Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012

A totalitarian boycott?

Eric "Big E" Rutherford

 

Recent media reports have indicated that Horry County Council is on the verge of possibly eliminating vendor permits for the 2012 spring motorcycle rally because members are upset with plans by the local Harley-Davidson dealership’s owner Phil Schoonover to extend the rally dates. The council’s threat in turn has one local motorcycle group equally upset at Schoonover.

On Jan. 20 the local Harley dealer announced 2012 spring rally dates would run May 18-28 instead of the traditional dates of May 11-20. Schoonover appears to be extending the rally, which irked some Horry County Council members. In response, some threatened to do away with all Bike Week vendor permits. Schoonover says that he is actually planning to move the dates, effectively reducing the number of rally weekends in May from three (two on either side of the existing Harley rally plus Black Bike Week) to two; combining the rallies. The following is from a letter posted on the dealership’s Web site and sent out to its newsletter recipients and local media:

“In an attempt to enhance business and restore harmony within all sections of our community it is our proposal to shorten the length of the existing May Motorcycle events…by…blending the events into one… festival…throughout the Strand (and west of the waterway) to allow for a variety of activities rather than simply congregating…it will take three (3) years…Yet we believe these changes are in the best interest of/for all…” (See the entire letter at www.myrtlebeachharley.com.)

A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments (that’s what the acronym A.B.A.T.E. stands for) is a motorcycle rights organization that recently declared a boycott against all Schoonover’s Harley-Davidson outlets because he “stirred the pot.” In a local television interview, ABATE coordinator Gary Balcom said “We are behind Horry County 100 percent.” The whole notion is pretty ironic. The ABATE Chapter’s Web site repeats the quote: “People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.” It appears that Horry County’s government has nothing to fear; and, that ABATE is so afraid of its government and its ability to screw with vendor permits the organization is turning on fellow bikers. Adding to the irony, the word “Totalitarian” was defined on an ABATE banner hanging at the group’s meeting on Feb. 18 as “Exercising control over the freedom, will or thoughts of others.” According to its name, ABATE opposes enactments that do the very thing its boycott is intended to do to Schoonover. Balcom also has a letter posted on the ABATE site that explains: “ We feel that the decision to extend the dates of the… rally to overlap with Memorial weekend is a bad decision… The Horry County Chapter of ABATE is officially calling for a boycott…until such time as Mr. Schoonover retracts his plan… county council is considering pulling all permits for this year. We respectfully ask the council to reconsider… (You can read the entire statement at www.horryabate.com/Newsletter.htm.)

I should mention I have friends at the Harley-Davidson dealership and that my wife is on the Board of Directors of Citizens Against Spouse Abuse (CASA), a non-profit group the dealership has supported in the past. On the other side of the scale though, I have also been both a business sponsor and a member of Horry County ABATE in the past. ABATE does plenty of good work on behalf of all of us who ride, but in this instance I can’t back this boycott.

Could Schoonover have handled it better and been more considerate of others affected by the rally? Probably, but it is the so-called “ Harley rally,” after all and his business is the one paying to promote it across the country; organizing rides and activities; bringing in the most vendors; and shelling out to sponsor attractions and events, such as Harley owner banquets, pier parties, mixed martial arts fights, a NASCAR simulator, and The Flaunt Girls and cast from TV’s “ Full Throttle Saloon” that they had last year. It’s my opinion that a boycott simply isn’t justified because the dealership has a right to set its own event dates. Pro-rally groups including ABATE have fervently defended the rights of area businesses when threatened by outside influences. Why should the Harley dealership be treated any differently? Like his plan or not, I doubt anyone has as much at stake as Schoonover, or that anyone else has invested the kind of money he does every year to make the rally an event from which we all can benefit.

The most interesting and enlightening part of the recent ABATE meeting, however, was the dialogue we were able to have with Horry County Councilman (District 6) Bob Grabowski. The councilman was a guest there in a leather vest; he is a fellow rider. He reassured us all that no motion had even been made to vote on the vendor permits and explained that without a formal motion there could be no vote. He further clarified that even if a motion was to be made, a resolution would require three readings and that there simply wasn’t enough time to change anything before this year’s rally even if the council wanted to. His presence was refreshing and reassuring.. According to at least one Horry County Council member, the sky apparently isn’t falling after all. There will be Bike Week discussion however at the annual Safety Committee meeting at 5 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 23) and probably (the agenda had not been finalized at press time) at the monthly general meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday (Feb. 28). Both meetings take place at the Horry County Government and Justice Center at 1301 2nd Ave. in Conway and both are open to the public.