Duke 88 (or Group of 88) = “Duke Heil Hitler”

The Husaria ^ | 7/16/07 | Winged Hussar 1683

[Winged Hussar]

The “Duke 88″ (or Group of 88) are a group of faculty members who effectively joined ex-District Attorney Mike Nifong in prejudging lacrosse players who were falsely accused of raping Crystal Gail Mangum. There has been considerable discussion of the consequences these faculty members should suffer, both professionally and civilly, for their actions.

Unluckily for them, “88″ is white supremacist shorthand for “Heil Hitler” (H being the eighth letter of the alphabet). As an example, if a white supremacist writes “14/88″ he means “The Fourteen Words” (a white supremacist slogan) followed by “Heil Hitler.” This can be verified from the Anti-Defamation League’s Web site. We have seen some very nasty material on YouTube by individuals who use “1488″ in their identities.

Since Nifonging people is in fact consistent with Nazi ideology and practice–the Nazis held plenty of trials with predetermined verdicts–we therefore recommend that the Duke 88 be referred to as the “Duke Heil Hitler.” This may sound like mere name-calling, but it is well known from anthropology (e.g. LeGuin’s Earthsea Trilogy) that the power to name a thing is the power to control its identity. If you slap a name on somebody or something and it sticks, you have effectively defined that person or object. Since the Duke Heil Hitler were willing to help tag three innocent men as rapists, we are confident that they will not object too strongly to being tagged with the phrase “Heil Hitler.”

[Winged Hussar]

We have seen other places (e.g. a comment at Captain's Quarters) where it has been pointed out that 88 is white supremacist code for "Heil Hitler."

http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/010272.php

In some sensitivity training it gets pointed out that neo-nazis will use 88 as a code word (H = 8th letter of the alphabet, and heil hitler = HH) 88 is kind of appropriate for this group, a bunch of socialists rush to judgment and seize upon a false story simply to confirm their prejudices.

[Old Sarge]

For those who don’t know what the 14 words are, this from Wikipedia:

“The slogan was coined by the late David Lane, a member of the far-right white supremacist organization The Order. The fourteen words of the slogan are, ‘We must secure the existence of our people and a future for White children.’”

[Winged Hussar]

Re: “The fourteen words of the slogan are, ‘We must secure the existence of our people and a future for White children.’”

It also sounds like something Robert Byrd (KKK-WV) might have said while campaigning back in the 1940s or 1950s. :-)

Did you hear that Byrd watched several episodes of “Knight Rider,” and then got angry because not a single night rider showed up to keep Black people in their places?

Byrd was really angry about “Lord of the Rings,” because the White Wizard never turned into the Grand Wizard. He was also disappointed with “The Hobbit” because he thought (segregationist Theodore) Bilbo was going to see a (Grand) Dragon.

In any event, the Duke 88 are pretty much in the same moral class as Mike Nifong.

[Old Sarge]