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Hi ZTAngel,
Sure I can understand. Yes, it bothers me a little bit when I see a pin from my fraternity on ebay. But only because I really want it for my collection, and I may not be able to afford it. It's the same sad feeling I get when I bring my car in for service and I look around at all the brand new 7 series BMWs at the dealership!
But I don't feel the least bit of anger or outrage toward the seller. That emotion would be entirely misplaced. And that’s what I see in most GC discussions on this issue - misplaced anger. I would love it if every loose badge from my fraternity went to a member. But if that doesn’t happen, then what am I going to do? Get all angry at dealers who are just making a living like they always have? Get all angry at collectors who are just preserving and honoring bits of Greek history like they always have? Get all angry at some poor relative of a deceased member who means no disrespect but has no idea what to do with the pin? Get so blind with moral outrage that I fool myself into thinking the practice is somehow illegal? No. I’ll just quietly rescue as many as I can and save my outrage for something I can actually change.
And the vast majority of the time, the ones I don’t rescue will be bought by...
A) A member.
B) A collector, who will display it proudly in his library and cherish it as much as any non-member possibly could.
I can live with that.
wptw
P.S. Now, if the seller were a disgruntled member of my fraternity, or if the buyer was someone trying to impersonate a member, then I'm sure that would bother me. But these cases are exceptionally rare.
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