Quote:
Originally Posted by Wolfman
Thank you for your wisdom and discretion but a central fact that needs to be considered in this forum GC is this: it is NOT the "real world." Nor should it be. People come here evidently b/c they feel they can voice their opinions and interact with and ask questions of those people in organizations they don't have access to or may not feel comfortable in doing so in the "real world." That's the point--and the genius of GC. The fact that we have these tete-a-tetes should be seen as the fulfillment of the goal of a real type of community, where you have a real diversity of people according to Greek affiliation, ethnic/racial group, Greek councils, geographic location,vocation, age, life and Greek experience, political affiliation, sexual orientation and religious commitment. Basically,you don't find this type of interaction in the real world! It's refreshing and gives me hope! If it's messy and frustrating at times, then so be it. This is a healthy alternative to Greeks and non-Greeks being reinforced with all kinds of prejudiced and preconceived notions about other Greeks, and harboring ways of thinking that don't consider other's opinions and how other organzations operate,etc. b/c they are only interacting with like-minded people whom they feel comfortable with or have a particular Greek council affiliation with.
Until we can get ourselves together off line and accomplish this in the "real world," we should not try to enforce a type of uniformity of engagement on GC. Our experiences are different! If I would err, I would err on the side of generosity.
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Sorry for the delayed response to this. Wolfman, I do understand and agree with your perspective about Greeks needing to be, if anything, more polite with non-Greeks so as to not generate more negative stereotypes about our organizations and the people who join them (I had a very negative experience with a NPHC sorority as an undergrad that *could* have made me scorn the
D9 and everything Greek related had I not grown up and figured out that one person doesn't represent the entire NPHC - so I do get the ultimate point of your post).
But I am speaking about social interaction skills that folks in general seem to be lacking. When you meet a new group of people, we all tend to (or at least should) listen and gauge the tone of the group, lest we might make a complete jackass out of ourselves in front of a new group. That was the point of my post. Beyond discretion is learning how to sit back and take it all in before you jump into a community. This is a basic communication skill that the internet has prevented alot of people from really learning and putting into practice.