Does this intimidate you?
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URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=21424
Printed Date: 03 April 2026 at 11:53pm
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Topic: Does this intimidate you?
Posted By: BuzzyBee
Subject: Does this intimidate you?
Date Posted: 04 October 2008 at 10:41am
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... Gang badges being worn in public?
Reason I ask, is that, I was at the local supermarket on Thursday waiting in the queue as per usual when I spot a guy wearing the classic leather jacket with the huge badge/insignia on the back sporting the fact that he's part of this gang ... You could feel the tension ...not just that, I noticed that nearly every single person in the vicinity all of a sudden was staring at the floor. Heads down, as not to disturb or upset this guy! What gives them the right? ...Are there any laws re: wearing badges? You'd think coming from South Auckland I'd see this more often, I guess I'm very select with where I go ...the time I go etc. So much has changed from when I was a little girl, just feels like nowhere is safe anymore (yeah ok, I'm sounding incredibly sheltered right now!) So I'm just wondering, how do you react/feel when you see a gang member wearing a badge? Do you think it's appropriate? This reminds me of when I was 20 or so weeks pregnant, I was manager of the store I worked in ...all girls were on this particular shift when a guy walks in, wearing the jacket with the badge on the back, very scary looking...he walks right up to a shelf and starts putting things in his jacket - totally in full view. We were all too scared to do or say anything, and he was totally milking it ...we waited for him to leave before we could act on it. Got the numberplate of the car he jumped into etc. I guess thats all we could do when there was no testosterone in the place.... Maybe I'm just a 'Nana' (hehe fattarts) 
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Replies:
Posted By: arohanui
Date Posted: 04 October 2008 at 10:54am
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Yeah I dunno eh. They used to hardout intimidate me. Still do a bit (especially if I have Harry with me) but not as much as they used to.
See about a year ago (yeah actually Labour weekend last year) DH and I went to a mongrel mob wedding... DH filmed the wedding for them, as our wedding gift. The bride was a friend of ours, MILs old neighbour and she helped us out cooking in the cafe we owned. I was obviously pregnant at the time, and we were practically the only white people there. Sure it was kinda weird, but it wasn't as bad as I would have expected. When I first met the lady, I didn't know her then partner was part of the gang. She was really lovely and selfless. She told me about it later and it gave me a whole new perspective on it. I certainly don't agree with the whole gang thing, and we've talked about it a fair bit, and DH has had heaps of discussions with her DH. They know where we stand on it all, and they know our morals and how we live our life. But then they are part of the gang who say they're trying to change things, to encourage the youth not to be violent, to change the perception of the badge, etc etc. They don't do the whole kill someone, gang-rape thing (well, not anymore). But I guess the reason we get on well is that they know my MIL and respect her, and they looked out for her when they were neighbours (MIL was kind to them and their kids). If we were just some random on the street it would probably be different. The thing that really broke my heart though was seeing a wee boy who was only about 4 years old wearing a jacket with the badge on the back  
And also their wee girl told us in the car (we were taking them to the house to get ready) that her friends were scared of her dad's friends but that she wasn't.. ------------- Mama to DS1 (5 years), DS2 (3 years) and... http://alterna-tickers.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: Kels
Date Posted: 04 October 2008 at 11:25am
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Umm I dont either. I found myself in a situation where I had to homevisit a house for the first time not knowing it was a gang house until I found myself in the lounge with over 10 mob members and no baby or mother insight. Ekk inside I was suddenly having heart failure and I was on the verge of fainting I have felt threaten when I see a group in the street in town, but try to keep my head up and ignore them. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
Busy mum to Miss 15yrs, Miss 10yrs and Master 4yrs |
Turns out the baby was out with mum doing some erans(sp?) and the next minute I am offered coffee, food etc.. I adivsed I could come back but they werent having any of it, they welcomed me and we all had a chat about the kids etc. Turns out it was the 2nd in charge house I was in and all the others were local member including the president (who is the 2nd in charge FIL) was there too. Yes at first I was thinking great, im going to get raped, beaten, murdered etc but after awhile I settled down and mum and bubba arrived about 15mins later lol. She apolygised and we got on with the visit. I am lucky that I am now known to them all as "the baby nurse" they call me and so I feel comfortable heading into there area. Posted By: Shezamumof3
Date Posted: 04 October 2008 at 12:02pm
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Umm sometimes they do, but a lot of the time they may look scary but they are actually really nice.
