Attention DU Bikers: Here's a club you join for free, or start up a Chapter in your area..

[Ghost in the Machine]

There are currently Chapters all over the United States & Australia, with plans to open Chapters in New Zealand and other countries...

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BACA Mission Statement

Bikers Against Child Abuse (BACA) exists with the intent to create a safer environment for abused children. We exist as a body of Bikers to empower children to not feel afraid of the world in which they live. We stand ready to lend support to our wounded friends by involving them with an established, united organization. We work in conjunction with local and state officials who are already in place to protect children. We desire to send a clear message to all involved with the abused child that this child is part of our organization, and that we are prepared to lend our physical and emotional support to them by affiliation, and our physical presence. We stand at the ready to shield these children from further abuse. We do not condone the use of violence or physical force in any manner, however, if circumstances arise such that we are the only obstacle preventing a child from further abuse, we stand ready to be that obstacle.

How BACA Works

Bikers Against Child Abuse, Inc. (BACA) is organized with a central contact person to receive calls from referring agencies and individuals. A recognized, authorized agency with which the child has had contact determines that the child is still frightened by his or her environment. The agency representative contacts BACA, or refers the individual to contact BACA and the name and address of the child is given to our BACA/Child Liaison. The Liaison determines that the case is legitimate, meaning that the authorities have been contacted, and the case in being processed within the system. The Liaison contacts the family and an initial ride is organized to meet the child at their home or in some other location. The entire BACA chapter rides to meet the child and he/she is given a vest with a BACA patch sewn on the back. The child is free to wear the vest or not, and we support their decision. The child is also given bumper stickers, and other gifts that are generally donated by the public. These initial visits generally last about a half an hour.

Following this initial contact, the child is given the name and number of two BACA members residing geographically closest to them, who then become the childs primary contact person(s). Prior to becoming the primary contacts for the child, the bikers are cleared for participation by clearing an extensive background check, have ridden with the Chapter for at least a year, and have received special instructions from the Licensed Mental Health Professional. Anytime the child feels scared and feels the need for the presence of his new BACA family, the child may call upon these bikers to go to the childs house and provide the necessary reassurance to feel safe and protected. BACA members and supporters also support the children by: providing escorts for them if they feel scared in their neighborhoods; riding by their homes on a regular basis; supporting the children at court and parole hearings; attending their interviews, and; staying with the children if they are alone and frightened. The BACA members never go to the childs house alone and never without the knowledge or permission of the parents. Our mission is not to be permanently engaged as the childs power. Our mission is to help the children and their families learn how powerful they can be. Our presence will be available as long as the child needs us. BACA also holds other functions for the children such as Bar-B-Ques, and parties.

Level 1 Intervention

Will consist of the organization deploying a ride, uniting as many BACA members as are able to attend. We will ride as a group to the child's house where the parent(s) / Guardians will be present to assist us in presenting the child with a patch, stickers, and a Polaroid photograph of the child with his/her new biker family. If the child is afraid, it is our hope the child will use the photograph as a comfort to convey the message "I am not alone, and you don't want to mess with my family."

Level 2 Intervention

If Level one is not sufficient to deter further abuse or harassment, several BACA members will be sent for further exposure. This group of BACA members will create a presence at the home of the child, being visible at times when the family might be the most vulnerable. The purpose of BACA's presence is to deter further abuse and to protect the children and the family, if necessary.

http://www.bacausa.com/Internet/AboutBACA.aspx
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U.S. map of chapters: http://www.bacausa.com/Internet/ChaptersUS.aspx


PEACE!

Ghost

[flvegan]

1. Not that I have a problem with this, but...

:popcorn:

Oh, sweet sweet buttery and salty

:popcorn:

[Ghost in the Machine]

2. I'm sure there are a few here who will no doubt try to make this something bad...

I mean, afterall, we *do* have some pedophile defenders here... right?

[Fumesucker]

3. Given that the great majority of child abuse

Is perpetrated by parents/guardians/family members..

I'm not sure that I see what the point is..

[Ghost in the Machine]

4. The *point* is to let a vulnerable child KNOW that he/she has someone

on his/her side, no matter what. They're not alone.It also fosters a feeling of acceptance/belonging, which is critical in the formative years of a child...

[LoZoccolo]

7. And that's a very important thing.

I grew up thinking nobody really cared about me, and that it was useless to think that the physical and emotional abuse I was suffering was wrong. It's a very lasting form of damage. To this day I always doubt whether people like me - even friends I've had for almost twenty years - and constantly question why they would. When I've lost touch with someone and they say that they missed me, I think that they are just saying that to be nice. When they are concerned when something bad happens to me, I don't believe them. This is still happening and I'm 33 years old. If someone was around who cared enough to show up at my house when I called them, I would have been much better off.

