Little scary in CO

Stopped in Moriison CO on my way home and backed the K1300GT into a space beside a Harley. I was sending a text to my wife when the owner of the Harley called me Bob and started talking with me. (He was Very drunk).
After I figured out he was calling me Bob he straight up asked who I am voting for with a look that told me there was only 1 acceptable answer. The hairs on my neck stood up immediately so I redirected the conversation by joking with him that I am a felon so I can not vote, no but actually I am Canadian (true) and I am visiting (not true). He then told me if I had said Hillary he would have "dropped me" and that he is a biker etc.
I started asking about him and his bike because he said Only Harley's are ok. I was trying to find a good escape but he then challenged me on NAFTA.... Since losing my job in 2003 I have lived in Thailand, Macau, China, and Hong Kong up until two months ago and this was the first time I have ever felt scared of someone.

He finally started getting on his bike to leave and I confidently told him to Be Safe and he told me the same... And No I did not take his keys for being drunk. I was just happy to be away from him and I walked away to the gas station to watch him leave. My son said I should have called the police after he left and in hindsight I Probably should have. He was pretty drunk.

roamingbeemer said:

Stopped in Moriison CO on my way home and backed the K1300GT into a space beside a Harley. I was sending a text to my wife when the owner of the Harley called me Bob and started talking with me. (He was Very drunk).
After I figured out he was calling me Bob he straight up asked who I am voting for with a look that told me there was only 1 acceptable answer. The hairs on my neck stood up immediately so I redirected the conversation by joking with him that I am a felon so I can not vote, no but actually I am Canadian (true) and I am visiting (not true). He then told me if I had said Hillary he would have "dropped me" and that he is a biker etc.
I started asking about him and his bike because he said Only Harley's are ok. I was trying to find a good escape but he then challenged me on NAFTA.... Since losing my job in 2003 I have lived in Thailand, Macau, China, and Hong Kong up until two months ago and this was the first time I have ever felt scared of someone.

He finally started getting on his bike to leave and I confidently told him to Be Safe and he told me the same... And No I did not take his keys for being drunk. I was just happy to be away from him and I walked away to the gas station to watch him leave. My son said I should have called the police after he left and in hindsight I Probably should have. He was pretty drunk.

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Welcome to this side of America. It's how we do things.......

Probably just a Poll taker, they're all over the place right now.

I would have been calling him in as he started his bike.

roamingbeemer said:

I was trying to find a good escape but he then challenged me on NAFTA.... Since losing my job in 2003 I have lived in Thailand, Macau, China, and Hong Kong up until two months ago and this was the first time I have ever felt scared of someone.

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fwiw, Colorado is an open carry state.....

Welcome to the good old U.S. of A.

roamingbeemer said:

Stopped in Moriison CO on my way home and backed the K1300GT into a space beside a Harley. I was sending a text to my wife when the owner of the Harley called me Bob and started talking with me. (He was Very drunk).
After I figured out he was calling me Bob he straight up asked who I am voting for with a look that told me there was only 1 acceptable answer. The hairs on my neck stood up immediately so I redirected the conversation by joking with him that I am a felon so I can not vote, no but actually I am Canadian (true) and I am visiting (not true). He then told me if I had said Hillary he would have "dropped me" and that he is a biker etc.
I started asking about him and his bike because he said Only Harley's are ok. I was trying to find a good escape but he then challenged me on NAFTA.... Since losing my job in 2003 I have lived in Thailand, Macau, China, and Hong Kong up until two months ago and this was the first time I have ever felt scared of someone.

He finally started getting on his bike to leave and I confidently told him to Be Safe and he told me the same... And No I did not take his keys for being drunk. I was just happy to be away from him and I walked away to the gas station to watch him leave. My son said I should have called the police after he left and in hindsight I Probably should have. He was pretty drunk.

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Glad you 'survived'. He might have been interested to know that BMW riders only get upset when the chardonnay isn't chilled (Bob Higdon). Sounds like a jerk looking for a fight. And as my WWII surviving father often said, "no matter how tough you are, there's always someone tougher that you'll encounter some day". Here's hoping he meets that person sooner rather than later.

roamingbeemer said:

After I figured out he was calling me Bob he straight up asked who I am voting for with a look that told me there was only 1 acceptable answer. The hairs on my neck stood up immediately so I redirected the conversation by joking with him that I am a felon so I can not vote, no but actually I am Canadian (true) and I am visiting (not true). He then told me if I had said Hillary he would have "dropped me" and that he is a biker etc.
.

