signal me out
One of my favorite aspects about motorcycling is the
comaraderie. If you ride a motorcycle you probably know what I'm
referring to when I say "giving the wave." Most motorcyclists wave to
each other in passing; it could be a small peace-sign below the
hand-grip (my personal signal) or a big howdy-doo up in the air. The
point is that for myself and most other riders it doesn't matter what
type of bike you're on. If you're motorcycling, you're a brother in
at least that one little area, and it will be acknowledged.
While on my little trip I noticed a disproportionately
large number of Harley-Davidson riders refused to give me a sign, even
though I initiated. Apparently there's an elitist attitude that follows
the logic, "Since I paid $20,000 for my bike, I'm a real motorcycle
enthusiast. You're not in the same class as me." But couldn't I just as
easily say, "Since I'm riding around on my $1700 rat-bike and don't need
an image-intensive cliche-driven money-flaunting machine I'm the
true enthusiast." This wouldn't be any different from what the HD guys
do, however. And to be honest, it's not only the guys on HDs that refuse
to wave to other bikers, though they certainly make up the largest
portion; some guys on high-performance sportbikes will only wave at riders
of similar machines.
What's the point of such elitism? Obviously it's to
feel like you're one of a group that few others are in. I think it's a
sense of superiority. We all probably know it in our own lives in bigger
or smaller ways. So how do we get out of it?
It's all about judging. Where do we get value? How can
we make ourselves feel "good" if it's not from a source that's truly
fulfilling? I think we tend to have judgments about what we do that makes
us good. Those who choose to do differently are lacking. It's tough, and
I don't think anyone can ever perfectly give up his/her judgments. But we
can try, and that's OK. We can always initiate the wave to everyone else,
and NOT think that they are lacking if they don't return the gesture.
After all, to think that would be the same as not returning it ourselves.
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