' members are to follow. And will give insight on a book written by Hunter S. Thompson and the background of his life story and involvement with the Hells Angels.

3 THE HELLS ANGELS Biker gangs, especially those known for violence, have been a topic of concern in growing risk societies worldwide. Biker gangs are universally defined as “a group of motorcycle owners who band together and who agree to disobey societies laws." Often such groups are prided on their intimidating reputations within city centres and their greater regions. Members wear the gang’s colours as a means of association out on rides or at club events. Biker gangs are known to use unnecessary force and violence meant to instill fear and maintain power over their followers and enemies. These gangs run on a hierarchal structure and often contain an initiation stage, whereby any new recruit must prove their loyalty. In doing so, the recruit may be asked to commit a crime or wrongdoing against their family or greater community. The Hells Angels being a particularly well-known gang in North and South America has a well-established reputation as one of the most violent, and yet charitable biker gangs around. The Hells Angels were founded on March 17, 1948, in Fontana/San Bernardino, California, in the United States of America. It is important to note that around the same time, several other gangs were formed in various locations around California, but none of these clubs were initially associated with the Hells Angels. Throughout the 1950’s, The Hells Angels released a number of ‘official documents’ to govern their members, all of which eventually became one unified charter. The biker gangs name, ‘Hells Angels’, originated from a World War II air force regiment, the Hells Angels Bomber B-17. The biker gang's logo, appropriately named ‘the death head,' was designed from one of the original patches that would have been worn on the air force uniforms, as seen in figure one. Note that the name, ‘Hells Angels’, is grammatically incorrect, and indeed this was done on purpose. The apostrophe was left out of the name because according to the Hells Angels website, "there are many types of hell, so no apostrophe is needed." People also know the Hells Angels for the number 81 on their vests, which in code

4 THE HELLS ANGELS simply spells their initials. The eight stands for "H," the eighth letter of the alphabet, and the one stands for "A," the first letter of the alphabet. Regarding recruitment, the Hells Angels only scouts white males that ride Harley Davidson’s. The Hells Angels ensure that their members are appropriately vetted and initiated before operating in their gang. If a member is to resign from the Hells Angels, they are required to return all regalia bearing the death head insignia and the Hells Angels name. Resigning is one thing, but a member never wants to be kicked out of the Hells Angels, as this may lead to beatings or even death. The Hells Angels name is very well known, and according to their website, they consider themselves the oldest and most prominent motorcycle club in the world. This would suggest that they are the only club that was able to rise above all motorcycle associations and dominate the biker community. In 1961 the Hells Angels developed internationally, expanding across the east coast of the United States and later into the mid-west. Later they introduced themselves to a rural area in Quebec in hopes of conquering Canada. When moving into Canada, they had a strategic three-phase plan to make an impact on the community. In phase one they formed many alliances with other smaller biker gangs, the first chapter being established in 1977, allowing them to override organizations of smaller biker gangs. In the second phase between 1977 and 1982, they increased violence against other clubs and groups within various synthetic drug markets. At this time, another biker gang, the Outlaws, happened to lock horns with the Hells Angels, creating what was known as The Quebec Biker War. This war would last eight gruesome years and signified the death of more than 150 people, some of which were innocent bystanders. The reputation of the Hells Angels became prominent in Canada and made the headlines of many newspapers to raise awareness of the controversial killings. Phase two was a bloody crime scene which was very well thought out and executed. During the final phase between 1984 and 2001,

5 THE HELLS ANGELS the presence of other biker gangs in Quebec would drop, highlighting the presence of the Hells Angels, later expanding to port cities like Halifax and Vancouver. The Hells Angels would maintain their leadership through a combination of diplomacy, business sense, marketing, and bloodshed. Between 1994 and 2001, the Hells Angels and their alliances began to have conflict, and a substantial number of killings occurred throughout the cities. Police recorded 126 murders and 135 attempted murders during this period, and 55% of the crimes were associated with the Hells Angels. Law enforcement officers would associate the biker gang as ‘dangerous barroom fighters,' along with their extensive distribution of illegal drugs. On the Hells Angels website, they have devoted a page to members who are serving prison time. Conflicts between the Hells Angels and other club gangs have been known to escalate to the use of machine guns, grenades, car bombs, and even rocket launchers. The Hells Angels have been around for more than half a century and are spanning across five continents with more than 2,000 members across the United States. In Canada, the Hells Angels are believed to have more than 460 full-fledged members and 34 chapters within their charter, as seen in figure two. The chapters and charters can change at any time based on the location of the particular gang community. Although many people view the Hells Angels as a ruthless biker gang that has no remorse for their actions, they do contribute to society greatly. The Hells Angels are committed to charity rides for the ‘Toys for Tots Donation Program,' along with other charities. For someone to join the Hells Angels, there are four main requirements. The requirements include having a driver’s licence, owning a working motorcycle, never having applied to be a police officer or corrections officer, and having no record as a child molester. After the four requirements are met, members must go through several years’ worth of stages to become an

