5 ms·

Falling for a Hells Angel

21 points by pmcpinto 12y ago

yeezul 12y ago
504 Time-out. Here's a link to the Google Cache version: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:CIBYb2VoTdYJ:narrative.ly/gangsters/falling-for-a-hells-angel/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:CIBYb2V...
ssimpson 12y ago
Pretty good read from a woman's perspective. I don't know why I find M/Cs fascinating.
- erok 12y ago
  SOA
  - Fuzzwah 12y ago
    You may also like...... Hells Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga by Hunter S Thimpson http://www.amazon.com/Hells-Angels-Strange-Terrible-Saga/dp/0345410084 http://www.amazon.com/Hells-Angels-Strange-Terrible-Saga/dp/... Stone (1974) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072209/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072209/
    - sedachv 12y ago
      Or Reynolds' Wild Ride: How Outlaw Motorcycle Myth Conquered America for a less sentimental and more factual look at the real life banality.
- Nursie 12y ago
  Do the relationships described in that story not seem deeply unhealthy to you? From my (male) perspective the women seem to get treated like property.
  - __david__ 12y ago
    Finding something fascinating and finding something deeply disturbing are not orthogonal; the relationships seemed deeply unhealthy, the men inherently violent and the women second class (don't disturb to club members while they're talking)—and still it was very interesting, very well told.
    - gaius 12y ago
      ... And yet, any geek gets irritated if interrupted while deep in code, or even a game.
      - JoeAltmaier 12y ago
        By anyone, not just by a woman? The misogyny was being pointed out I believe.
        gaius 12y ago
        There's nothing the the article that says that is gender specific - a male non-member would have been equally unwelcome.
        sinewav 12y ago
        It's actually considered rude for any non patch-holder to approach two patch-holders having a private discussion. Gender isn't important in this instance. I'm not saying there isn't a ton of misogyny in the MC lifestyle. There really is.
        JoeAltmaier 12y ago
        "Any"? Including family? Doesn't your wife or girlfriend constitute a very special category? If not, then then are indeed messed up.
      - Nursie 12y ago
        I don't make my girlfriend, the woman who I love, ask permission to talk to me when I'm chatting to a friend (or coding), with the explicit or implied threat of violence. Very, very different. And incredibly disrespectful.
chroma 12y ago
The people in this story (including the author) seem insane to me. It's crazy enough to ride a motorcycle (let alone without armor), but that's a footnote to the real issues: the violence, needless aggression, and treatment of women as chattel. What's worse is the author spares no effort rationalizing her abuse. For example: After Jack hits her, he quickly says he's sorry and comes to her aid. That was not an example of how much Jack cared about her. That was Jack scared of her calling the cops and sending him to jail. I can't find a single good decision made by the author of this story. Had Jack not broken up with her, she'd probably still be in this abusive relationship.
- mercurial 12y ago
  > What's worse is the author spares no effort rationalizing her abuse. For example: After Jack hits her, he quickly says he's sorry and comes to her aid. That was not an example of how much Jack cared about her. That was Jack scared of her calling the cops and sending him to jail. Is it? It's Jack being a wifebeater. Whether his regrets are genuine or not isn't something you can easily deduce from her account. > I can't find a single good decision made by the author of this story. Had Jack not broken up with her, she'd probably still be in this abusive relationship. Unfortunately, plenty of people do this.
- randlet 12y ago
  Riding a motorcycle is not crazy. It is a risk/reward decision. The risk can be mitigated by always riding with gear (ATGATT - All The Gear All The Time) and making smart decisions about how & when you ride. For me the reward of being on a bike far outweighs the risk.
  - chroma 12y ago
    Humans suck at estimating risk. From the Wikipedia article on motorcycle safety[1]: Per vehicle mile traveled, motorcyclists' risk of a fatal crash is 35 times greater than a passenger car. In 2012, the US had 23 fatalities per 100 million miles ridden. If you do the math, riding 4,000 miles a year for 40 years gives you a 4.2% chance of dying in an accident. That's just death. It doesn't include getting crippled or having permanent brain damage. You would be crazy to ride in a car that gave such a high risk of death. In fact, any car that dangerous would not be allowed on the road, and any excuses about mitigating risk would be laughed at. It is an accident of history that society allows motorcycles. If they were invented today, there would be zero chance of them being allowed on streets. Paradoxically, the only sane place to ride a motorcycle is a race track. With no obstacles, large run-off areas, trained riders, and plenty of armor, injuries are minor. 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorcycle_safety http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorcycle_safety
the_rosentotter 12y ago
W. T. F. Why am I reading pulp romance novel on Hacker News.

