Colour me totally disgusted by gangs

Thankfully the row over alleged discrimination at a Wanganui dairy has come to what appears to be a happy end, with all parties pleased with the outcome.

Wanganui woman Vilia Ngawaka claimed she was refused service and had to leave the Dublin St Dairy, after the dairy owner allegedly took offence to her red and black-striped top, saying "no gangs, no gangs" before forcing her out of the shop.

Red and black are the traditional colours of the Mongrel Mob gang.

She had planned to lay an assault complaint with police, as well as write to the Human Rights Commission.

But yesterday, the owners of the dairy apologised, putting the incident down to a misunderstanding and claiming the words "no gangs" were never used.

They met with Ms Ngawaka, and presented her with chocolates and a card.

So all's well that ends well, or so it appears.

But regardless of whatever was or was not said after Ms Ngawaka entered the dairy on Saturday, the entire incident again serves to illustrate the foul influence gangs have on our community.

Either the words "no gangs" were used, or Ms Ngawaka misheard them as such and presumed the reference was to the colour of her shirt.

That in itself proves that the connection between the colours red and black and the Mongrel Mob can now arguably be said to be as embedded in New Zealand society as the connection between those same colours and the province of Canterbury.

It's a sad comparison, but one that is reinforced by the Dublin St Dairy incident.

The chaos caused by criminal gangs has been well-documented, and it only takes a quick look at court reports in newspapers and on television to see the damage gangs do not only to innocent parties, but also to the the lives of their own members.

But you have to wonder what the world's coming to when a basic colour combination becomes hijacked because a gang chooses to use those same colours for its outfit.

That's why we see people getting assaulted and ending up in hospital because they were wearing the "wrong" colour, in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

The Mongrel Mob, and others of their ilk, are a scourge on society.

That the gang's wretched influence can extend so far as to spark a dispute in an ordinary city dairy only serves to show how much further we have to go in eradicating their presence.

Feedback: editor@wanganuichronicle.co.nz.