I usually refrain from even responding to the negative comments/posts people make about the Greek community, but I'm fed up. Yes, I'm Greek. No, I was NEVER hazed. In fact, I was treated wonderfully while I was a new member, and still am treated well by all the ladies I meet as an alum.
Comparing the Greek system to cults, stating that "secret societies ruin lives" is ludicrous. If you allow your life to be ruined by an organization, you are the fool. Anyone that blames an entire organization for the actions of one or two individuals is a fool.
These days, it seems like no one wants to take responsibility for their OWN choices, but rather to blame the results on the others around them. YOU choose whether or not to join an organization. YOU choose whether or not to participate in the rituals and activities that are involved with that organization, just as YOUchoose every other event in your life. If these activities are degrading or go against your moral structure, you have the choice NOT to participate.
Gracie_freebush: You question "what goes on in secret societies" that brings them into the spotlight? I'll answer that. Things go on that you don't know about; therefore, you(you referring to the global, general non-Greek population) make incorrect assumptions because you are curious. Ignorant people have a tendency to believe that anything they do not know about is negative. Hence the popularity of superstition.
And the prescence of anti-Greek sentiment in the media? Let's look at a top headline in recent history; the Jon-Benet Ramsey case. Do you really believe that a little girl that was killed in a trailer park who's parents were blue collar workers would have been publicized as much? The answer: no. This child was of an extremely wealthy family. Those in positions of wealth or power are simply more interesting to sensationalize.
Ignorant people believe everything they read and see, not understanding that it is one media group competing with another for ratings that is producing that media. Competition isn't a formula for honesty, truth, and in-depth reporting. Statistics can be manipulated to support ANY theory, including those that indicate that Greek life is full of hazers.
If you believe that individuals are "sucked into" secret societies, do you believe that people simply have no free will? Let's be realistic, please. People make their own choices.
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