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

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  (#1) SAMCRO Kills Way More People Than Real Motorcycle Clubs

  Clubs get into turf wars, they fight with one another, and yes, deaths do happen, as was the case in a 2015 incident in Waco, Texas.

  Jax Teller's kill count of 46 people throughout the duration of Sons of Anarchy , however, is a vast exaggeration.

  SAMCRO — or Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwoods Original — murders 153 people (175 if you count pre-club killings and murders carried out by excommunicated members) during the seven seasons of the show.

  That many murders would have certainly been noticed by authorities to a higher degree than what's shown on screen. 
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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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  (#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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  (#4) Women Are More Respected On The Show Than In Most Clubs

  In line with Gemma Teller and her role on the show, the overall treatment of women in Sons of Anarchy is more favorable than in real motorcycle clubs.

  Women in motorcycle club culture are more often treated as possessions than anything, and if an "ol' lady" isn't married to a member, she's often treated like a prostitute. Even when she is married, she may still consider herself his "whore."

  There's a lot of accepted brutality directed at women in motorcycle clubs, too. Domestic violence does appear in Sons of Anarchy – notably when Clay Morrow beats Gemma Teller in season four – but in real life, it's much more intense. 
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  (#5) Most Motorcycle Clubs Are More Explicit In Their Racial Biases Than SAMCRO

  Throughout the different seasons of Sons of Anarchy, SAMCRO works with the Mayans (a Hispanic club), the Lin Triad (a Chinese crime syndicate), the One-Niners (an African American club), and numerous other groups of different ethnic origins.

  This defies the mentality of many motorcycle club members, who are much less likely to work with outsiders. The cooperation on the show makes for good television, but many bikers are more "outwardly intolerant," and tattoos associated with neo-Nazis and white supremacist groups are common.

  Juice Ortiz attempting to hide his African American heritage in season four is fairly reflective of the racial divide that exists within modern clubs.
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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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  (#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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  (#8) Outsmarting The Feds Doesn't Really Happen

  The motorcycle gangs – and really all of the criminal organizations – in Sons of Anarchy are experts at one-upping and outdoing authorities.

  SAMCRO has Sheriff Wayne Unser in their pocket, and when FBI agent Judith Stahl comes to town hell-bent on taking down the club, they manage to keep her at bay. In season three, there's an entire storyline devoted to Stahl trying to get the club to turn on Jax but, in the end, he's been manipulating her the whole time.

  Jax offers to give up the True IRA – the Irish Republican Army – in exchange for getting his mother, Gemma, out of jail. When Stahl tells the club Jax is a rat, she loses everything and soon ends up dead.

  In real life, undercover ATF and FBI agents infiltrate motorcycle clubs in order to get information. When several members of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club were found guilty in federal court for criminal activities in 2010, the prosecution "would not have been a success without the dedicated and hard working agents and prosecutors that devoted several years to this undercover operation."

  The club didn't outsmart anyone, nor did the federal agents allow their personal grievances to get in the way. 
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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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