[crispini]

8. Aw homie!

:hug: You have imaginary friends that like you even here on the DU. :grouphug:

Even if you do like Oasis.




;)

[LoZoccolo]

10. Thanks; that means a lot.

:hug:

;)

[Ghost in the Machine]

9. I'm sorry for what you've gone through all of your life...

at least you can give a voice as to how these abused children think and feel.. and the lifelong mental/emotional impact that the abuse can have...

keep looking forward, and know in your heart that you're never alone.. though we may be only anonymous names on an anonymous message board, you have friends here... I'll be your "big brother in humanity"...

:hug:

edited: to fix :hug: thingie...

PEACE!

Ghost

[LoZoccolo]

11. Thank you.

:hug:

[LoZoccolo]

5. Sounds great, and I hope it works.

I just hope that the kids aren't intimidated to call the bikers the way that I was intimidated into not telling anyone about getting my ass kicked and sustaining my father's insane fits of rage. Both of my parents kept telling me that my life would get complicated were I to inform the authorities. But it would seriously rock if the authorities were a bunch of big-ass bikers.

[w8liftinglady]

6. I have friends in BACA.Their intentions are honorable.I support them.

[Ghost in the Machine]

12. Cool! It's been a long-time dream of mine that one day, people would learn the difference

between a "Biker" and a "dirty body in a black t-shirt with a bad attitude and a motorcycle" (my phrase I coined 20something years ago).

Between BACA, The Patriot Guard Riders and a few other clubs, the perception of "real bikers" is finally changing...

PEACE!

Ghost

[Ghost in the Machine]

13. kick

[Mountainman]

14. I would never join it.

Bikers against anything is fucked up. They never get an overall view of anything. It's a lot like the minutemen. Vigilantes against one issue.

[Ghost in the Machine]

15. Ignorance isn't a color, so why do you dip your broad brush in it to paint a whole group with it??

Let me guess... either your wife or girlfriend ran off with a biker, or you've been beat up by some before...

Seems like you're the one who doesn't get the overall view of something...

just sayin'...

[Mountainman]

17. No I am a biker, have been since 1982.

Lot's of bikers have the need to intimidate someone. So they seek out some legitimate thing to do yet it still is intimidation. Go to Pismo Beach any weekend. There is nothing there for bikers to do but hang out at a bar and ogle the teenage girls in bikinis and piss off everyone else.

They should not interfere in some kids life uninvited. Besides who wants a bunch of middle age to older guys with loud pipes and brain buckets for helmets showing up in your neighborhood?

Why not just go for rides somewhere. You really aren't needed and I would venture a guess that most folks don't want you in their neighborhoods.

But you don't care do you. You live free to do what you want and piss off who ever you want.

No we don't need a bunch of fat ass dudes on Harleys with grey beards and skid lids and loud pipes playing good guy trying to be intimidating.

[Marrah_G]

16. I don't know MM

My ex is a cop and a biker and is involved with lots of different bike related charities. I got a BACA request for a donation from him recently in fact. Of course he is also a Mason and involved in all those charities too. He's totally not a one issue type, or a vigilante type and his friends didn't strike me that way either. But that's him, maybe others are more like your experience.

[Mountainman]

18. Charities are one thing, this is totally something else.

This isn't being charitable. This is inserting yourself and other were you weren't asked.

[Ghost in the Machine]

19. They don't "insert" themselves anywhere....

Bikers Against Child Abuse, Inc. (BACA) is organized with a central contact person to receive calls from referring agencies and individuals. A recognized, authorized agency with which the child has had contact determines that the child is still frightened by his or her environment. The agency representative contacts BACA, or refers the individual to contact BACA and the name and address of the child is given to our BACA/Child Liaison.

Reading comprehension is your friend....

[Mountainman]

20. It is also your frend, friend

We do not condone the use of violence or physical force in any manner, however, if circumstances arise such that we are the only obstacle preventing a child from further abuse, we stand ready to be that obstacle.

Where do you get the right to use violence on someone? It is against the law and no one asked you to take the place of the law. Ever here of 911?

[Ghost in the Machine]

21. Sometimes diplomacy fails....

Once again, you need to comprehend what you're reading:

"We do not condone the use of violence or physical force in any manner"

You try to diffuse a situation peacefully and use all the resources available to you to do so...

"however, if circumstances arise such that we are the only obstacle preventing a child from further abuse, we stand ready to be that obstacle."

Sometimes diplomacy fails. There are idiots out there who think they can take on the world and win. They are *determined* to get into a fight, no matter what. I've dealt with these types of people in my many years of working as a bouncer. When it's all said and done, and you've used every option available to you to quell a situation peacefully but someone is determined to cause trouble and wants to fight, you CANNOT back down in the face of aggression. It only feeds the aggressor with more sense of power.

