Someone who happens to know that I am no slouch when it comes to chasing racism, sent me an e-mail about the following story:
"In Lake Wylie, S.C., a sign at a local bar has gotten quite a bit of attention. The sign read: 'Please notice, no colors allowed. Thank you.' A local resident says, 'Whether you are white, black, Asian, Hispanic -- it doesn't matter what race you are, just reading that sign you should be offended by it.' Bo Legg, the bar's co-owner, however, contends that some people's reactions, including members of the NAACP, is mistaken,'We welcome people from all walks. That sign has nothing to do with skin color.' 'Colors,' according to Legg, refers to 'motorcycle gangs, [where] each gang has a color or a patch, and most gangs would be willing to fight to the death to defend it.'Legg tells the Charlotte Observer, 'If you're not here to get along and have a good time, I don't want you here."'
Rest of the story here.
Now I ran my ass off and caught Bo and his "no colors" sign, and I swear I don't know what to do with the son of a bitch. I still can't make up my mind if it's racism or if Bo was just honestly trying to keep bike gangs out of his joint...... Bo, I have a question: Couldn't your sign have said, no gang affiliated colors in this bar, or something to that effect? Just thinking out loud here Bo. I don't want to accuse you of playing the white race card. I know that's a no no in post racial A-merry-ca.
I am going to ask for help from the folks who read this blog and see that they think. Sometimes a few more heads are better than one.
112 comments:
Field, my brother-- this ain't about race. Mind, a brother might not feel at home in a biker bar, but this sign isn't about that.
The owner's explanation is legit. Motorcycle gangs can and will bust heads over their "colors."
Most bikers would not be able to read a sign that said "no gang affiliated colors in this bar:. Keep it short, or they can't read it.
You never know, FN. When a sea of motorbikes with identical patches on their vests show up, folks may get sort of nervous. If he meant "coloreds", I'm sure it would have stated it. Otherwise, I won't be in S.C. anytime soon to begin with...
Heck, for all I know, the bar owner got a whiff of the 80's L.A. gang wars...LOL!!!
Since I live in an urban area, I am quite aware of "colors." Let me see red+bloods, blue=crips. That's all I need to know!
Would it be ok if i play my white race card now?
Field do you know Jerry Jackson??He's a elected member of the 14th ward Democrat committee.
Whats up with his "colored only" " no whites allowed" sign hangin' outside his house?
Motorcycle gangs are worse than negros when it comes to they colors.Believe dat!!
Interesting. The nays have it so far. :)
This doesn't sound like racism. Bo's tellin you straight. It's probably a bar popular with bikers and they understand immediately when they see the sign as it is. Some guys with colors may be offended if you you refer to their club colors as *gang affiliated colors* per your suggestion. Some of these guys you may not want to get off on the wrong foot right away with the wrong sign.
My understanding is that the term "colors" has been widely used for years to refer to identifying gang attire. There was even a movie called Colors about gang warfare in LA:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colors_(film)
Racism isn't black and white tangible thing. (no pun intended.) Racism is a DYNAMIC so it involves context, history, intention and impact.
Was the sign sign intended to be racist? NO. Does the intention have to be racist in order to make it so? NO. The historical context with Jim Crow laws and segregation in our history, especially down South, brings with it and emotionally "charged" experience for many people.
If the bar owner understands that hurts in the same sense that historical signs hurt or that the impact would lead to many people feeling unwelcome and he chooses to not act in a way that was DECIDEDLY ANTI-RACIST, then yes its racist.
I just want to say that for all I know this guy is trying to post this sign as an "inside" joke to whites. Either way- it's racist up until the point he understands that it is making people feel unwelcome or is hurting because of our racist historical legacies. Dude can find another way to communicate his anti gang message.
As a resident of the PHYSICALLY beautiful State of stupidity, uh, I meant SC, I can tell you firsthand that ole Bo is full of shit. These ofays have ready made answers to defend this type of stuff (which they do, in various ways, all of the time). They had a lawn jockey, yes, a BLACK lawn jockey at some church not to long ago, and the " "s said that it was "a symbol of a Southern gentleman who happened to be Black." Hell, the "Bo men" of SC defend the practice of segregated proms (yes we have those; some pics of blondes dancing with Negroes got out a couple of years back, and the rest is history....).
Correction:
It's NOT racist until he realizes the impact it has on others. But truthfully the fact that he doesn't realize how that sign would affect others is another example of the impact of racism. Whites regularly aren't familiar with the weight of slavery and Jim Crow has on the experience of full citizenship for people of color.
