Mob chapter drops Nazi symbolism and salute
The world’s biggest Mongrel Mob organisation, the Mongrel Mob Kingdom, has moved to sever its association with Nazi Germany.
After last week’s mosque massacre in Christchurch, the organisation’s president, Paito Fatu, confirmed to that it no longer uses the term ‘‘sieg heil’’.
It has been the rallying cry of the gang for 50 years but Fatu says it’s time for another way.
Fatu says the kingdom has a new rallying cry: ‘‘I like our brothers and sisters to acknowledge each other by saying ‘Mongrel Mob’.’’
The Mongrel Mob Kingdom is the fastest growing chapter in New Zealand, with more than 400 members locally and 200 from around the world, including Canada, Russia, France and the Solomon Islands.
Fatu says the stance is part of a transition to a new cause, away from violent crime, domestic violence and drug abuse, and focusing on empowering wha¯nau, women and children.
‘‘It’s about a big mind shift. It’s about getting out there and doing things productively, constructively and positive to the best of our ability. Doing what everyone else is doing and trying to do a little bit better.’’
The German phrase ‘‘sieg heil’’ translates as ‘‘hail victory’’.
The Mongrel Mob adopted symbols that were associated with Nazi Germany in the early 1960s, drawing widespread condemnation. Fatu says that was the goal.
‘‘I look at this era as a healing time. When we look back at how we used it, it was rebelling against the system.
‘‘Anything that the system saw was evil and bad, we [fed] some of those and that was just our way of [giving] the system the finger up.’’
Mongrel Mob member Te Taiaha Whero Rehua, or ‘‘Doug Dog Taupo¯ ’’, 21, was born into the Taupo¯ chapter.
While he welcomes the change, he admits it has taken some getting used to.
‘‘Coming away from sieg heil, I guess I’ve adapted to it over time. My whole background has always been ‘sieg f ...... heil’ since birth. That’s all I ever knew.
‘‘My old man was a life member of the Mongrel Mob and he’s recently died three years ago so it hasn’t been easy.
‘‘I didn’t really look at it in-depth with Hitler and that sort of stuff. I just grew up knowing it was Mongrel Mob. But it’s positive as. It’s come away from ‘f... the society’ and all that sort of stuff.’’
This story first appeared on Ma¯ ori Television’s website and has been republished with permission.