Biker Culture: Are You ATGATT Or IDGAF?
We all make our own decisions in life, and we don’t need others letting us know we are ‘wrong.’
It’s an argument as old as riding itself it seems. How much gear should you wear and why? One side you have the boys who believe in all the gear, all the time. They cry ATGATT at the top of their lungs when the opportunity arises. On the other side of that argument, we have those who prefer to dress for the ride rather than worry about a slide. We are all grown-ass adults who can make our own choices in life, so why is it that people find a need to tell everyone else how wrong their choices are? The idea came up when we were reading a Reddit thread yesterday. Two guys sitting at an ice cream shop enjoying a cool treat on a warm day. Our author is “lightly equipped” but is an experienced writer. Unprompted, he claims the other biker comes over to ream him on his choices for protective gear.
Why is this a thing that people think is ok?
And before we go further, we want to state that we are 100-percent on the ATGATT side of this argument. We spent a decade working in hospitals, and we have seen the carnage. We have received “leather donor” calls across the ER pager. Even still, we have never just walked up to someone and told them they are living their life the wrong way. We believe that you are smart enough to live your own life and don’t need our input. If you ask our opinion, you will get it, but we don’t go banging on people’s doors asking if they have heard of our lord and savior, full kangaroo leathers.
But how do you guys feel about this whole situation? Who knows, we might be completely wrong and out of touch when it comes to how the greater H-D community feels. Do you ride ATGATT or are you like our Reddit author and ride IDGAF style? Regardless of your choice, do you find the urge to try and sway others to your side of the argument? Hit the forum and sound off. Oh, and let’s leave the tank top and flip-flop squids on liter-bikes out of this. Everyone knows you can’t talk sense into them regardless.
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