Im with those that say this is about the bikers, not race.... and if his bar is a biker bar, he probably is trying to keep his liquor license with that sign.
There is enough legit examples of race playing out... this isn't one, in my opinion...
By the way, violence between motorcycle gangs has never been noted anywhere as long as I've been alive. In fact, the only time you see motorcycle gangs is during biker's week in Myrtle beach each year. Let's be real here. How many Negroes does anyone believe actually eats at Bo's place. The sign is meant to attract a certain "hue" and "mindset" that would rather eat amongst themselves.
my kid's Jr high has a dress code including a rule about not wearing "colors" (meaning gang colors). Nobody needs to explain what it means because of the context: wearing the wrong color can get you jumped, beat up, etc. I don't know the context of this particular place and its sign, but when I read your post that was my first thought: no biker and/or gang colors.
Racists may often be illiterate, but they usual know how to spell their slurs the way they are pronounced, if not correctly.
When I saw the picture of the sign, I thought of gang colors.
I'm from a small town out west, but that's what I thought.
" Whites regularly aren't familiar with the weight of slavery and Jim Crow has on the experience of full citizenship for people of color. "
Is there anyone here who didn't sleep through history class? Ever visited SC, the state where removal of the Confederate battle flag caused a governor to lose his second bid? The state where Evangelicals stayed up all night praying that Barack would lose, because he is the anti-Christ? The home of Bob Jones University, who didn't legalize interracial dating until 2002? Would dozens of buildings be named after Strom Thurmond where you live. smh....ignorance is the biggest enemy of progress. Not racist...ha! And I thought that ostriches were the only living things that buried their heads in the sand when confronted with something that makes them uncomfortable.
Uhhhhhhhhh, did it ever dawn on anyone that a redneck like Bo would be setting himself up to get robbed, or killed, if this sign was in reference to gangs. I.G.N.O.R.A.N.C.E. at it's best. P.S. Keep the ignorant comments coming. I don't have much else to do tonight.
Well 7 years living in Maine, a state with not too many peope of color and I have seen those signs at beach bars. My experience here is that they are talking gangs since we get mortorcycle gangs that like to roll up. So having seen that up here I am less inclined to say its racism but more like a clueless person who does not understand how such a sign could be interpreted.
First time I saw one I was ready to get crazy but having seen the gangs, at least up here its a way to keep the riff raff out who in Maine is mostly white folks.
Did it ever dawn on anyone that Bro G was setting himself up to be DISBELIEVED when he actually had a legitimate claim of racism?
I understood what he meant about "no colors" from the start, but I was a little edgy from thinking he was referring to, and singling out the urban gangs. That bothered me because I thought any random black person walking in with a blue/red/yellow/white t-shirt would falsely raise concern for the yahoos. Then I dropped the accusation when he cleared up that "bikers" also wear colors (who knew..)
Then again Field, don't be surprise if Bo and co. may have well had a good chuckle at the thought of what that sign could also imply while they were nailing it. before it got blown up with attention, it could have been an inside joke on our expense too.
On this one, I read the sign and immediately thought of motorcycle gangs, and was pleased that I'd interpreted the sign correctly. I'm an almost 60 yr old white chick, and I grew up in Maryland, where there were still "No Colored" signs to be seen in rural places, so I'm very familiar with and was raised to be conscious of racial prejudice. I'm also an ER nurse of many years, and more than once have had to try to talk a tough biker into letting us cut off his 'colors' in order to save his life. NOT an easy task. They really are attached to those things, and many times we would get pretty creative in order not to destroy or deface the 'colors', even at the cost of much pain and possible damage to the wearer. I think the bar owner just might be innocent in this case.
By the way, how many of you are regular tea party attendees. Your explanations mimic that given by the cops for removing that Black lady from a meeting, even though some white man snatched a folded up sign from her. He was escorted.....never mind. If you want to believe that Bo is Martin Luther King 3 with albinism, go right ahead.
Evita, that was a good comment. No one can know what's in Bo's heart, but there is such a thing as context. I am trying to think of Bo's location (SC) here, and the type of person Bo is trying to attract to his establishment. Does Bo really fear biker gangs fighting because of their patches? Or is it, as Bro G said, some kind of racist inside joke?
Wow, to coin a popular phrase: I guess only "Bo knows".
When I first saw the sign, my immediate thought was that it referred to gangs. The owner could have made things easier on himself by being more clear on the sign, but I'm not offended by it.
This isn't MAINE (LOL..big time). By the way, the place where Bo lives doesn't have a gang problem. Ahhhhhhhhhh, and you represent the decent people.
