What the French, Toast??!! - Tradition VS Stupidity

[Keith G.]

What the French, Toast??! - Tradition VS Stupidity

Allow me to get serious for a moment.

I saw on the news lately about a college in Indiana, I won't name it, that had a recent issue with fraternity hazing and a new pledge filing charges of assault.  Here's my problem : What the hell is going on that we need to haze/initiate/assault anyone that wants to be in a group, or fraternity or whatever??!!

I've seen video of some groups in the military that get a groups pin jabbed into their flesh and then repeatedly punched into the wound until blood is running down their chest.  WTF!!!??  How does that make you group material.  If thats what it takes to get into a group or respected by them, then I say F**K YOU!!  I don't need it.  These groups come back with "Oh it's just tradition.  These new recruits know whats coming."  Ok, so why do we need to uphold such barbaric traditions?  A lot of these so called "initiations" border on assault and torture.  What the hell does that prove?  To me, it just says that for one, the group is a bunch of arrogant douchebags who just want to hurt others to stroke their own egos.  If you have to beat up on a person who is being told not to do anything as far as defending themselves just so they can get in your little club, doesn't that tell you something?

How many of us have seen Animal House?  When Pinto and Flounder got intiated into the Delta's group, all they got was new nickname, a pledge pin and a beer party fountain.  Thats the way to do it.  When it starts to get painful and it gets almost ritualistic, then thats when reality needs to step in with a giant bitch slap to all the frat boys out there.

I know we have some military guys and college guys out there - what do you guys think about all of this?  Have you seen it in action?  You think it goes to far?  Tell me what you think.


Sorry for the short column, but I figured I could rant about this in this form since it was bothering me.

[J. Byrd]

I didn't join a fraternity in college...and honestly, I didn't see a reason.

But I can tell you that no matter how bad the "discipline" got in ROTC, field training, or what I viewed from the Pershing Rifles, Arnold Air Society, or Drill Team folks (who all went through a period of "initiation"), it didn't consist of anything vicious or malevolent.

Not sure where you saw that stuff.

[N.K. Hawkins Jr.]

I joined a fraternity in college.  And although I had to do some things, I didn't for a minute feel like my life was in danger or I was coming under significant physical harm.  That's not the way I roll, and that's not the way they rolled.

Having gone to an HBCU after leaving THAT school, however, I can see that the black fraternities and sororities display a lot more elitism and make prospects do more to get in...in extreme cases, sorority pledges have been rumored to have had sex with fraternity guys to get in at some chapters of some organizations.  The burning question I ask along Gumbo's lines is, "Do you need to belong THAT bad?"  It's not that doggone serious.  Making folk run until they die, drowning them in the river, making them run around naked.  That's f**king degrading.  And my late grandmother was a member of one of these organizations back in a time where it meant a lot more.

The one thing that trips me out about the NPHC (National PanHellenic Council) organizations is that a rule of thumb is that either everyone who pledges gets in, or no one who pledges gets in.  So if there's one lazy bones or douchebag or whatever in the line, all those who went through whatever radical things go on behind closed doors don't get in?  I ALWAYS found it ridiculous and always brought it up to the folk I know in these organizations.

[Matt Wantuck]

It's all National Lampoon's fault.

[Keith G.]

Exactly Nelo.  If you need to go through shit like that and torture yourself or get humiliated just to belong in this group, then why bother. 

I can understand maybe getting a tatoo for your frat, but I've seen pictures of pledges getting branded to join a frat house.  Come on now, is it really all that important to show "loyalty?"

[estee]

I joined a frat in Canada and the inits was silly. But TBH I heard some horror stories about what went on in US chapters. Weird stuff. Moreover I felt our Elder members, those that graduated, tried to take things too far when it came to our initiations. They wanted to get their rocks off on our Pledges while we wanted to build a sense of brotherhood.  We nipped that in the bud, thank goodness and we were the better for it. But that was years ago and who knows what's it like now.

I'm also in the Reserves and the only inits in our unit was snort a shot of vodka. Yeah, I know...stupid. Thankfully we had the choice of doing or not. Needless to say I didn't do it. But a lot of the younger recruits went through with it. 

[N.K. Hawkins Jr.]

Exactly Nelo.  If you need to go through shit like that and torture yourself or get humiliated just to belong in this group, then why bother. 

I can understand maybe getting a tatoo for your frat, but I've seen pictures of pledges getting branded to join a frat house.  Come on now, is it really all that important to show "loyalty?"

Omega Psi Phi AKA the Que Dawgs.  They wear those brands with pride Gumbo.  I know several Ques and they do several KNOWN things during the pledge process I can't plug into.

Like no one is cutting my hair...PERIOD.  And me and my keloid skin aren't going to be doing any pre-emptive mutiliation.

[Desna]

Probably not a good answer, but this is the answer that I was given when asking a friend why he went through all of that in order to be part of his fraternity.

"Respect. Yeah, sure I could have just signed the papers and been part of the (organization name) but the others would not have respected me at all. I had to go through what they went through in order to be counted as one of them. To show them that I was for real and not some wannabe who just walked around wearing the jacket."

Second guy I talked to said just about the same thing.

"I had to earn this (fraternity paraphernalia). Having this means something and you just can't hand it out to everybody. You got to see who really wants it."

And yes, sororities have graduated from the mind games to physical initiations as well. Just as I was about to pledge myself, I heard about a chick who had been initiated into the same organization being sent to the hospital. I didn't talk to any females about why they joined up and if they got hazed at all.

So yep, that was what I was told.

[J. Byrd]

Except I don't need the respect of a bunch of beer swilling dudes.

Sure, I want people to respect me, but not for being able to run through campus naked in the rain or some such nonsense.

[Chris J. Lawton]

Sure, I want people to respect me, but not for being able to run through campus naked in the rain or some such nonsense.

See, I just did this sort of shit for funsies.

[J. Byrd]

See, I just did this sort of shit for funsies.

Pfft.  That's different.  For funsies, it's cool....to be respected by frat boys, it's not.