Biker Gangs

Outlaw biker groups began as a counterculture in the blue-collar taverns and general saloon society of California just after World War II but did not become a coherent entity until the late 1950s. Their “one-percent” label refers to the most extreme of the outlaw bikers who do not fit into mainstream society and are fearless enough to defend their elite status against all challengers. The one-percent appellation was coined in the late 1940s but was not formally adopted until 1969. Encased by a diamond, the 1% symbol is worn proudly by members of a few clubs.

These early motorcycle clubs (MCs) were loosely organized near-groups that served members' emotional needs. Their members were largely barroom brawlers given to theft, prostitution, and drug dealing as opportunity and need dictated. Impulsivity, hedonism, violence, and power seeking typified their countercultural orientation. The alienation of some Vietnam veterans and other working-class whites threatened by the civil rights and antiwar movements encouraged the proliferation of these clubs, leading to territorial competition among a multitude of clubs. Interclub violence attracted increasing police attention and encouraged the growth of sophistication in the organized crime rings within most one-percent clubs as they became vital to financing interclub warfare. Internecine warfare also encouraged the development of extensive intelligence-gathering methods targeting both underworld rivals and law enforcement.

Counterculture members deliberately create a distinctive appearance and demeanor that attract mainstream rejection. This status grants some power in saloon society and similar settings, but the resulting visibility undermines criminal enterprises. Within the biker culture, there are subcultures that blend in more readily and can claim to share some values, such as rational planning and normative appearance, with the mainstream, which better facilitates instrumental criminality. This shift reflects the adaptability of outlaw biker clubs to the surrounding society that evolved in a dialogue of threat, response, and counterresponse between clubs and the legal system as well as between rival clubs. It also reflects the aging of club members, an important dynamic in the current biker scene.