Nope...not buying it. Grew up in the South dealing with the backwards ass thinking of racist white folks and their "oh, I didn't know" BS responses. Yeah there might be biker gangs but most rednecks would rather rebuild a bar from the foundation after a bar fight than serve a "person of color"...believe that!
Bro. Field,
You stated that "Does Bo really fear biker gangs fighting because of their patches?"
It amazes me that reasonably intelligent people can be played by Bo so easily. Bikers are comrades, and don't do all of that fighting you see in the movies (another stereotype).
By the way, how do you people explain the lack of violence during bike week, if biker violence is such a problem in SC?
Checkmate.
By the way, Malcolm, I sure hope YOU aren't Black.
Well I must say that when I saw the pic of the sign the first thing I thought of was gangs.
Plus this would have been easy enough to check out. All the NAACP had to do was send some Black people in on a few different occasions to see what would happen. Right?
Listen folks, our wonderful governor, Mr. Mark Sandford, has a membership at an all-white country club.
By the way, what types of people would put Mark into office in the first place?
How many of you have seen the videos of cops trying to run over people standing on a sidewalk, in the name of "chasing a suspect." Too bad their audio equip was working. Those bystanders being called niggers didn't help the cop's cause.
Dear Brother Field:
I take the man at his word. Out here in California we even have Black biker gangs (go figure).
Now a days, I would appreciate a sign or something so that when I go out with clueless white friends, I don't end up having to educate them as to why their choice of a place to stop for a beverage may not be the best idea!
More than once have I, along with friends (I'm kinda of light) gone into an establishment and had the noise level drop from 100 to zero instantly! Not a good time.
Bro G: I sure hope YOU aren't questioning my blackness.
"Well I must say that when I saw the pic of the sign the first thing I thought of was gangs. "
When I keep reading these comments, I keep wondering why nobody questioned whether or not the area has a gang problem (or even bothered to wonder)...it doesn't by the way.
This country is in BAD shape.
Dunno but I will say the first thing I thought when I read it was gang colors.
--j
I thought all of the liars that, with a straight face, will claim that the confederate battle flag is about "heritage" and "state's rights" lived in the southeast.
"Bo"..LOL. Even the name is a giveaway (this is a common nickname, and probably not his real name). Bo is a derivation of the phrase "good ole BOY." Boy="Bo"
Yeah Malcolm, man, it should be a crime that your name is Malcolm. I know, Field, if that's over the top, I'll tone things down.
Bro. G said...
Listen folks, our wonderful governor, Mr. Mark Sandford, has a membership at an all-white country club.
Ex-president Bill Clinton has a membership at a all white country club.So whats your point?
The "gangs" of LAKE WYLIE, SC. Good grief. Do you really think gangs of anyone would be allowed to hang around the "LAKE WYLIES" of SC????? My, oh my.
" Ex-president Bill Clinton has a membership at a all white country club.So whats your point? " Ex. President, along with his wife, played the race card down here when Barack Obama won. So what's your point?
Checkmate, again.
Alright, I'm outta here. Enjoy lunch with Bo some day. Bring some pointed white hoods; you may get a discount.
Malcolm, you be sure that the police escort you into the place.
I've been in bars with signs that say "No Colors" and "Check Your Knives at The Door" and this is Utah. Here this means gang colors, but in SC it may mean something else entirely.
But if this sign really says "Please notice, no colors allowed. Thank you" he's being awfully polite about his racism. Which isn't impossible or even unlikely, of course. But, like I said, if that sign were here where I live it would mean gang colors.
Brudda, I am a black biker and have been involved in this issue myself, here in Maryland. The sign is common in bars that cater to biker clientel, and is easily understood by club riders that are NOT looking for a hassle.
Sometimes the culture wars are just about culture. Besides, I am old enough to know the difference between 'colors' and Coloreds.
Bro G: You sound suspiciously like a lot of the conservative bloggers that I debate with on occasion. What I mean is that you are making comments and assumptions without a clear idea of what you're talking about. I'm starting to suspect that you aren't even black, but instead came over here trolling just to kick up some dust.
You did educate me on at least one thing with your breakdown of the nickname "Bo". If it wasn't for you, I never would have started to question that black former athletes Bo Jackson and Bo Outlaw just might be white racist rednecks in disguise.
http://diversityink.blogspot.com/
I wouldn't know what to make of it, but biker gangs sure would, & they can ruin a bar's rep overnight. Bo probably had no black customers anyway. Not many local bars are integrated, if you think about it. Not in Jersey, probably not in S.C. Bo wouldn't have to make an inside joke.
