MysticCat |
10-02-2007 01:25 PM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by PhiMuFriend
(Post 1532034)
I cringe everytime I hear the word fraternity shortened to "Frat". It just seems so condescending to shorten it like that. Sort of like a "bad" word is being said.
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Is it condescending when people shorten "dormitory" to "dorm." Is it disrespectful to a refrigerator to call it a "fridge"? (Yeah, I know, a fridge doesn't have feelings and isn't the same as a fraternity.) Is it disrespectful to call the United States of America "the States," or for a vet to talk about "'Nam"?
We do it English all the time, often to indicate affection or loyalty. Look through old (pre-1960s) fraternity writings and I'm betting you'll come across quite a few references to "the dear old frat" and the like.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nittanyalum
(Post 1532052)
I grew up with my brothers espousing the same philosophy, they hated hearing the word "frat" and they used the same analogy, but they would limit it to "Would you call your country a... ?" -- people are smart enough to connect the dots. You don't need to actually SAY that word and you certainly do not need to WRITE that word. It's truly offensive and it makes you look crass and unintelligent. Be more clever and trust your audience to get your drift.
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If there were one thing I would ban from all Greek discourse, it would be this so-called analogy.
Of course you wouldn't call your country a ________, because the resulting word is universally (at least within the English-speaking universe) considered very, very obscene. I don't think I've ever heard anyone claim that "frat" is obscene. This is just a stupid, stupid analogy. It has nothing to do with why many consider "frat" offensive; it's just something "funny" (or shocking) some guy came up with along the line to try and explain why the word "frat" shouldn't be used.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ealymc
(Post 1531990)
The negative connotation that has become associated with "frat" due to society's misconception of Greek life. "Frat", in a lot of circles, conjures images of "drunks, womanizing, stupid, classless, sexed up, etc." Just something I was kind of trained to avoid - using frat - because of pop culture, basically.
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This is the reason many avoid the word frat -- because of the "Animal House" connotations it carries with some people and in some circles.
We lose credibility if we say you shouldn't call your fraternity a "frat" because you wouldn't call your country . . . . We maintain credibility if we say you shouldn't call your fraternity a "frat" because "frat" may carry connotations that we do not think apply to us and do not want associated with us. It really is that simple.
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