Red and White World by Dr. Dean Freedlander Jan.19.2010 The American public likes the Hells Angels. In San Francisco, our home base, we have a long history of tolerance, if not outright admiration, for the notorious motorcycle club. In general, the public is seduced by the image of a rebel anti-hero who dares to challenge mainstream lifestyles. The obvious questions are: What inspires membership? How do rebel anti-heroes seduce the public? The call to affiliate is simpler. Everyone wants to feel competent and important. Membership in such organizations gives those who might have trouble succeeding in a socially conforming occupation, a job, sort of speak. Joining any motorcycle club offers such inclusive feelings and 1% biker club affiliation further gives the truly unconventional a convention (with by-laws in the case of Hells Angels or other clubs). Rebellion gives anger at authority an outlet. The roots of such anger constitute a subject I have and will discuss again in other articles. The public’s idealization is more complex. It’s a cross between being a fan of horror films and soccer hooliganism. Everyone has some anger about real or perceived injustice in life. Most people can suppress or sublimate the anger into a more useful pursuit, in the service having a safer life with less risk than being a Hells Angel. But some people remain frustrated by the compromises they’ve made in life, and feel envious of the biker club member’s freewheeling lifestyle and apparent refusal to censor rage. There is also vicarious relief in hearing about a club member’s open expressions of contempt for convention. You may be afraid to tell off your boss, but you can get a kick out of such expressions of anger in others. The name “Hells Angels” is in itself a meaningful choice. It seems to have been used by several US Air Corps squadrons, including World Wars I and II, and Howard Hughes used it as the title of his 1930 Movie about pilots, all suggesting death defying fury for a good cause. The biker group could have chosen “The Devil’s Minions,” or “Heaven’s Mischief Makers”, but they did not. The first would imply unredeemable evil, the second a loving agent with a dark side. Rather they chose “Hells Angels,” suggesting goodness, rising like the Phoenix, out of evil. The Hells Angels have said, “When we do right nobody remembers. When we do wrong nobody forgets.” In their protestation of their negative image, they concede hope of redemption. In their name, they express a wish for recognition of a better inner core the criminals among them may have believed extinguished. If there is hope of transformation for “Hells Angels” it’ll likely be found in biker related legitimate businesses and in good causes with which they identify. If there is hope for their fans, it’ll be found in humor, forgiveness, and the resulting freedom.