I don't think he was being racist with the sign..especially considering it's a biker bar..c'mon!
Sincerely,
Go
Damn this is interesting. This is kind of like that water color experiment that the shrinks like to do. "What do you see when you look at this picture?"
BTW, I am pretty sure that both Malcolm and Bro G are black. See folks? We are not monolithic.
And Bro G, it never gets too "over the top" in here. If you tone it down that would be a first. :)Malcolm can handle himself just fine.
I dunno, Field - I've seen signs at biker bars out in Oakland, but they spell it out, so you know what it means.
The fact that the geographical location has had a history of "Whites Only" or "Colored" signs over water fountains, bathrooms and shyt, raises my eyebrows, but the owner honestly could be telling Crips and Blood to stay the hell out of his joint; and his real message is lost in the fact that he has the sign up in an area probably KNOWN for Klan barbeques and cross-burnings.
the first thing i thought of was gang colors. the sign isnt clear for some who dont understand the terminology, but "colors" is a pretty common term for biker gang patches & jackets
THINK, Field. The bar attracts bikers, many of whom belong to gangs. It depends on their business, so the owner can't offend his customers. Yet he also wants to avoid having the place busted up.
If he puts up the sign that you, Field, the Philadelphia lawyer, want him to post, he offends his customers by calling attention to their "gang" affiliation. Yes, everyone knows they're in gangs, but they don't want to said in exactly that way.
So, he says "colors" and everyone knows what is meant. Look in the dictionary, Field. I believe the word is "euphemism." In this instance, the NAACP comes across as laughably clueless in the extreme. If this is the best example of racism they can find in America, then we truly have solved all of our problems worth mentioning.
@Bro. G -- Bill Clinton was never a member of an all white country club. He played a round of golf at one before he was president. Not too different from all those spectators and players at the Masters which still doesn't allow women in.
--j
Oh and Bo = Good Ole Boy? WTF?!
--j
Field, pardon my anonymity (I hope). I was involved with biker culture in the '70s, and this sign makes total sense to me as a respectful request to bikers to not fly their colors in the bar.
If one bike club is on the outs with another, it's easy for fights to start when drinking gets heavy. But if they don't know one another's affiliation, they may stay cool.
Personally, I'd think twice about going into even a no-colors biker bar, but most bikers my age are great-grampas, so I'd probably be safe.
Ancient biker chick
GOD DAMNIT AMERICA IF IT ISN'T ABOUT RACE STOP LOOKING FOR IT.
THIS IS A WASTE OF FUCKING BANDWIDTH AND FIELD NEGRO IS A RACIST TO THE SAME CALIBUR AS A KKK MEMEBER SAYING WHITEPRIDEDOUCHE.
IM NOT FOR A WHITE OR BLACK AMERICA, EQUALITY.
THIS ASSHOLE IS HELPING AS MUCH AS A STUPID FUCKING WHITE PRISON GANG. YOU DUMB FUCKS
Hehehe This is an interesting look into the mind of differing people. I tend to go with the consensus, which is that the sign was directed towards bikers. My sister and brother in law are white and they biked across the country. They talked about being discriminated against all along the East Coast, particularly in Virginia. So I think people have issues with bikers and don't think of them as 'respectable.'
And to the person from Oakland, I grew up in East Oakland and always wanted to go to the EB Dragon spot. I did finally when I was 21 but hardly anyone was there that night! lol!
Well....I'm going to gift this one to Bo. Historically the term was "coloreds" and was never as politely worded as this sign. I've lived a few years in various southern states and my obervation is that those who miss "the good ole days" have no problem getting their outdated offensive terminology correct.
Funny how as soon as people started talking about gangs, many leaped to Bloods and Crips. There are actually a host of other gangs out there and biker gangs often take it to a whole 'nother level. My read here is that Bo caters to a clientele that sometimes bellies up to the bar, cheek to jowl, with some biker gang affliated folk - hence no colors.
I know its South Carolina but...like I said, I'm going to gift it to Bo this one time.
Bo lives in SC. Everything in SC has an undercurrent racism. The culture in SC accepts segregation as a way of life. This is the state whose history at one time boasted to have the largest population of slaves...Strom Thurmond comes from a family lineage that owned the most slaves in SC.
So Bo's sign was actually for bikers because Bo doesn't have to put up a sign to keep Blacks out of his bar. Blacks know better than to go into his bar, and they wouldn't want to go into his redneck joint anyway.