I used to work on the front gate at Rainbows End for 6 years and I saw ALL sorts of people! I remember this huge scary as guy with dreads and a leatehr jacket with his gang badge on it came in and I was totally crapping my self about having to put his band on! Anyways he comes up to me and says "Hello Love!" with a big friendly smile! So I just chatted to him like normal, asked his kids what rides they were going to go on first etc, and he chatted to me then was like "Have a great day!!" He looked scary, and probably could be if he wanted to, but he was lovely to me. But I have come across some that are just nasty and you can tell, so I every m y eyes and caryr on with what Im doing, I get quite nervous when Im with Caden though. ------------- |
Posted By: caitlynsmygirl
Date Posted: 04 October 2008 at 12:19pm
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i've often found in life that the people who look the scariest are quite often rather nice , and the ones who you think wouldn't hurt you , are the ones who are capable of it .
There are always exceptions to the rule of course , some gang members will use the power of their badge to indimidate and do what they want . And of course there are gang members that do hurt non -gang member civilians ...I just keep my distance , but if i see any , i wont assume they are horrible people ------------- 
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Posted By: MorgansMum
Date Posted: 04 October 2008 at 12:44pm
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We were at the local zoo last weekend when a patched member came in with his familt, all taranaki parks are smoke free he was the only person in the whole area smoking and not one person approched him to say anything, to be honest I do find it intimadating. I grew up in Manurewa and remember walking around high school with my head down incase I accidently looked at someone wrong. Not a nice feeling ------------- Morgan, Libby http://www.TickerFactory.com/"> 
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Posted By: lilfatty
Date Posted: 04 October 2008 at 1:03pm
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Ummm I dont, however I have extended family members in a gang .. I just thought uncle and his family liked dogs (hence the reason they had big pictures of it on their jackets and tattooed on them)
So I grew up thinking all gang members were just like my uncle (kind) Although my Nanny wouldnt let any patches inside the house so they all used to take their jackets off at the door lol ..  ------------- Mummy to Issy (3) and Elias (18 months) I did it .. 41 kgs gone! From flab to fab in under a year  http://www.femininefitness.co.nz/category/blog - LFs weight blog
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Posted By: ooEvaoo
Date Posted: 04 October 2008 at 1:27pm
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They don't intimidate me one little bit!!. To me they are just another person on the street. I guess I feel that way because I've grown up with that affiliation, not in my family, but in the community I grew up in....Taneatua! need I say more lolz ------------- 
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Posted By: Andie
Date Posted: 04 October 2008 at 2:09pm
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Nope. patches don't intimidate me. I've gone head to head with a few gang members in my work and I refused to let the whole 'intimidation' factor influence our interactions. And no, they weren't the most difficult people I worked with. Gangs are very un-cool in my books and yeah, they do get up to more mischief than a lot of people would realise, but that doesn't mean the people in them are the lowest of the low, or about to explode with rage at any given minute - more often than not a guy is just buying his groceries, wearing his jacket. ------------- Andie |
Posted By: BuzzyBee
Date Posted: 04 October 2008 at 3:09pm
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Lol Andie, I definitely don't doubt that he was just there buying his groceries and not out to cause harm ...but it's amazing how wearing their badges gets diff reactions from people.
So are there no laws re: wearing them? |
Posted By: AnnC
Date Posted: 04 October 2008 at 3:37pm
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Honestly YES i am.
