Jeepers help Marines

[k7mto]

Anyone who says all we do is damage trails is obviously out of touch. The gang over at Jeepaholics.com sent care packages to the unit of one of it's members...

http://www.jeepaholics.com/support/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=37232

I wonder how many green nazi's have sent supplies, much less support their effort?

[SavageSun4x4]

We need more of this instead of more data collection to fight the other data collectors [Sierra Club, etc,
etc]. Only one major group has ever won those battles, the NRA. They have
won and continued to win for 2 reasons.
1. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights, specifically the 2nd Amendment,
the right to keep and bear arms!
2. The data collected, whether by the NRA, or the Federal/State/Local
governments has and continues to validate the 2nd Amendment.
3. Simple, we win because we are right and continue to be so.

Having said that. We [off roaders] struggle to keep what little we have and
are continually losing ground. Our sport is very near extinction. Matter
of fact, much closer than you know. Today the Koyota [sp] Treaty took
effect. Every country except the US has signed the treaty. HOWEVER it has
been signed, by none other than Owl Hore, excuse me, Al Gore, while he was
the VP. The NEXT liberal democrat will ratify that signature and declare it
law. Your OHV [motorbike, Jeep, ATV, etc, etc] will not be worth the time
of day. All lands will be closed and managed by the Federal government by
the United Nations! Better not vote for Billary Klinton!

Till that happens we still have a few good years left. But collecting data
and one more trail clean-up is not the answer. In fact about all we are
accomplishing is:
1. Making ourselves feel good
2. Putting lipstick on a pig

We can attend all the meetings we want and scream bloody murder or present
facts as thick as the NYC fone book. Who listens, who cares and when will
pigs fly? We do, we do and no time soon! And, who is “we”? Mostly us and
the turd in our back pockets because other than us, no one gives a flip of
the finger even.

But we can change that. And we have a model of how its done. It starts
with changing our image. From a bunch of redneck, hard drinkin guys running
around in or on OHV’s and tearing up the ground, fences, shooting cattle,
chopping down trees/cactus and eating spotted owls [well they are better
than chicken]. What if I told you there was a group of folks, that rode
around, tearing things up, using and selling drugs, killing, robbing and
passing women around like candy. Men who take what they want by force, who
rape for fun. A group of folks so vile that few towns would even allow them
to do anything but pass thru, under police escort. A group so viscous that
the mere sight of them would cause doors to slam and police to be called.

Yet today that same group, rides to the White House and its riders are
Congressmen. Today you can pull up to a 5 star resort and be welcomed, even
provided special parking, out front. If you come in a group, not only will
they provide special parking, but provide a guard to watch over your ride
while you enjoy the premises. Today, women want you, families want to know
more and roll down windows to ask questions.

Yea, it was one hell’va transition and it happened fast. Yes, its the
Harley Owners Group or HOG. A major contributor to charity, orphanages,
Toy’s for Tot’s, etc, etc. Now its the rides led by Jay Leno, Lauren
Hutton, Congressman Ben Knighthorse Campbell, Steve Forbes and most every
other celebrity either behind the handle bars or behind the rider.

We need to do what they did. Align ourselves with “goodness”, become a
resource to our community, be R E S P E C T E D as Aretha Franklin would
say. Get our name/organization in the news, TV, radio, paper and magazines.
We won’t do it picking up a beer bottle on upper Raw Deal. We won’t do it
having a get together at the South 40 Cactus in Florence Junction.

We will do it when 78 Jeeps drive across town on Xmas eve to deliver teddy
bears to the home for six toed kids. We will do it when 63 Jeeps drive to
Chandler for the Civil War Veterans Parade. It won’t be long and folks are
saying “those Jeep folks are good people, heck I see them down at the home
for unwed mothers all the time”. Then some day somebody will say, “nice
Jeep there, what’s it cost to build one of those?” “The hell you say, I
could buy me a Mar-say-dees Bends for that kind of money!” After a while
the folks will be looking at our rigs and know we are doing something
besides “shoveling **** in Louisiana” [General George Patton, 1943] for a
living. And, like the Harley folks who own something else besides that
Harley, they have nearly $50k+ in, we will be seen in the same light.

