On Friday night I had the privilege of officiating a wedding for a couple of friends. They had decided to do a “50’s style” wedding. They asked all the guests to come dressed in 50’s style clothing. The reception hall was decorated to fit the era, and of course, the music was all geared to the 1950’s. Even the band they had play was Rockabilly music. It was a blast.
During supper, I sat beside the drummer from the band. He was an incredibly interesting guy. He lived in England in the ’70’s and was part of the second wave of the Mods. He talked about life as a Rocker during those days. It was a lifestyle that he was immersed in. When he moved to Canada, he was excited to learn that there was a punk rock movement here. That is, until he met most of the people in the culture. He told me how frustrating it was to find so many who were “punk rockers” on the weekend, and yet fit into the mainstream during the week. Posers, he called them.
“You must find that to be true within the bike culture.” He added. “I don’t ride, but I certainly see lots of guys standing around downtown with their leather chaps that look like they’ve been ironed the night before.”
I agreed with him that it was true, there are a lot of “weekend” bikers. A lot of guys who aren’t quite sure about the whole culture. They don’t really jump in both feet.
But then the conversation took an interesting turn. He suggested that it is because of the posers that the real thing can survive. As a band, they need posers. They need people who liked to dress up in 50’s gear and have fun for the night. People who aren’t serious about a Rockabilly lifestyle. People who aren’t punkers full time. Those people pay the bills. They allow the true lifestyle guys to live it every day.
As we talked, I realized the same is true of the bike culture. Look at the state of the motorcycle industry today. Dealerships are hurting. Why? Because people have stopped spending their money on motorcycles. But perhaps the industry would have crashed years ago if it wasn’t for the posers. Perhaps.
Come to think of it, the only group that is probably hurt more than they are helped by posers would be Christ followers. Those who take seriously the life of Jesus Christ and strive to live each day according to his leadership. True followers are often misrepresented by those who are simply “weekend Christians.”
What do you think?
