Tuesday, April 3, 2012

outlaw motorcycle clubs - book - 1991 - The Rebels: A Brotherhood of Outlaw Bikers

The Rebels: A Brotherhood of Outlaw Bikers
Daniel R. Wolf
University of Toronto Press
1991
372 pages



Hi there friendly fellows, I bought my copy of The Rebels from Willow Books, near the St George University of Toronto campus at the corner of St. George and Bloor St. West.
The Rebels were an Alberta based outlaw motorcycle club with a few chapters scattered across western Canada during the 1970s, 80s and 90s.  In 1998 the club (alongside a couple of other western Canadian outlaw biker clubs) were absorbed into the multi-national corporation known as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club to become that organization’s presence in Canada’s western provinces.  In the mid/late 1980s, a doctoral student of anthropology, and biker, named Daniel R. Wolf, befriended members of the Rebels Edmonton chapter and collected much of the information that made up his doctoral dissertation which was published as The Rebels: A Brotherhood of Outlaw Bikers.

The book contains a statement about the permission Wolf received from The Rebels Motorcycle Club to publish this text.  The statement ends with Wolf noting that a newer generation of Rebels wanted him to NOT publish this book, but because they were not the same Rebels he rode and fought with (and Wolf did ride and fight with the Rebels, otherwise he would not have been permitted to hand around them, according to himself) he chose to proceed with publication.  Now, carrying out field research with outlaw bikers is an impressive achievement, and because of this work, The Rebels is probably one of the best books out on the biker subculture.  I’ve tried to expecting to find Wolf ensconced in a faculty position in a sociology or criminology department somewhere, and the book jacket on my copy states that Wolf works at the University of Prince Edward Island.  Unfortunately I cannot find any information about Wolf’s current status, and its tempting to believe that the publication of this book has something to do with that.  In The Brotherhoods by Arthur Veno, an Australian biker researcher, Wolf is referred to as “the late,” so he has passed at some point between 1991 and The Brotherhoods publication in 2002.

The Rebels covers virtually every aspect of Motorcycle Club operations, from the maintenance of their clubhouse, to their attitudes towards women and outsiders, to their methods for balancing work, family, and a commitment to a biker club.  Everything about a club is closely examined by Wolf, who presents a detailed and comprehensive report on the unique social and cultural formation that is the outlaw biker group.  Wolf’s primary point of contact was the Edmonton Alberta Rebels chapter, and when he uses direct quotations from bikers, they usually come from members of this specific group.  He does, however, discuss anecdotes pertaining to outlaw clubs from elsewhere in Canada including the King’s Crew of Ontario, the Grim Reapers (another Alberta club that was absorbed into the Hells Angels) and the Vagabonds MC of Toronto.  It is important for the reader to recognize that Wolf is dealing in outlaw bikers in the Canadian context, and primarily with a focus on western Canada.  It is my understanding, for example, that the term ‘striker’, used to describe potential incoming club members, is a specifically Canadian biker expression.  It is also important to take note of the time frame, that through the 1990s, as have already been discussed in this post, many of the clubs Wolf writes about were absorbed into larger American clubs and therefore no longer exist.

Wolf’s contribution to the literature is unique as it’s one of two anthropological studies of this particular social phenomena (the other is Arthur Veno’s The Brotherhoods - which investigates the outlaw biker in the Austrailian context).  These texts are a counterweight to the sixteen tons of true crime books and undercover agent and/or biker memoirs, where the author claims some kind of distance to their subject matter.



3 comments:

  1. The OUTLAWS MC came to Ontario in 1977 not 1978. SATANS CHOICE MC switched colours and the club was split in 2. The OUTLAWS MC wanted Toronto Ont. In 1983-4 it was the IRONHAWGS MC who actually switched colours with the OUTLAWS MC and entered Toronto Ont.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fair enough, sounds like you could write a history of MCs in Ontario.

