Random Things That Sons Of Anarchy Got Totally Wrong About California Motorcycle Gangs (10 items)

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  (#6) SoA's Violence Isn't Wrong, It's Just Misplaced

  There's a lot of violence on Sons of Anarchy, and while the motorcycle club world is violent, it's not always as excessive as the show would have you believe.

  On the show, SAMCRO and other groups use violence to increase the spectacle of higher profile killings. When Damon Pope brutally kills Tig's daughter in season five, it's for revenge. 

  In truth, most motorcycle club violence is for little stuff. Clubs fight, get into brawls, and beat each other up, but often for offenses most people wouldn't fathom warranting violence. In turn, the dramatic displays of brutality that so often occur on the show are more for the audience's entertainment then for historical or cultural accuracy. 
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  (#9) The President Would Have Outsourced More Club Business

  Clay Morrow and Jax Teller, during their respective stints as president of SAMCRO, do a lot of the day-to-day tasks that the head of the club wouldn't have actually bothered with.

  The duties of the president include holding meetings and maintaining relationships with outsiders. The other members would have had specific tasks, too. In reality, the prospects would have been the ones doing the heavy lifting, not the boss. 
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  (#10) SAMCRO Didn't Spend Enough Time On Their Bikes

  At the core of the motorcycle club lifestyle is a love of riding bikes. Life on the bike and the freedom it provides don't get enough representation on the show. 

  SAMCRO takes runs – often to escape or hide – but they use their motorcycles primarily for transportation. One of the expectations of the Hell's Angels is that members "will be expected to live on your Harley Davidson...should be the only way that you want to travel."
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  (#3) Gemma Teller Would Have Been Punished For Her "Meddling"

  The great matriarch of Sons of Anarchy, Gemma Teller, bosses around club members, chimes in on club business, and interferes with the lives of practically everyone on the show. Her husband and son, Clay and Jax, are at the top of the SAMCRO pecking order, but in true biker culture, she wouldn't have this much power.

  Put another way,

  "Gemma’s position in the club ain’t gonna happen – ever. She’d have been taken out back and 'corrected' halfway thru the first episode in the real world. And if she didn’t learn from that experience, it would have been repeated as necessary, until she finally learned or left." 
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  (#2) The Initiation Process Is Even More Extensive Than SoA Lets On

  During Sons of Anarchy, the audience meets newbies like Half Sack Epps and Filthy Phil Russell. These men undergo a period of probation and some hazing, but the show hardly depicts the extent of the true initiation process undertaken by new motorcycle club members.  

  Called "prospects," new members undergo a plethora of initiation rituals that vary depending on the club. In some instances, they're subjected to beatings, humiliated (stripped naked and put out on display, for example), or, in extreme cases, forced to cook and consume human waste.
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  (#7) Motorcycle Clubs Generally Don't Run Adult Film Studios

  When SAMCRO tried to find more so-called legitimate ways of making money in season six, viewers rooted for them. Jax does his best to convince his fellow members to get out of drugs and guns, and instead turn to pornography.

  In many real-life clubs, this wouldn't fly, as groups like the Banditos, the Outlaws, and Hell's Angels have been involved in trafficking substances such as methamphetamine and cocaine.

  That said, some motorcycle clubs are content to avoid criminal syndicates and organized crime entirely. The 13 Rebels Motorcycle Club claims to be a "family-oriented" motorcycle club with no drugs, intimidation, or crime.

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