But once I wasn't cause I was drunk LOL - they stopped to ask for directions as I was walking between pubs and I ran over to the car and pointed them in a direction - whoops so drunk I actually sent them in the wrong directions LOL ..... (many years ago this was )------------- Ann 
Also Mum to Josh (15) and Brooke (10) |
Posted By: MrsMojo
Date Posted: 04 October 2008 at 4:39pm
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Steph some regional councils have laws against wearing patches but there isn't a National law and I don't think there should be either, next we'd be making laws about wearing burkhas or crosses in public IYKWIM. I can't say I've ever felt intimidated by someone just because they're wearing a patch, then again I lived in Cannons Creek for a couple of years and my DH knew guys in the mongrel mob. -------------  
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Posted By: BuzzyBee
Date Posted: 04 October 2008 at 4:44pm
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Yup I so know where you're coming from Jo re: not being allowed to wear crosses or something representing our faith .
BUT (and I know this is a bit of a strange comparison/thought) if we had an active KKK group here, I imagine there would be a HUGE uproar if they were to wear their gear/cones out in public ...I'm not sure what these gangs policies are and if any follow along the same lines as KKK (except they go against whites) but I liken it to what I've mentioned above. There surely has to be a line drawn somewhere IYGWIM ...please someone say they know where I'm coming from (I'm not trying to offend ANYONE ....merely thinking out loud) |
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 04 October 2008 at 4:47pm
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No there are no laws, we've Wanganui not far from us and Michael Laws is trying to get them banned in public. The gangs have cause huge problems and there was that shooting of the little baby, who was an innocent bystander. The general public don't want them in their town.
I'm sure there are exceptions to every rule, but I do find gang patches and their members intimidating. I'm sure some of them are nice, but I find it difficult to get past the patch to find out. Maybe I'm just a wimp. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">   [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: BuzzyBee
Date Posted: 04 October 2008 at 4:54pm
If you're a wimp fleury, then I'm a wimp too! 
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Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 04 October 2008 at 5:15pm
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I don't want them in our town. If I lived in Wanganui I'd be voting for them to be banned.
I'm a small white chick, and the only time I've ever felt threatened was by a big black man, they make me nervous. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: james
Date Posted: 04 October 2008 at 5:56pm
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no and we live around the road from them lol ------------- <a href="http://lilypie.com"><img src="http://b4.lilypie.com/nLJ5p13.png" alt="Lilypie 4th Birthday Ticker" border="0" /></a> |
Posted By: MrsMojo
Date Posted: 04 October 2008 at 7:24pm
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Damn right there would be an uproar - and so there should be. Don't quote me but my knowledge of the KKK is that they truly believe that they are God's chosen people and made in the image of God and that anyone who isn't white is an animal and should be treated as such and put in their place if they overstep their position. I'm not an expert but pretty sure that unlike the KKK the gangs in NZ aren't into genocide. Infact (and now I'm generalising) if you look throughout recent history it's usually been white people that have tried segregation and genocide (thinking SA's apartheid, the way aboriginals and american indians were treated, the chinese and indians who were made slaves and servants in their own lands and of course the holocaust) Anyway, the point is (and again I'm no expert) that the majority of gang members don't mean you any harm, just as the majority of "average" citizens don't. -------------
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Mum2Lucas wrote:Posted By: BuzzyBee
Date Posted: 04 October 2008 at 7:55pm
| Well, in an ideal world there would be no such thing as any of that...*sigh* |
Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 04 October 2008 at 9:17pm
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I don't know that the big gangs (such as the Mob and Black Power) are neccessarily anti-white, they do tend to be mostly Maori but I don't think that's a deliberate racial thing, more just like sticking with like.
Me personally, I'm not intimidated by a patch, I'm intimidated by a person. Some patched guys you see and they're going about their business and you're going about yours and I don't find that intimidating at all. But if you have a person trying to stand over you or stare you down then that's intimidating to me regardless of whether they're wearing a patch or not. A lot of people find Willie intimidating coz he's quite a big man and has the stereotypical bald head, tattoos etc. going on but he doesn't have a violent or nasty bone in his body. -------------  Maya Grace (28/02/03)
 (02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: Bubbaloo
Date Posted: 04 October 2008 at 9:26pm
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They don't bother me at all the few I have come across have been really friendly and welcoming to tell you the truth I am more intimidated by the white gangs (I'm white to by the way) than the mob etc I agree with what Mrs Mojo said in her previous post about the KKK etc.
