WEARING HELLS ANGELS GEAR IS LIKE AN INSULT TO THE POLICE ON THE STREET

You'd think we'd hear nothing but applause for raiding a Hells Angels
clubhouse in Vancouver.

Instead, neighbours were heard on the police perimeter, voicing outlaw
support with comments like: "There goes the 'hood. Who's gonna keep us safe
now? Everyone knows the police can't!"

The sentiment is echoed elsewhere.

Hells Angels support clothing is worn by all manner of apparently
mainstream people.

You've seen it.

"Support the Red and White" or "Support the Big Red Machine" is emblazoned
on T-shirts and jackets.

Individual chapters are often praised with wording like "Support East End."

People so adorned tend to speak in themes: Police are wasting time,
hassling the Angels; Hells Angels are the good guys, the only ones getting
anything done, etc., and we should be chasing rapists and robbers instead.

Not that I encourage starting conversations with red-and-white types.

Small talk is probably not what they're looking for.

Support wear is part of a long-standing Hells Angels public relations push.

And it's been interesting to watch their PR machinery shifting gears since
the raid.

Radio appearances by Hells Angels representatives used to bring claims that
bikers are just like-minded folk who enjoy freedom.

It was actually hoped a member would be charged with an offence, we were
told, to give the boys a chance to prove they were clean.

Now that a handful of them are dodging for legal cover, we're being
reminded that people are innocent until proven guilty.

It's unfair to paint the club with a single brush stroke, we're advised.

And yeah, there may be the odd bad apple, but the police have their wild
cards too: "Look at the way they tore the doors off the clubhouse. Talk
about excessive force!"

What I get here, other than a grim sort of amusement, is an impression that
most people have their minds made up.

Outlaw types have always enjoyed support in some sectors of society.

Mobsters the world over have fans.

Charges or jail time are unlikely to change this.

There may well be low crime rates adjacent to Hells Angels clubhouses.

I'm willing to believe they make friendly and respectful neighbours.

But all that tells us is that they mind their own backyards.

Time will tell how they do in court.

For my part, I'll continue to view support gear with bias.

I doubt anyone wearing it is in the dark about what the Hells Angels really
are.

Donning the garb doesn't make a person guilty of anything. But it does
indicate that a choice has been made.

To a police officer on the street, it reads like an insult before a word is
spoken.