BlackWatch

I feel you to a certain degree on your points. I never ventured past that article, so I have no idea what the site is like. I thought it was something like "Honey" or "Sister to Sister" or whatever those Black Women magazines are. Like me, I'm sure those Omegas thought they were just speaking with a female journalist (albeit a terrible one). Either way, I don't see it as a fraternity endorsement of pornography.

As far as Snoop is concerned, thematically, I can see your point, but specifically, it does not apply to the video concept nor the lyrics of the particular song, which I don't recall being misogynistic, glorifying violence, and/or drugs. Again, I don't see this as the National Body promoting negative behavior. There is a such thing as guilt by association but I think that your point goes further than is warranted.

Lastly, there are Omegas in music and comedy and whose rountines can be quite adult and raunchy. Do Steve Harvey, Joe Torrey, and Ricky Smiley disgrace the Frat by telling dirty jokes for a living? By your thesis, they certainly do. Its all about context and purpose. I do agree with you on a macro level, but your criticism is too broad for some of your examples.

Doggystyle says...

"...As far as Snoop is concerned, thematically, I can see your point, but specifically, it does not apply to the video concept nor the lyrics of the particular song, which I don't recall being misogynistic, glorifying violence, and/or drugs. "

I think that the guilt by association thing rings true when you consider my argument on brand name association. Pepsi dropped Ludacris not because he was pimping or drinking cognac in their commercial that he appeared in, but because he has done it in songs that have gone out nationwide on televison and radio. Regardless of the content of the specific song that your fraternity brothers appeared in, Snoop's "brand name" or reputation is associated with Gangsta Rap or "Thug Life", it is part of his marketing strategy. When the name brand of Omega Psi Phi appears with the name brand of Snoop Dog, association takes place in the minds of the audience, and the willful association of the two parties implies mutual consent and affirmation of values and ideas.


Doggystyle says...

"Do Steve Harvey, Joe Torrey, and Ricky Smiley disgrace the Frat by telling dirty jokes for a living? By your thesis, they certainly do. Its all about context and purpose."

Again that Omega zeal fails to inform you of my argument. My argument is that the brand name of Omega Psi Phi maybe tarnished when it appears in certain media outlets. Individual brothers doing things unseemingly is part of every fraternity's culture. Should a brother's unseeming acts reflect on the fraternity as a whole? I think that is up for debate, but no doubt when a brother does something wrong, and it is known that he is a brother of XYZ fraternity, it reflects on the fraternity, whether he is wearing letters or not. I am speaking of the Letters being shown in a national and even world wide medium being associated with certain media outlets (porn magazines) and certain groups of people (Gangsta Rappers) and how people will construe this as the fraternity consenting with the values of such media and people. When I was in undergrad, we had certain rules about wearing 'nalia' as we called it. There were certain things you did not do while wearing the letters. This was because we did not want to misrepresent Alpha in any way. This is my sentiment in creating the thread. I do not think that my argument speaks to individual brothers representing their respective fraternities within their professions, but whether the fraternities should be more conscious of their image in the media.
Blackwatch!!!!

Bright Light of Alpha
 

Lets not turn this thing into an Alpha/Omega argument. I believe that with my fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, we are not normally out on public display. You normally see us in world-shaking, earth-quaking, world-changing positions...such as Civil Rights, Education, Government, Politics, and International Affairs. Judging from all of that, Alpha men don't have time to be in anything of differing position to changing the world. The impact we do have on pop-culture is that we get in it for uplifting purposes only. But, as Fraternal men (regardless of organization), we are held to a higher light and are thought to be the top crop of men! We must represent that and hold up that image!

Onward and Upward