6 THE HELLS ANGELS official member of the Hells Angels. Stage one is called ‘hang-around,' which means the person interested in becoming a Hells Angel member attends all club events. Stage two is called ‘associate,' meaning members of the Hells Angels are taking an interest in a certain individual and are considering them as a member. Stage three is ‘prospect,' where an individual is being considered and may ride with the group, but have to wear the word ‘prospect’ on the front of their vest. They may also take part in club activities but are not able to vote. In stage four, the final stage, an individual is a full member/full patch and is part of the Hells Angels. They may display the death skull logo, as well as the words ‘Hells Angels’ on their vest. The Hells Angels have a code that requires them to abide by all rules and regulations of the gang once they become an official member. The code outlines respect for the motorcycle club and its leaders. All members of the club must wear the colours when they are on rides or at events. When they are on a ride, the president will ride first, followed in order by the road captain, the sergeant of arms, the members, and then the prospects. When pulling over it is crucial that they avoid disrupting the order. If a member is being pulled over by law enforcement officers, often the entire group will pull over with him. If a member is to disobey the code, it may lead to beatings or being kicked out of the club, and in turn death. Hunter S. Thompson was a member of the Hells Angels and resigned from the motorcycle association. During Thompson’s younger years, he had a number of run-ins with the law and was always into mischief. He would later join the United States Airforce in 1956 and became the sports editor for the base newspaper. After serving time for his country, Thompson joined the Hells Angels. He rode with the Hells Angels for several years, later disagreeing with their morals and going on to write a book about his experiences in the Hells Angels. The (1996) book that Thompson wrote was titled, Hell’s Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga. In this popular

7 THE HELLS ANGELS novel, Thompson (1996) states “[Kissing] is a guaranteed square-jolter, and Angels are gleefully aware of the reaction it gets.” The Hells Angels had a kissing factor throughout the gang, where members would openly kiss other members of the motorcycle association on the lips. They came up with this idea to create a public shock factor and leave a lasting impression. While Thompson was writing the novel, he befriended a number of members of the Hells Angels, resulting in the club turning against him and brutally beating him. Overall, the Hells Angels are a very cruel and heartless biker gang. They believe in structure, and when rules are broken there are consequences. Although the Hells Angels have used violence to intimidate people, it is the reason they are still on top. The Hells Angels will always be known as the hierarchal biker gang and will keep on growing. They do contribute to the community and charity, even if that may only be for publicity, it puts their name out in society as a positive nature in hopes to lour in more members.

8 THE HELLS ANGELS Figure.1 The Hells Angels Logo

The Hells Angels us a logo of a skull with a wing following behind it; this logo symbolizes who is in the bike gang and who is not. As seen in Figure.1 “MC” stands for motorcycle club and all members of HAMC (Hells Angel’s Motorcycle Club) ride motorcycles. On the top of every vest at the back says “Hells Angels,” at the bottom where it says “world” is where the country/state/charter location would go. The center of the logo is called "death head." Figure. 2 Charters of the Hell’s Angels

9 THE HELLS ANGELS This map shows the locations on where the charters for the Hells Angels are. The Red is the more populated areas of Hells Angels chapters, the blue is moderately populated, and the green is lightly populated. References

Britannica, T. E. (2017, October 26). Hells Angels. Retrieved March 25, 2018, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hells-Angels-motorcucle-club

Hells Angels members live by the code. (n.d.). Retrieved March 25, 2018, from http://www.juliansher.com/books/angels/interviews/duluth.htm

History. (n.d.). Retrieved March 25, 2018, from http://hells-angels.com/our-club/history/

Lejtenyi, P. (2016, October 27). How the Hells Angels Conquered Canada. Retrieved March 25, 2018, from https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/bn3vnq/how-the-hells-angels-conqueredcanada

News, C. (2011, July 13). Biker gangs in Canada. Retrieved March 25, 2018, from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/biker-gangs-in-canada-1.775978

Parker, A. (2009, November 10). How The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club Works. Retrieved March 25, 2018, from https://auto.howstuffworks.com/hells-angels.htm...