The Bandidos MC members have a reputation for being badass, but they also do some nice things.
American culture has led to characters that embody the bad-boy attitude – like Jax, the outlaw biker star of the TV show "Sons of Anarchy." Motorcyclist organizations, especially the AMA, fight back against bad reputation. Their statements, however, have been overshadowed by a story: that one of the AMA representatives said that 99% of motorcycle clubs were good. This gave rise to 1% clubs, a term referring to criminal motorcycle gangs. If 99% were law-abiding motorcyclists, outlaw gang members were criminals, and proudly so.
One note on terminology: originally, outlaws were motorcycle clubs unrecognized by the AMA. But nowadays, outlaws and 1% clubs are synonyms. Outlaw motorcycle clubs often engage in the same kind of activities as other syndicates: weapons, drugs, theft. But even though many law-abiding motorcycle clubs think of outlaws as criminals, members themselves see them as fraternal societies. Check out these flattering facts about the Bandidos motorcycle club.