    ReplyDelete

Labels

united states (55) 1990s (25) history (21) 1980s (20) 1960s (19) 2000s (18) 1970s (17) Canada (16) anarchism (15) punk (15) memoir (14) outlaw bikers (14) documentary film (11) civil rights movement (10) new york city (10) film (9) zines (9) 19th century (8) 1950s (7) 20th century (7) black panther party (7) irish republican army (7) 1940s (6) 2010s (6) beats (6) essays (6) hells angels (6) hippies (6) journalism (6) science-fiction (6) street art (6) the troubles (6) England (5) United Kingdom (5) anti-globalization (5) communalism (5) computer hackers (5) exhibition catalog (5) graffiti (5) homeless (5) international (5) labour strike (5) occupy wall street (5) organized labour (5) quebec (5) 1930s (4) France (4) IWW (4) biographical drama (4) dada (4) david graeber (4) drama (4) interviews (4) malcolm x (4) novel (4) provisional IRA (4) psychedelia (4) sncc (4) sociology (4) street gangs (4) surrealism (4) survivalism (4) transcendentalism (4) white nationalism (4) 1920s (3) 4chan (3) BBSs (3) Emma Goldman (3) Europe (3) Karl Marx (3) Texas (3) Toronto (3) anarcho-primitivism (3) anarcho-syndicalism (3) anonymous (3) anthology (3) anti-civilization (3) autobiography (3) banksy (3) comedy (3) critique (3) direct action (3) ethnography (3) football hooligans (3) hacker groups (3) hacking (3) journalistic (3) ku klux klan (3) labour (3) martin luther king jr (3) mongols (3) philosophy (3) radical right (3) reader (3) situationism (3) student movement (3) vagabonds (3) white supremacy (3) william s burroughs (3) /b/ (2) 1910s (2) 1981 Hunger Strikes (2) AFL-CIO (2) Alexander Berkman (2) American South (2) American revolution (2) Andre Breton (2) Arab Spring (2) Australia (2) Baltimore (2) Cromwell (2) English Revolution (2) Fidel Castro (2) Germany (2) Greece (2) Levellers (2) Manchester (2) Marcel Duchamp (2) Max Ernst (2) Mikhail Bakunin (2) Montreal (2) NAACP (2) Peter Kropotkin (2) Portland Oregon (2) Ranters (2) Robin Hood (2) Salvador Dali (2) Southern Poverty Law Center (2) action film (2) animal liberation (2) anti-capitalism (2) anti-war (2) anti-war movements (2) article (2) aryan nations (2) avant-garde (2) bandidos motorcycle club (2) biography (2) black flag (2) black power (2) blek le rat (2) brook farm (2) crime drama (2) critical mass (2) cults (2) cultural criticism (2) david duke (2) design (2) diary (2) dishwasher pete (2) east bay dragons (2) eldridge cleaver (2) environmentalism (2) fan fiction (2) gerry adams (2) historical drama (2) historical survey (2) hobos (2) how to guide (2) indigenous struggle (2) internet memes (2) ireland (2) italy (2) jack kerouac (2) jared taylor (2) john waters (2) john zerzan (2) julian assange (2) keith haring (2) mail art (2) media criticism (2) mohawk warriors (2) mole people (2) murray bookchin (2) musical (2) mysticism (2) nativism (2) new age (2) nomadism (2) northern ireland (2) occupy movement (2) official IRA (2) oka crisis (2) operation black rain (2) oral history (2) paranoia (2) paul goodman (2) philip k dick (2) phone losers of america (2) photobook (2) phreaks (2) piracy (2) posse comitatus (2) prank phone calls (2) primary source (2) revolution (2) sabotage (2) self-publishing (2) shepard fairey (2) spain (2) student protest (2) terrorism (2) the order (2) travel (2) tristan tzara (2) true crime (2) txt files (2) ulrike meinhof (2) underground media (2) unorganized militias (2) 1%ers (1) 17th century (1) 1860s (1) 1900s (1) 1969 (1) 1970 (1) 1972 Bloody Sunday (1) 1980s. memoir (1) 2009 (1) 2011 (1) 2600 Magazine (1) Alberta (1) Alexandros Grigoropoulos (1) Amsterdam (1) Arthur Segal (1) Athens (1) Ben Reitman (1) Bethel (1) Bill Haywood (1) Boston (1) Brad Carter (1) Brendan Hughes (1) British Columbia (1) Burners (1) Burning Man (1) CLASSE (1) Captain Mission (1) Cass Pennant (1) Charles Fourier (1) Chartists (1) Che Guavara (1) Christopher Hill (1) Christopher Street Liberation Day (1) Columbia University (1) DOA (1) Darkthrone (1) David Ervine (1) Dead (1) December 2008 riots (1) Derrick Jensen (1) Dial (1) Diggers (1) Diggers (1650s) (1) Dorothea Tanning (1) Drop City (1) E.D. Nixon (1) East Side White Pride (1) Edward Winterhalder (1) Egypt (1) Emiliano Zapata (1) Emory Douglas (1) Emperor (1) Eric Hobsbawm (1) Eugene V. Debs (1) Exarchia (1) FLQ (1) Factory Records (1) Fenriz (1) French Revolution (1) GLBT rights (1) Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois (1) Gandhi (1) Gay Activist Alliance (1) Geert Lovink (1) George Washington (1) Georges Janco (1) Great Depression (1) Groote Keyser (1) Harlem (1) Haymarket Bombing (1) Henry David Thoreau (1) Henry Rollins (1) Hillel (1) Ho-Chi Minh (1) Hunter S Thompson (1) Hunter S. Thompson (1) Idaho (1) India (1) Indignados (1) Inter City Firm (1) Irish national liberation army (1) Isidore Isou (1) Jack Cade (1) Jeff Ferrell (1) John Humphrey Noyes (1) Joy Division (1) Kemal Ataturk (1) King Alfred (1) Konstantina Kuneva (1) LETS system (1) Labor Party (1) Lenin (1) Leonora Carrington (1) Lettrisme (1) Libertatia (1) Louis Aragorn (1) Luddites (1) Madagascar (1) Mafiaboy (1) Maine (1) Mao Tse-Tung (1) Maple Spring (1) Marcel Janco (1) Margaret Fuller (1) Mark Rudd (1) Martin McGuinnes (1) Mayhem (1) Michigan Milita (1) Moncton (1) Montgomery Bus Boycott (1) Morris Dees (1) Movement Resource Group (1) Mulugeta Seraw (1) National Film Board (1) Ned Kelly (1) Netherlands (1) New Brunswick (1) Norway (1) OK Crackers (1) Occupy Homes (1) Oklahoma (1) Oklehoma (1) Oneida Community (1) Ontario (1) Oscar Wilde (1) Oslo (1) Owen Sound (1) Pagans Motorcycle Club (1) Palestinian nationalism (1) Patrick Henry (1) Paul Eluard (1) People's Kitchen (1) Phalanx Communities (1) Philadelphia (1) Phillipe Soupault (1) Process Church (1) Quakers (1) Randy Weaver (1) Raoul Vaneigem (1) Raymond Pettibon (1) Rene Magritte (1) Robespierre (1) Robiespierre (1) Romania (1) Rome (1) Rosa Parks (1) Rubell Collection (1) Ruby Ridge (1) Russian Revolution (1) Sacco and Vanzetti (1) Samuel Gompers (1) Sinn Fein (1) Situationist International (1) Society for a Democratic Society (1) Sojourners for Truth and Justice (1) Staughton Lynd (1) Surrealists (1) Switzerland (1) T.A.Z. (1) The Rebels (Canada) (1) Thessaloniki (1) Thomas Paine (1) Timothy McVey (1) Tobie Gene Levingston (1) Tom Metzger (1) Toronto Video Activist Collective (1) Tunisia (1) UVF (1) Ulster Volunteer Force (1) Ultras (1) University of Moncton (1) Varg Vikernes (1) WWII (1) Walt Whitman (1) White Citizen's Council (1) Wisconsin (1) Woody Guthrie (1) Workers' Party of Ireland (1) Yes Men (1) Yolanda Lopez (1) Zurich (1) abbie hoffman (1) abolitionism (1) acadian nationalism (1) amana (1) american renaissance (1) anarchist black cross (1) anarcho-communism (1) andreas baader (1) anti-consumerism (1) anti-rent movement (1) arcades (1) arizona (1) art book (1) art history (1) art strike (1) assata shakur (1) atf (1) automatic writing (1) bandidos (1) bandits (1) bartering (1) bay area (1) bertrand russell (1) bicycles (1) biker church (1) bikies (1) black lives matter (1) black metal (1) black radicalism (1) bob black (1) bob flanagan (1) bobby seale (1) bryon gysin (1) business (1) caledonia conflict (1) cats (1) chicago (1) chicago 68 (1) chicago 8 trial (1) children's book (1) chris carlsson (1) chris kraus (1) church of life after shopping (1) church of stop shopping (1) civil disobedience (1) comic book (1) commentary (1) commune (1) communism (1) confidential informants (1) conscientious objectiors (1) contemporary (1) cope2 (1) core (1) correspondence (1) crimethinc ex-workers collective (1) critical race studies. (1) critque (1) crossmaglen (1) cult of the dead cow (1) cultural theory (1) culture jamming (1) cybercrime (1) cycling (1) daniel domscheit-berg (1) david dellinger (1) david watson (1) dead kennedys (1) debbie goad (1) decollage (1) dishwashing (1) donn teal (1) drag (1) drill (1) drugs (1) dumpster diving (1) dwelling portably (1) ed moloney (1) education (1) educational (1) elliot tiber (1) emmet grogan (1) environmental movement (1) errico malatesta (1) fanzines (1) fay stender (1) feminism (1) ferguson (1) folklore (1) front du liberation du quebec (1) gay pride (1) general strike (1) george jackson (1) georges bataille (1) gerard lebovici (1) gnostic (1) graffiti research lab (1) guerrilla filmmaking (1) guide (1) guy debord (1) guy fawkes (1) hakim bey (1) hans kok (1) harmonists (1) hiphop (1) huey newton (1) humour (1) icarians (1) illegal immigration (1) immigration movement (1) independence movement (1) industrial workers of the world (1) inspirationalists (1) insurrection (1) islamophobia (1) jay dobyns (1) jean baudrillard (1) jean-michel basquiat (1) jello biafra (1) jerry adams (1) jerry rubin (1) joe david (1) johann most (1) john birch movement (1) john cage (1) john lewis (1) journal (1) judith sulpine (1) juvenile literature (1) kathy acker (1) keffo (1) ken kesey (1) kenneth rexroth (1) know-nothings (1) lady pink (1) language rights (1) lifestyle anarchism (1) literature (1) london (1) london ont (1) long kesh (1) los angeles (1) manifesto (1) martha cooper (1) marxism (1) masculinity (1) matthew hale (1) max yasgur (1) may day (1) medgar evers (1) merry pranksters (1) mexican mafia (1) michael hart (1) michael lang (1) micro-currency (1) microcosm publishing (1) middle-east (1) mini-series (1) miss van (1) mlk (1) mockumentary (1) mods and rockers (1) moot (1) nation of islam (1) national vanguard (1) native american party (1) neal cassady (1) neo-confederacy (1) neoconservatism (1) neoism (1) new left (1) noam chomsky (1) nolympics (1) non-violence (1) nonsense (1) north africa (1) notes from nowhere (1) obey giant (1) occupy london (1) occupy oakland (1) october crisis (1) oral biography (1) pacifism (1) parecon (1) peasant rebellion (1) perfectionists (1) photomontage (1) pirate radio (1) pirate utopias (1) poachers (1) poetry (1) polemic (1) police brutality (1) political science (1) popular uprisings (1) portland (1) post-WWII (1) prank (1) protest (1) radical art (1) radical left (1) ralph waldo emmerson (1) real IRA (1) red army faction (1) regis debray (1) retort (periodical) (1) reverend billy (1) rock machine (1) ruben "doc" cavazos (1) san francisco (1) scavenging (1) script kiddies (1) scrounging (1) secession (1) second vermont republic (1) self-published (1) semiotext(e) (1) sexual politics (1) shakers (1) shedden massacre (1) short stories (1) simulation (1) slab murphy (1) slave revolt (1) snake mound occupation (1) social ecology (1) socialism (1) solo angeles (1) sonic youth (1) sonny barger (1) south armagh (1) spirituality (1) squatting (1) stage performance (1) stencil graffiti (1) stewart home (1) sticker art (1) stokley charmicael (1) stokley charmichael (1) stonewall riots (1) straight-edge (1) street theater (1) subgenius (1) survey (1) sylvere lotringer (1) tariq ali (1) teacher (1) ted kaczynski (1) television (1) tent city (1) terror (1) thermidor (1) timothy leary (1) train-hopping (1) tramps (1) trickster (1) trolling (1) tunnel dwellers (1) undercover (1) underground press (1) underground railroad (1) uprising (1) urban infrastructure (1) utopian (1) utopian communities (1) vegan (1) vermont (1) war measures act (1) warez scene (1) weather underground (1) white power skinheads (1) why? (newspaper) (1) wikileaks (1) winnipeg (1) woodstock (1) word salad (1) world church of the creator (1) yippies (1) youth culture (1) z communications (1)