Why do men join MCs? There are probably a thousand reasons. But the truth is there are a few consistent and very compelling reasons that come up over and over again. For me it is Brotherhood.
I am not close to my blood family. They are all very different from me. I have never felt a part of it. It is only natural for men to want to be a part of something bigger than themselves. This was certainly true for me. I wanted a family that fit.
I’ve ridden a Harley for almost 30 years and have been around bikers of every kind throughout that whole time. These people have become my kin. But after awhile I wanted more than a lose connection with likeminded people. I wanted to be a part of something closer knit. I wanted brotherhood.
Brotherhood is a tight connection among men. Under the best conditions there is a natural connection between natural born brothers in a family. But this connection does not require having the same mother or sharing familial genetics.
The Brotherhood I wanted was one that could only be built and earned. It is developed by knowing each other and developing trust, loyalty and reliably being there for each other. This kind of Brotherhood can equal or even surpass the blood ties of one’s genetic family.
As I went down this road of looking for and then finding Brotherhood in my MC I found that it was all of the above and more. For example, I learned that my wife and children became my MC Brother’s family as well. And their family is mine.
There are challenges, like in any “family”. We have disagreements. But because of the Brotherhood we build, we can work through them with love and respect for one another.
My MC family is better than my blood family in so many ways. We are a motorcycle club, and that means we live a certain way. We care about this way of living. We have our values which are different from all those other folks out there.
We care about living OUR way. We care about out bikes and riding alone and together, building memories of Brotherhood. We have so much in common and that along with the love, respect and loyalty that goes with that Brotherhood it is my natural place to be.
So many men feel empty and unsatisfied in life. They have no connection, especially with other men. It is my experience that men need men in order to be real men themselves. Men bring out the best in men. Men act as mentors, leaders, challengers and even cheerleaders for other men that help to make men step up in their lives to become better men. This cannot be done solely in the company of women and children.
For some men the way to be a part of something bigger, a group of men, a clan, a tribe our however you want to conceptualize it, is by being a part of the MC world. These men of course tend to ride Harleys, be bolder and tougher than most men, especially when compared to the politically correct effeminates that are growing in numbers in modern society.
These bolder, tougher men, naturally connect and meet other like them for adventures that build the bond of Brotherhood and find themselves in MCs.