Again, SC is very segregated...Blacks stay with Blacks and Whites stay with Whites. That's just the way it is in SC. Hell, their proms are still segregated.
Must be a vast desert of fresh blog topics if this is the best you can come up with, FN.
I'm dying to read who thinks this is racist.
Bro G, didn't disappoint, buddy, you don't know what you are talking about.
There are biker wars out here. Doesn't anyone remember the shootout in a las vegas casino? Or the riot between biker gangs in Hollister or somewhere like that south of San Jose? The cops refuse to let them hold their annual rally there any longer. What about the biker murder in SF that was in retaliation for some other biker murder? Bro G, shut up, seriously.
As for black biker gangs, I know of some black biker clubs but they are not gangs. In Oakland, the baddest mothers are still the Hell's Angels. These guys are rattlesnakes and no one, I mean no one, messes with them. Their HQ is not far from me and deep in Latino gang territory. No one messes with their HQ or their bike shop. Even the cops hate to deal with the Angels. All that folklore PR BS that appeared in the press when Sonny Barger got out of prison is just that: BS. These guys are hardcore sociopaths.
Anyone who thinks the image of violent white bikers is a Hollywood stereotype needs to stop talking right now.
Obviously, Philly has no ganster bikers riding around the City of Brotherly Love....just gangsters on horses there...their colors are blue.
First thing I would think of would be gang colors, not anything else.
First, I don't live in an area where biker gangs proliferate, so, a sign like the one posted by the store owner in question would leave me to say, "WTF?" That said, I would simply ask what the meaning of the sign is.
However, I would not necessarily jump to the conclusion that the store owner means, "colored folk", which is a term from the last century, and would seem quite archaic to me. Besides, a sign banning people of color from ANY establishment today is a direct route to a lawsuit.
I'm going with Bo on this one. I live in the UK where in the cities there are gangs, but all over the country, there are football (soccer to you) teams with ardent followers, who wear the colours of their team idols. Team loyalty takes on the weight of gang loyalty in some instances, esp. in the W. of Scotland, where Celtic fans are mostly Catholic (and wear green/yellow/white)and Ranger fans are mostly Protesant (wearing orange and blue), and they try and dismantle the Northern Ireland Peace Agreement every weekend in Glasgow and thereabouts. Fans tend to gravitate to and drink in their own pubs, but if you live in a small village like I do, there's only one pub. To avoid people pushihg broken beer glasses in each other's faces, etc. there's a sign outside: 'No Football Colours.' 'Anyone wearing colours will not be admitted.' or variations thereof.
"Bo knows."
FYI,we have quite a gew biker gangs in this area. The Pagens come to mind.They had a shootout with the Hell's Angels in broad daylight on a major highway a few years a go.
So yep,like Bo,we know biker gangs here in Philly.
Still, when I saw Bo's sign......
WCS,I am like Prince,I could die tomorrow and Mrs.Field could keep this blog going for a year with the stuff I have on ice.So kill the nothing to talk about noise. Just because YOU don't happen to like the subject,it doesn't make it irrelevent.We can't always talk about blacks in the hood behaving badly.I know that's right up your alley.
Blogging is fascinating, becauase I am reading Anon 6:16 AM's comments and I know that he/she is the real deal because of the way he/she spells colors. (colours) Still, Anon, I know all about those rivalries and how passionate folks on that side of the pond are about their football, but the UK ain't South Carolina if you get my drift.
Hey Field I live in Delaware and the biggest and oldest black biker gang I know is the Thunderguards. I'm sure they have a chapter in Chester, Pa and I don't know if they have one in Philly but to echo what the ER nurse said to a biker in a M/C club his colors are everything and they'll die for their colors or try to kill someone with the wrong colors although I haven't heard of any rumbles in years. Maybe from the outside looking in that sign might look racist but of course by now you know its just talking about bike gang colors. Now I've seen signs that said "No Club Colors" which leaves no doubt who their refering but in this case I'm going to its not racist but at the same time the sign could be more specific.
From the article:
"Legg said he has gotten other complaints, including one from the NAACP, but he says the group was satisfied with his explanation."
I would think the local NAACP would know whether this was racist or not. Wouldn't you?
Myself, having a kid who just got out of high school in North Carolina, next state up from SC, gangs ARE a problem in many communities.
just so you know pubs in central London, England sometimes display such signs, but they mean no football shirts. not skin colour.
The sign was about gang colors Field.
I've seen the same kind of signs at bike bars in Maryland.
"I've seen the same kind of signs at bike bars in Maryland."
No, there are no such signs in MD.