Then the next time we go to some meeting and drive up there in our rigs and
stand up and say “Hello, I’m Don and I drive a Jeep”, oops, wrong meeting.
Say we go to a land use meeting, then when we stand up, we have more than
just a six pack, we have RESPECT! The land use guy has a kid with six toes
and we gave him a stuffed teddy bear and we have been taking his unwed
daughter for rides in our Jeep. He is also thinking, “gotta keep these guys
happy, hell they spend more money on their Jeep’s than I make in a year.”
“Sierra Club, go take a hike!”

[azrubyman]

Don,
I think your on to something there.
We need to get those folks that are not involved in our sport to care about us and our activity. The majority of voters in this country don't off-road and don't own jeeps.
But through our good deeds we can convince them that even if they don't participate in our sport, they will vote to keep us around because we will be recognized as the good guys.
I would be willing to work with you in setting up an event such as you mentioned and you can always PM me. Who knows, maybe we can get something going....
Ken
azrubyman

[SavageSun4x4]

Thanks, Ken.
I am beating the tub to get offroaders to see the light. Its not trail clean ups or showing up at some meeting to spew what ever data we have gathered. We need to change out image. The way you do that is just like I said or rather repeated. I am a long time Harley rider and have seen it go from "your not welcome here" to "come on in."

Sure, we can maybe get together sometime and see what we can do to get others interested.

[DsrtJeeper]

Don;
You hit the nail right on the head!!! I have spoke to other jeepers in length about this very idea. You'd be surprised how many Jeepers in other states wish they had thought of this years ago. It's now too late for them and they may never regain their trail rights again. This isn't something that can be done overnight and requires open minds. It will take years to change our public image and we need to start yesterday!
The club cleanups that involve picking up brass and targets as well as squatter's rubbish don't do anything in my eyes for the offroaders. I may be wrong... but it's pretty obvious that we don't haul rubbish and refridgerators to the desert in our Jeeps. It seems this club is always picking up after the quad and dirt bike riders along with the trash left by locals holding midnight parties. The officials would have to be blind not to see who was at fault here. When we do cleanups are we admitting that we made the mess?
Jeeping definately needs a new image as well as a good one. Just sit back for a day and read the "E Dodgeball" forum at www.jeepsunlimited.com. What kind of image does that forum portray? It isn't a pretty one.

JMHO....

[azrubyman]

Don;
You hit the nail right on the head!!! I have spoke to other jeepers in length about this very idea. You'd be surprised how many Jeepers in other states wish they had thought of this years ago. It's now too late for them and they may never regain their trail rights again. This isn't something that can be done overnight and requires open minds. It will take years to change our public image and we need to start yesterday!
The club cleanups that involve picking up brass and targets as well as squatter's rubbish don't do anything in my eyes for the offroaders. I may be wrong... but it's pretty obvious that we don't haul rubbish and refridgerators to the desert in our Jeeps. It seems this club is always picking up after the quad and dirt bike riders along with the trash left by locals holding midnight parties. The officials would have to be blind not to see who was at fault here. When we do cleanups are we admitting that we made the mess?
Jeeping definately needs a new image as well as a good one. Just sit back for a day and read the "E Dodgeball" forum at www.jeepsunlimited.com. What kind of image does that forum portray? It isn't a pretty one.

JMHO....


I still think the clean-ups and trail repairs are very good. Those types of things are noticed by the Forest Service, the BLM and is a good thing all the way around. whether we do this type of work on our own and in a group.
I just think we could and probably should do more along the lines of other types of good deeds in the community. JMO, but I have to defend the other off roaders. I don't own a dirt bike or a quad and never have. But I will defend their right to OHV use as much as a jeeper or a Bronco driver. That is a lesson to be learned from the NRA as they have been successful because they unite everyone with a common interest, whether it be small bore, large bore, target, hunting, shotgun, rifle pistol etc. Also through their charity events and public relations they appeal to folks that don't even own a fire arm.
The old saying holds true. "United we stand and divided we fall"
Just my .02
Ken