"Hey, Johnny, What are you rebelling against?"
"What've you got?"  

                       The Wild One, 1953  

 

 

We want to be free.
We want to be free to do what we want to do.
We want to be free to ride our machines
and not be hassled by the man.
And we want to get loaded.

                       The Wild Angels, 1966  

 

 

 

Billy:   Huh.   Man, everybody got chicken, that's what happened, man.   Hey, we can't even get into like, uh, second-rate hotel, I mean, a second-rate motel.   You dig?   They think we're gonna cut their throat or something, man.   They're scared, man.

George:   Oh, they're not scared of you.   They're scared of what you represent to 'em.

Billy:   Hey man.   All we represent to them, man, is somebody needs a haircut.

George:   Oh no.   What you represent to them is freedom.

Billy:   What the hell's wrong with freedom, man?   That's what it's all about.

George:   Oh yeah, that's right, that's what it's all about, all right.   But talkin' about it and bein' it - that's two different things.   I mean, it's real hard to be free when you are bought and sold in the marketplace.   'Course, don't ever tell anybody that they're not free 'cause then they're gonna get real busy killin' and maimin' to prove to you that they are.   Oh yeah, they're gonna talk to you, and talk to you, and talk to you about individual freedom, but they see a free individual, it's gonna scare 'em.

Billy:   Mmmm, well, that don't make 'em runnin' scared.

George:   No, it makes 'em dangerous.

Algren's Precepts:   Never eat at a place called Mom's.   Never play cards with a man named Doc.   And never lie down with a woman who's got more troubles than you.