If you want to do it, and try hard enough, you can see Racism in the craters on the Moon. C'on Field, there's enough real racism out there to comment on, direct and subtle / subliminal that you don't have to strain to find it...and this sign AIN"T it ! There are similar signs in low life bars ALL over (L.A., Daytona Beach, Oakland...and these are just ones I'm aware of).
No doubt the majority of cats who frequent these joints don't belong to the ACLU or donate to the NAACP, but the sign just ain't racist...
"No, there are no such signs in MD."
Do you live in Maryland?
Are you going to tell me what I've seen in Baltimore and Chesapeake Beach???
"Bo knows."
FYI,we have quite a gew biker gangs in this area. The Pagens come to mind.They had a shootout with the Hell's Angels in broad daylight on a major highway a few years a go.
So yep,like Bo,we know biker gangs here in Philly.
Still, when I saw Bo's sign......
WCS,I am like Prince,I could die tomorrow and Mrs.Field could keep this blog going for a year with the stuff I have on ice.So kill the nothing to talk about noise. Just because YOU don't happen to like the subject,it doesn't make it irrelevent.We can't always talk about blacks in the hood behaving badly.I know that's right up your alley.
"WCS,I am like Prince,I could die tomorrow and Mrs.Field could keep this blog going for a year with the stuff I have on ice.So kill the nothing to talk about noise. Just because YOU don't happen to like the subject,it doesn't make it irrelevent.We can't always talk about blacks in the hood behaving badly.I know that's right up your alley."
I know this is your blog FN but what cracks me up about WCS is that she seems to come here just to sneer and look down her nose on us poor ignorant negroes.
Yo WCS if you want to obsess with how screwed up black folks in general and black men in particular are, there's always "What About Our Daughters.com.
There's a whole bunch of bitter, angry, deprived heifers over there just like you trying to rationalize why they have no friends and no man.
FN: it isn't a matter of not liking the topic. It's that it is trolling for racism where there is none.
As for blacks behaving badly, if one is going to throw rocks, one shouldn't live in a glass house.
Are you suggesting that black folks have no right to confront white racism because we so criminal?
Field,
I think the sign you would be looking for would say "no coloreds." However, bikers aren't the types to be politically correct either. If "colors" is too close to "colored" I doubt they care.
'... but the UK ain't South Carolina if you get my drift.'
Field, I know I'm not in SC, but what I'm trying to say is that here in W. coast of Scotland, Ranger/Celtic football team loyalty has its roots in the terrible emnity between Protestants and Catholics in N. Ireland. For years, both teams' supporters clubs often hid shadey types that sent money, smuggled arms etc. to both sides' terrorists (though mostly in the US, you'd get the BBC-sanctioned emphasis on IRA terrorists, with not too much said about their UVF (Ulster Volunteer Force) counterparts. I'm not saying that ordinary supporters were murderers, but that the rivalry is based in a murderous history, obviously very different from racism's murderous and continuing history in Amurrica, but very much rooted in England's historical attitude towards the Irish, who were regarded as literally sub-human, up until less than a century ago.
One more vote for Bo here. First thing I thought of when I saw the picture of the sign was either gangs or team colors. It IS pretty standard terminology.
...yop
I am going anon today. I belong to a biker club. We are black and proud. We ride our colors quite all the time. There are many older black clubs here in philly, that i will not name as well as a lot of up and coming clubs in philly/nj/del. actually they are all over the US. The Roundup just completed in GA. So i do understand the bar owner.
Not too far from there, in the '70s, Outlaws and Angels had it out.....and living here, yes, there are biker gangs here. They are very undercover. And I believe an asian woman alerted the papers.
Always KISS - 'keep it simple...' More information would overload and short circuit the synapses for about 90% of our population.
"Self responsibility"..., i.e., Taking responsibility for one's own ____________________(fill in the blank)is not code for anything; it simply states exactly what it means.
God bless us all.
Field, having "affiliated" on your sign would cost a lot of money.
Let's give Mr. Legg (Bo Legg!) a break on this one.
My first thought was gang colors. I was thinking urban (mostly) youth gang, but can understand the biker gang connection. As a kid in CA, no colors was common to events discouraging gang activity.
When I saw Field had posted it, I carefully re-read it to make sure colors wasn't "coloreds" - especially in the South. So, I can also understand the racial impact of the sign, especially as I have been places in the Dakotas that still have "No Dogs or Indians Allowed".
OK Bo,I am leaning to giving you a pass on this one.Looks like the nays have it.