I don't condone violence either, but if you fuck with me, and won't listen to reason and still want to fight, I'll beat the living dogshit out of you... just to teach you a lesson. Not wanting to fight and not being able to fight are two different things. You would do well to learn and understand that difference...

[Mountainman]

22. OK, but I still think what I did before.

I just don't see why bikers need to get involved like you say they are. I think there is a need in the bikers for something else. I could be wrong.

[Ghost in the Machine]

26. How many times have you read about the 'overworked & understaffed social workers"..

even right here on DU? The system is so overburdened that kids are falling through the cracks, with some of them even dying due to abuse. I won't begrudge ANYONE who stands up to protect children.

Just for disclosure reasons I will say that I do NOT belong to this group (BACA) because I can't ride anymore due to disabilities and one of the requirements is owning a motorcycle.... however, I DO support and applaud their efforts.

"I just don't see why bikers need to get involved like you say they are."

Maybe because they are tired of the "bad image" and misperceptions that many uninformed people have about bikers, and they're trying to change that image? :shrug: I touched on this upthread about "knowing the difference between a real biker and a dirty body in a black t-shirt with a bad attitude and a motorcycle"...

All bikers are NOT thugs, gangsters and roustabouts...

PEACE!

Ghost

[Mountainman]

28. You want to get a better biker image, stop dressing like an outlaw and get rid of the loud pipes!

You are the reason there is a bad image of bikers. Becoming vigilantes won't improve that.

The next time some fat ass senior citizen on a Harley with leathers and chains and and a grey beard and a brian bucket helmet pulls up to a stop light drowning our the radios in the cars near him with his loud pipes and roars off breaking ear drums all your good will goes out the window!

I ride a Kawasaki 1500 Mean Streak. I have stock pipes, I wear a sensible DOT approved helmet. My bike is clean, I don't look like a Hells Angles want to be. When I pull up to a traffic light and ride off I do more for the image if bikers than you do with your group any day.

[Ghost in the Machine]

32. This post says all I need to know about you. You're not a "biker" as you claimed..

you're "Ricky RoadRacer" with your foreign made crotch rocket. A fair-weather "motorcycle enthusiast".

"stop dressing like an outlaw and get rid of the loud pipes!"

Only outlaws wear leather chaps & jackets for riding? Have you ever gone down, or seen someone who has? Leather is much better than denim.. or nothing... for preventing roadrash and more serious injuries, and by the way, LOUD PIPES SAVE LIVES. If you can hear a bike before you see it, it might prevent you from pulling out in front of it. Also, you *do* know the reason why people wear black while riding, don't you? It's not to "look cool" or "look like a Hells Angel", as your mind perceives it. It's because the black doesn't show the dirt and/or road grime that is slung up by other vehicles while driving... go put on a pair of blue jeans and a white shirt and go for a 200 mile ride, then get back to me, ok?

"The next time some fat ass senior citizen on a Harley with leathers and chains and and a grey beard and a brian bucket helmet"

Once again, you're painting with your broad brush of ignorance. It isn't pretty...

" I wear a sensible DOT approved helmet."

If you actually knew what you were talking about, you'd know that NONE of the 'DOT approved' helmets actually conform to the law. That's why helmet laws are being overturned all over the country. By the way, I DO NOT condone riding without a helmet, either.

"My bike is clean,..."

I know guys that spend more time cleaning their bikes than you spend working. It's a labor of love. At one time I used to keep MY bike parked in my freakin' LIVING ROOM at night... and it got cleaned every night. Once again, refer to "learn the difference between a 'biker' and a dirty body in a black t-shirt with a bad attitude and a motorcycle"...

"When I pull up to a traffic light and ride off I do more for the image if bikers than you do with your group any day."

Sorry, you do absolutely NOTHING for the image of 'bikers' because you're NOT a 'biker'... you just ride a motorcycle.... there's a world of difference. Are you one of those guys we see in the summer, riding around in your shorts, tank top & flip flops, zipping in & out of traffic doing 100mph on your crotch rocket? No one, and I do mean NO ONE, considers those riders to be "bikers"... sorry.

[Mountainman]

34. I ride a 1500 cc cruiser.

A Harley is a good looking bike but not mechanically better than mine and certainly not the price asked for them.

No I don't identify with what you call a biker and wouldn't want to. This whole post shows what kind of fools most can be.

No one needs you to protect kids. We have organizations that do that work. Why not have rides to raise money for charities instead.

Or just polish your bike and go to some bar and drink your ass off.

[Ghost in the Machine]

36. Well, you've certainly made an ass of yourself by assuming...

"Or just polish your bike and go to some bar and drink your ass off."

I don't drink, nor does anyone I associate with. Kindly keep your asinine assumptions to yourself, thank you....

"Why not have rides to raise money for charities instead."

People I know ride in every charity event in the state, sometimes 2 per weekend. What have YOU done?