ETA words I had missed out lol ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">  Was danni-chick Mum to James My Angel 28/07/08 |
Posted By: MrsMojo
Date Posted: 04 October 2008 at 11:34pm
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I asked my DH what he thought about this topic and he said "I don't have a problem with them as long as they don't have a problem with me" and that's pretty much how I feel too. Living and working in the CBD I've seen trouble with goths and boy racers and booze/drug fuelled teens and IMO they can be more intimidating. Last xmas DH and I (from the safety of our car) stopped a fight between about 8 boy racers vs one drunk guy that shot off his mouth. The stupid drunk was on the ground being kicked and still shooting off his mouth, it took for me to lean on my horn before the kids would leave him alone and then the drunk guy abused us for interferring - dumbass! -------------
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Posted By: Roksana
Date Posted: 05 October 2008 at 9:42am
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Havnt read what every one has said sooo far but yes I do get a bit uncomfy when I see ppl wearing their gang jackets and I worry being around them...but in all honesty I would rather they wore it and I knew who they were and perhaps keep my distance instead of not knowing and then some thing happens to us.
I think it was Kels who had a run it with a guy and his car? she had no idea that he could do that to her because there was no signs or indication. I dont know what it worse??? I think there always will be gangs so question is would we rather know them as they stand out or have them blend in with us which is worse? ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: Rachael21
Date Posted: 05 October 2008 at 1:34pm
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No we have a few friends parents with patches but there probably aren't as many around down here than up there and there isn't much gang trouble down here. Or maybe I'm aware of it.
We know a few white guys in the mongrel mob so it isn't all about being brown although maybe black power is? I don't know much about black power. My partner has had a bit to do with white supremicist (so can't spell that) thing when he was a teen but it wasn't so much of an official gang just a belonging for all the white guys. They had maoris in it too so I think they just used the name white power rather than actually followed it. |
Posted By: FionaS
Date Posted: 05 October 2008 at 1:43pm
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To be totally honest, yes, tha kind of thing intimidates me initially. Maybe that would be considered discriminatory but the truth is that the first emotion I feel when I see someone like that is intimidation. However, I am very happy to put that initial emotion to the side and get to know the person (if the situation calls for it) and try really hard not to stereotype or judge based on appearance.
------------- Mummy to Gabrielle and Ashley |
Posted By: caitlynsmygirl
Date Posted: 05 October 2008 at 2:19pm
haha and then you see what a big softy he is with his girls and hes a scary as hokey pokey icecream -------------
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Posted By: caitlynsmygirl
Date Posted: 05 October 2008 at 2:23pm
oh gah , the ones who intimidate me ? emos, im always scared they are going to start crying and reciting melancholy poetry as i walk past..... -------------
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Posted By: BuzzyBee
Date Posted: 05 October 2008 at 2:29pm
| LOL Kelly |
Posted By: chonny
Date Posted: 06 October 2008 at 8:25am
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i think i would feel a bit awkward, but i guess they don't really intimidate me. i think this is partially because a week after we moved out to South Auckland there was a big armed offenders raid in our street. we realise there must be a gang living down the end, but they are really nice houses & we never have any problems. in actual fact DH n i were talking bout this a while ago & we actually feel really safe because we know they are there & no one is likely to come messing with people in our street knowing there is a gang house. IYKWIM -------------   
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Posted By: lizzle
Date Posted: 06 October 2008 at 9:17am
| no, because I grew up in the King Country however, i am very warey round thr young guys. The older ones are generally pretty cool, but the young ones will often have something to prove and I am very careful. then again, in palmy they seem to be few and far between |