21 points by pmcpinto 12y ago

504 Time-out. Here's a link to the Google Cache version: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:CIBYb2VoTdYJ:narrative.ly/gangsters/falling-for-a-hells-angel/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:CIBYb2V...

ssimpson 12y ago

Pretty good read from a woman's perspective. I don't know why I find M/Cs fascinating.

erok 12y ago
SOA
- Fuzzwah 12y ago
  You may also like...... Hells Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga by Hunter S Thimpson http://www.amazon.com/Hells-Angels-Strange-Terrible-Saga/dp/0345410084 http://www.amazon.com/Hells-Angels-Strange-Terrible-Saga/dp/... Stone (1974) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072209/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072209/
  - sedachv 12y ago
    Or Reynolds' Wild Ride: How Outlaw Motorcycle Myth Conquered America for a less sentimental and more factual look at the real life banality.
Nursie 12y ago
Do the relationships described in that story not seem deeply unhealthy to you? From my (male) perspective the women seem to get treated like property.
- __david__ 12y ago
  Finding something fascinating and finding something deeply disturbing are not orthogonal; the relationships seemed deeply unhealthy, the men inherently violent and the women second class (don't disturb to club members while they're talking)—and still it was very interesting, very well told.
  - gaius 12y ago
    ... And yet, any geek gets irritated if interrupted while deep in code, or even a game.
    - JoeAltmaier 12y ago
      By anyone, not just by a woman? The misogyny was being pointed out I believe.
      - gaius 12y ago
        There's nothing the the article that says that is gender specific - a male non-member would have been equally unwelcome.
      - sinewav 12y ago
        It's actually considered rude for any non patch-holder to approach two patch-holders having a private discussion. Gender isn't important in this instance. I'm not saying there isn't a ton of misogyny in the MC lifestyle. There really is.
        JoeAltmaier 12y ago
        "Any"? Including family? Doesn't your wife or girlfriend constitute a very special category? If not, then then are indeed messed up.
    - Nursie 12y ago
      I don't make my girlfriend, the woman who I love, ask permission to talk to me when I'm chatting to a friend (or coding), with the explicit or implied threat of violence. Very, very different. And incredibly disrespectful.

chroma 12y ago

The people in this story (including the author) seem insane to me. It's crazy enough to ride a motorcycle (let alone without armor), but that's a footnote to the real issues: the violence, needless aggression, and treatment of women as chattel. What's worse is the author spares no effort rationalizing her abuse. For example: After Jack hits her, he quickly says he's sorry and comes to her aid. That was not an example of how much Jack cared about her. That was Jack scared of her calling the cops and sending him to jail. I can't find a single good decision made by the author of this story. Had Jack not broken up with her, she'd probably still be in this abusive relationship.

mercurial 12y ago
> What's worse is the author spares no effort rationalizing her abuse. For example: After Jack hits her, he quickly says he's sorry and comes to her aid. That was not an example of how much Jack cared about her. That was Jack scared of her calling the cops and sending him to jail. Is it? It's Jack being a wifebeater. Whether his regrets are genuine or not isn't something you can easily deduce from her account. > I can't find a single good decision made by the author of this story. Had Jack not broken up with her, she'd probably still be in this abusive relationship. Unfortunately, plenty of people do this.
randlet 12y ago
Riding a motorcycle is not crazy. It is a risk/reward decision. The risk can be mitigated by always riding with gear (ATGATT - All The Gear All The Time) and making smart decisions about how & when you ride. For me the reward of being on a bike far outweighs the risk.
- chroma 12y ago
  Humans suck at estimating risk. From the Wikipedia article on motorcycle safety[1]: Per vehicle mile traveled, motorcyclists' risk of a fatal crash is 35 times greater than a passenger car. In 2012, the US had 23 fatalities per 100 million miles ridden. If you do the math, riding 4,000 miles a year for 40 years gives you a 4.2% chance of dying in an accident. That's just death. It doesn't include getting crippled or having permanent brain damage. You would be crazy to ride in a car that gave such a high risk of death. In fact, any car that dangerous would not be allowed on the road, and any excuses about mitigating risk would be laughed at. It is an accident of history that society allows motorcycles. If they were invented today, there would be zero chance of them being allowed on streets. Paradoxically, the only sane place to ride a motorcycle is a race track. With no obstacles, large run-off areas, trained riders, and plenty of armor, injuries are minor. 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorcycle_safety http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorcycle_safety

the_rosentotter 12y ago

W. T. F. Why am I reading pulp romance novel on Hacker News.