The smart people on this blog have spoken.:)
Me and a few of my friends frequently go to shoot pool at a little dive, and there are usually always a few Bandido's hanging out there. They've never been anything but nice to us....(not that we'd ever do anything to piss them off!)
I've seen folks walk through the door, see them all congregated over in their corner, and turn right around & haul-ass. Those bikers always get a big laugh out of that. Funny thing, they won't shoot pool for money, it's just the loser buys the winner a drink. They seem to show a bit of respect to folks who can hold their own with them on a pool table....and aren't scared to even play them. They gracious winners, and good losers too. Not at all what I'd expect from biker folk. I notice no cops ever pop up in that bar, though.
Bro
Don't get pissed. This is not an unusual sign in England and Scotland where it refers to football (soccer) jerseys. Wearing the wrong team jersey can get you into a fight with the patrons so they don't allow anyone wearing a team jersey in.
Field, as a writer (not that the bar owner would have caught this), it seems like if it were racial it would say "No Coloreds", not "No Colors". But, then again, with the way things are now, he might have been going for a 2-fer.
well, don't hang in bars anymore, but i remember one bar, really popular with good live music, the bikers would come in and start big fights, one night, they broke all the windows, all the tables and chairs, all the mirrors behind the bar, everything, they wrecked everything, then the bar did put up a sign, but it said something like, no chains, no chaps, ect.
Better not flash no colors around these Southern Maryland Biker sistas.
http://www.nolimitdivasmc.org/
I can just picture Alicia's big ole behind hanging off the edges a a Harley Fat Boy as she's cruisiing down the interstate, prolly with her butt crack showing.
Yeah Field, I think you're reaching with this one, LOL!!!
@ Bro G:
The Hell's Angels and The Pagans had a shoot out on Long Island a few years ago. The Outlaws have bombed other gangs' clubhouses. Throughout the 1970s, the Warlocks and the Pagans fought in pitched battles in Southern NJ Motorcycle gangs do engage in open warfare because they are criminals fighting over drug proceeds and other turf.
Growing up in Southern NJ, I saw fights between these groups and new that if a bar had a "No Colors" sign it meant bikers better leave their beefs outside.
The question is, was the SIGN put up after Barack became the President? and not one single person bothered to ask that question? and you wonder why Bro. G just gave up commenting, it's hard to get people to See what's before them!
A White's only sign,went up in a boarding house after Barack became President! it was posted on BET Website!
Bo put that sign up on purpose! it was to scare away Minority's it was done to rub Minority's the wrong way! but, he doe's not need to worry because, some Black's folk's will still try to patronize him no matter what!
When are we going to look at the Whole Picture, White people are Shrewd, they have been at this for a long time, they know how to twist and turn thing's around so it will look Innocent! but, in reality, they mean what they say!
Why did BO not say( we will not PATRONIZE people that have on Certain Motor Cycle Color's) no he used the word (Color's) this sign was meant for all People of Color, not just Black People,remember, we are no longer alone as Minority's, this is not the sixty's, and most RACIST Discriminate against all people of color in the year 2009!
iseeisee
Dear A Person of Interest
you are gross, and despicable
If the sign had said "No Colreds" it woulda been racist. He like most whites probably doesn't consciously think about race because he doesn't have to. Check our my latest blog post for some N word fun.
Since the owner's in South Carolina...I'm a bit suspicious. Surely, he must have realized how such a sign would read to most folks.
But the word, "colors" is used in the way that he's posted it. "wearing the colors" "flying the colors" ...
So, I guess maybe we could give him the benefit of the doubt, and just assume he's stooopid rather than racist.
The Angels didn't riot in Las Vegas but in Laughin Nevada at Harrah's. For anyone who thinks these are quaint folk heroes...Also found stories about Angels violence in the UK, Canada, and Australia.
http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/riverrunriot/
http://articles.latimes.com/2002/jul/06/local/me-bikers6
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/05/16/MN52995.DTL
http://www.ktvu.com/news/17387043/detail.html
http://www.marinij.com/ci_12400096?source=most_viewed
http://www.policeone.com/gangs/articles/90736-Hells-Angels-Roar-Into-San-Francisco-Ready-to-Party-Shooting-Linked-to-The-Club/
http://www.policeone.com/drug-interdiction-narcotics/articles/1718358-Alameda-Co-Sheriffs-DEA-arrest-two-Hells-Angels-leaders-seize-58-pot-plants/
http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&id=6237030
Usually I see racism in every little thing but I have to admit that my very first reaction when I saw this was to think of bike gang colors. Having known more than few bikers, I am sure they knew exactly what the sign meant, and take it very seriously.
