Santee organizing an ABATE chapter on July 22, 2006

Photos and Article by FastFred

John and Steve worked together to host an organizing meeting for a Santee chapter of ABATE of South Carolina. I was happy to be invited and happier still to see a lot of new faces. Many in attendance had never heard of ABATE let alone what ABATE stood for or our mission. One couple in attendance even disagreed with our stance on the issue of choice regarding helmet usage. I did my best to explain what ABATE and biker rights mean. I also extended an invitation to all those present to join me on my next "freedom ride in the mountains." This oddly offended one or two folks in attendance who felt all laws should be obeyed even if they were wrong or immoral. While I strongly disagree I do respect the opinions of others. The scary part is the atrocities of WWII occurred in a large part due to the people of Germany and Japan blindly following the law and killed fellow humans in the name of the law and following orders. Regardless if my lidless riding in all states offends a few or not I plan to keep living life standing and riding tall rather than on my knees.

I have high expectations for the new chapter forming in Santee; I am also curious what new name they will choose for their chapter. John and Steve certainly started out with a bang as you can see in the photos.