"No one needs you to protect kids. We have organizations that do that work."

Oh, really? Then *why* do these agencies contact BACA to help them? It helps if you actually read & comprehend what you're arguing against. You haven't followed a link yet, have you? All you're doing is engaging in reactionary posting to something *you* don't like or approve of, without having all the facts down first.

"No I don't identify with what you call a biker and wouldn't want to. This whole post shows what kind of fools most can be.
"

Yes, you've certainly shown your foolishness...

"A Harley is a good looking bike but not mechanically better than mine and certainly not the price asked for them."

That's your opinion, not a fact. "I couldn't afford a Harley, so they suck!... and so do Harley riders!"

[Mountainman]

37. Look, you got a dead end job, on the weekends you put on your

biker costume and ride around with a bunch of other self centered egocentric fools on a bike with 90% of parts make in other countries claiming it's "American Iron, and that cost 3 times what it's worth. If it isn't in the shop getting fixed maybe you will ride if the weather is good enough and you can find some excuse to leave the wife and kids home. You got Harley stickers on everything you own. You can barely make the payments on the damn thing. You got no other reason to exist but to look bad ass and make a lot of noise.

Real individual aren't you? With about a couple million of others looking just like on every weekend. Hey maybe you'll go to Sturgis this year hoping some old lady with teats down to her stomach will flash you!

Here you go, look at all the rugged individuals,

[Ghost in the Machine]

38. More ignorance and assumptions from your broad brush of ignorance... who woulda thunk it?

Let's make some assumptions about you then, ok?

You're a bitter middle aged guy whose wife/girlfriend ran off with a guy on a Harley because you couldn't afford one, hence your veiled hatred of Harley riders. You're Mr. Predictable who works 9-5 mon-fri and comes straight home from work and you expected your wife to have the house clean and dinner ready. You only know one sexual position (missionary) and the little time it takes you isn't even worth you bothering to take your socks off. This frustrated you very much, but all you could do to make yourself feel better was to take it out on your wife mentally, verbally or physically.

You have an inferiority complex, which you try to hide by acting all self righteous and holier-than-thou, but you fail to live up to your own standards. You're projecting onto others about barely being able to afford the bike you ride because, in reality, that's *your* reality. The only reason *you* exist is because you're too chickenshit to kill yourself and put yourself out of your own misery...

Does that about cover it?

I thought so...

I'm done with you. It's like talking to an eggplant. You have absolutely NO comprehension or retention skills, unless you count being anal retentive as retention skills. You also have NO grasp of what facts are, since you haven't posted the first one of them yet. All you've done is engage in your broad brushed, reactionary, stereotypical posting filled with nothing but arrogance and ignorance...

[LoZoccolo]

23. "Where do you get the right to use violence on someone?"

The fact that we're equipped to use violence to protect people, and have the instincts compelling us to do so, is all the rights someone needs. It is the people who are trying to stop what our minds and bodies are set up for in protecting the survival of our species that need to explain themselves.

[Mountainman]

24. That is completely out of context to the OP isn't it?

A child is in trouble so they have it out with someone. They do not call 911 or get the police involved they get into a fight. Seems to me that is what was wanted in the first place and the kid is just the excuse.

I could take the bikers more for their good intentions if that was left off their purpose document.

Hell why use kids? Why not just go to a town and terrorize people. That what bikers did back when. Remember? OK so these bikers aren't Hells Angles, more like Hells Angles want a be's.

[LoZoccolo]

25. I think it's an essential part of the purpose document.

I think if child abusers were more fearful for their own life and limb the world would be a better place.

[Mountainman]

27. This is a civilized society not a jungle.

In a civilized society we don't take the law into our own hands. I would hope that if you do you go to jail too.

[LoZoccolo]

29. Tell that to the kid that gets beat by his father. n/t

[Mountainman]

30. Is that what this group is about? Some kid gets beat up by his father and you go in and beat up the

father? That's really fucked up!!@!!!!!!!

[LoZoccolo]

31. Lame. n/t

[Mountainman]

33. Ever hear of Child Protective Services? You know a kid is in trouble that's were you go to.

You don't pick a fight with his/her dad. If you do you are guilty of assault at least.

Society may not be perfect but violence won't make it better.

I work for a county Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Services dept and was also a foster parent.

[Quantess]

35. Maybe, you should do yourself a favor and learn to look beyond stereotypes.

I have never driven a motorcycle myself, that's my disclaimer.

However, your prejudiced comment could be extended to many other groups of people, solely on how they socially appear to you.

For example, how do you judge tattooed people?
Rottweiler owners?
Young people with dyed black or purple hair?
Fair-complected, white, attractive, college educated women?
All of the above do or did describe me. So please don't pretend you know what a person is all about, based on a few of your preconceived notions.