Now had the sign said 'coloreds'....
Too many people are ignorant, racist and just plain stupid. Time and time again, we're exposed to how many in America think and feel. Why should we be surprised? We should not.. Racism and/or personal preferences may not be 'right', but they remain subjective thoughts that can't be contain within the walls of our own home.
Yeah Field, I think this one is generic. In the motorycle club world, they refer to their emblems on their vest as their colors. They do operate like gangs in the since of brotherhood meaning they have to come to one anothers rescue.
I have lived and worked with professional bouncers (one black, one white) in Portland, Oregon. When they told a patron "no colors" were allowed, they were referring to the establishment's policy against wearing of gang colors. In practice, this meant any identifying insignia, including biker jackets with a club logo and t-shirts with nazi skinhead symbols.
Field,
Could you have gotten that little piece of shit Chris Brown the deal he got? Jesus and Clarence Darrow must have been on the defense team, and the typical Lance Ito type LA judge adds to the bullshit...
Bikers know what the sign means, this is not about skin colour. js
I think the sign wasn't written well like the parking signs in New York City.
There's a sandwich shop here in the 7th ward that has a sign saying "no white tee shirts." Somehow the business owner, I guess, has associated white tees with gangsters and crack heads. I wonder why he doesn't also say "no shirt, no service."
question to the ppl who say its NOT about race: Do you think we'll have to worry about seeing this in bars in east LA, Compton, Crenshaw..ect...
"White people are Shrewd,"
No we're not...
I worked the door at a bar in TN and yes, it was a rough crowd. We would ask all Bikers to "retire their colors" before entering. The sign read: BIKERS: Retire your colors.
I also lived in Myrtle Beach SC where they have (white)Bike week and then Black bike week. Many businesses used to close for the latter. I knew several business owners and they did incur much more damage and trouble during the second bike week. The city forced the businesses to stay open or pay a fine.
Bo may be a little vague on purpose and could be racist, but he has really done nothing wrong and I believe deserves the benefit of the doubt. If he is not racist he could prove it by changing the sign.
I'm on the bartender's side. "Colored" is a pejorative, but the concept of "colors" goes way back, back to Rome, really. You don't lose your unit's colors - you can surrender, you can die, but you never, ever give up the colors. You tear them up and eat them first.
And that really used to happen. I'm thinking of the story of a famous French unit that, after Napoleon's defeat, took their unit's colors (which they had torn up in defeat to prevent their capture), burnt them and drank the ashes in wine so that their colors would literally be a part of them.
I'm going to go a step further and call historical ignorance here - the concept and meaning of "colors" came way, way before the concept of "colored" as we know it.
Adding to that the fact that I recently read the autobiography of the Hell's Angels founder, and you know, they would kick the shit out of anyone pretending to be an Angel. That sign is as much their for posers' protection as it is to prevent gang fights.
You do not mess with people's colors.
field...i lived in a small northwest ohio town...a local bar had the exact same sign...i was thrown off at first too...then i realized that it couldnt mean what i thought it did...i was right...
Well i guess it is up to the patrons of Bo's business to decide for themselves the intent of the sign and whether they can support its message.
I was leaning towards believing his explanation, but then I realized his bar was in SC not SD, also I wouldn't have gone with the faux old-time print.
Oh and what is the deal with the House Negro of the day? Its bad for "the coloreds" to be armed? I'd agree though that its pretty stupid to tote around a firearm unless its locked and loaded and you are willing to use it. Otherwise you are asking to be robbed by one who is.
Excuse me but the sign says "colors" not "colored".
So how did "colors" i.e., a gang member representing his or her membership by wearing a gang logo or particular colors of clothing and "colored" which is the term once widely regarded as a description of black people become one in the same?
FN you are reaching with this one.
Field,
I'm in Chicago and although I don't see many bikers in the city (it's funny because I know for a fact a lot of Chicago cops are weekend bikers) they are out in the suburbs. The country bars outside of Chicago suburbs sometimes have these signs. It's about bikers.
Field,
I'm in Chicago and although I don't see many bikers in the city (it's funny because I know for a fact a lot of Chicago cops are weekend bikers) they are out in the suburbs. The country bars outside of Chicago suburbs sometimes have these signs. It's about bikers.
Taking the sign in the context of its location, I'd assume "colors" to be meant in the sense of association, a gang association to be precise. Such a sign even remotely implying race wouldn't be tolerated these days.
what the Field Negro should be doing first, is working on his own Racist Perceptions of White People.
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