Sinister: dont want acceptance, dont want tradition

[Dmitry Komis]

At 01:45 PM 6/3/99 +0100, you wrote:
>Would any US listee like to admit to being part of it and explain why this
is complete mispresentation?

sadly, your interpretation was right on. well, i would surely never take
part in a frat, but being a student in the school with the largest greek
system in teh world (UIUC), its impossible not to run into them and their:
khaki shorts, sweaters, Tommy and abercrombie and fitch clothes, baseball
hats, matchbox 20/offspring tshirts, and who could forget the
homophobic/dumb jock attitudes. all stereotypes, yes, but all true. as a
matter of fact, my roomate of this past year decided to "rush" second
semester. he told me it was the best thing that ever happened to him. he
told me that he finally felt "accepted" by a group. of course, this was
after he paid for his so-called friends. yes kids, you heard right, paid.
you have to pay a fee to join this gloriously WASPy group and it is after
you pay that you get your "friends".  they are called your 'brothers for
life', they sing songs about each other and partake in confidential
ceremonies.  they have to memorize information about each other in order to
"pass the test". and then if you are truly dedicated and want to become a
member and not just a second-class "pledge", well then you will have to go
thru many hours of paddling and other humiliating tests. this is a period
called "hazing". this is when the "real brothers" make you do stuff that
you wouldn't normally want to do. like getting blindfolded and tied up and
thrown into a car trunk while your "brothers" drive around campus with you
in the trunk. hazing is supposedly outlawed in my school, but it still goes
on. my roomate said he didn't have to go thru it, but he knew other members
that did. overall, it is a repulsive patriarchial institution. something
that most american families take pride in, because the men in a family are
supposed to all join the same frat, which somehow is supposed to show that
they are "real men". i was once invited to a frat party by my roomate and i
went, being naive and welcoming any new social adventures. i thought id
stay for the free alcohol, and maybe id convert some of the boys in the
frat, but then the dj kept playing "barbie girl" and the rest of the night
was filled with backstreet boys and other horrifying top40 songs. later in
the evening i was introduced to all the "brothers" by my roomate and he
said they really liked me and wanted me to join too. i took this as one of
the worst insults of my life and left.

dmitry


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