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Sad to say, but politics in this country have turned into survival mode. I fought in Vietnam to have a choice and say in politics only now to find that being on the other side of the fence can find me physically in danger for having an opinion different from the conservative thought process. The type of attitude you found in Colorado has been promoted for many years in this country by the likes of Carl Rove, Rush Limbaugh, etc. and now the big Don, so it's going to get ugly out there in the next couple of months. I will say though, that type of attitude should not be made synonymous with Harley riders in general, as I know of many fine upstanding Harley riders, who, while possibly not agreeing sometimes with my politics, agree that everyone in this country still has the right to their own opinion...... This guy you ran into drags down in the mud motorcycle riders, Harley riders, and more than half the US population that voted for the Democratic legally elect administration now in office. He has a right to his opinion, drunk or otherwise, but when it comes to physical enforcement of his opinion, he should be jailed for whatever the legal time for incarceration the law requires. We are still a country of majority rule, at least at this point, but I find it a bit scary to contemplate the future with his type of political thought running rampant in this country.

Do you really think this is the time and place to attack a political philosophy that you disagree with?

Why not attack alcohol drinkers. poor parenting or people with tattoos? They are all just as likely to have caused this oaf's behavior.

I still don't understand what was "SCARY"........HMMM....there was some famous fella who once said: "Judge NOT lest you be...something or other"......

akbeemer said:

Do you really think this is the time and place to attack a political philosophy that you disagree with?

Why not attack alcohol drinkers. poor parenting or people with tattoos? They are all just as likely to have caused this oaf's behavior.

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Amen.

I kept the description short and to the point... This guy was angry at the world and looking for an excuse. I do not have an American made motorcycle which to him means I am not worthy. He was looking at my K1300 as he started talking. Forget the politics but I know when a guy is prone to violence.

I was not trying to provide entertainment with my posting because I am guessing no one on this forum owns exclusively Amercan made motorcycles.

PS. I agree I should have called him in and thanks for the responses.

NEVER argue or try to reason with a drunk! He was probably what I call a Harley Bar Hoper.

Visian said:

fwiw, Colorado is an open carry state.....

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Also, I never park by a Harley, even if I have to walk more than necessary. Really try to just stay away from them altogether. This idiot will run across the wrong person one of these days.

Politics is something I avoid when I am visiting another country. Wherever I am, I am guided by the phrase, "Its your country - its your politics."

RickGriffith said:

Glad you 'survived'. He might have been interested to know that BMW riders only get upset when the chardonnay isn't chilled (Bob Higdon). Sounds like a jerk looking for a fight. And as my WWII surviving father often said, "no matter how tough you are, there's always someone tougher that you'll encounter some day". Here's hoping he meets that person sooner rather than later.

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"You Don't Mess Around With Jim"

Uptown got it's hustlers
The bowery got it's bums
42nd Street got Big Jim Walker
He's a pool-shootin' son of a gun
Yeah, he big and dumb as a man can come
But he stronger than a country hoss
And when the bad folks all get together at night
You know they all call big Jim "Boss", just because
And they say

You don't tug on Superman's cape
You don't spit into the wind
You don't pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger
And you don't mess around with Jim

Well outta south Alabama come a country boy
He say I'm lookin' for a man named Jim
I am a pool-shootin' boy
By name 'a Willie McCoy
But down home they call me Slim
Yeah I'm lookin' for the king of 42nd Street
He drivin' a drop top Cadillac
Last week he took all my money
And it may sound funny
But I come to get my money back

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There's always someone who is bigger and badder. I'm so short at 5'6" that I leave it to others to decide who is bigger and badder.

Of course, I like Thor's comment.

You're big. Fought bigger.

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Chris

BC1100S said:

Politics is something I avoid when I am visiting another country. Wherever I am I am guided by the phrase, "Its your country - its your politics."

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More than once, I wished I had a little maple leaf to wave...........

I live and have ridden my BMW in Colorado for 26 years. I never had an encounter like this or even close in Colorado.

There is a bad ass bike club in Colorado Springs with most members retired vets form Fort Carson in town. But they typically kill each other...I hear.

I assume any BMW rider high on anything available nowadays could be a thread as well.

/Guenther

Guenther said:

I live and have ridden my BMW in Colorado for 26 years. I never had an encounter like this or even close in Colorado.

There is a bad ass bike club in Colorado Springs with most members retired vets form Fort Carson in town. But they typically kill each other...I hear.

I assume any BMW rider high on anything available nowadays could be a thread as well.

/Guenther

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I don't think it's a Colorado phenomenon, but more of an activity / age group thing. Some folks, just instinctively jump to a conclusion that because of your age or activity you want to hear their political/religious beliefs. Where they get the idea that because I'm a certain race, age or doing a given activity......I need or want to hear/witness their manifesto is beyond me. Alcohol, or other substances, don't help...

Way back, when I started working in a professional job, the company VP sat us young engineers down and offered this wonderful tidbit of advice........."If I ever hear of you raising (i.e., injecting) the topics of politics or religion in discussions with a customer, you'll be fired". That was some of the most useful advice I've received. Sadly, today, that practice is often discarded.