[freethinker]

Icon, here's a "concrete example" for you, taken from a post-Civil War (or War of Northern Aggression) interview with a slave:

WESLEY NORRIS Interviewed, 1866(?) b. Virginia Enslaved: Virginia

It has frequently been represented by the friends and admirers of Robert E. Lee, late an officer in the rebel army, that, although a slaveholder, his treatment of his chattels was invariably kind and humane. The subjoined statement, taken from the lips of one of his former slaves, indicates the real character of the man:

"My name is Wesley Norris; I was born a slave on the plantation of George Parke Custis; after the death of Mr. Custis, Gen. Lee, who had been made executor of the estate, assumed control of the slaves, in number about seventy; it was the general impression among the slaves of Mr. Custis that on his death they should be forever free; in fact this statement had been made to them by Mr. C. years before; at his death we were informed by Gen. Lee that by the conditions of the will we must remain slaves for five years; I remained with Gen. Lee for about seventeen months, when my sister Mary, a cousin of ours, and I determined to run away, which we did in the year 1859; we had already reached Westminster, in Maryland, on our way to the North, when we were apprehended and thrown into prison, and Gen. Lee notified of our arrest; we remained in prison fifteen days, when we were sent back to Arlington; we were immediately taken before Gen. Lee, who demanded the reason why we ran away; we frankly told him that we considered ourselves free; he then told us he would teach us a lesson we never would forget; he then ordered us to the barn, where, in his presence, we were tied firmly to posts by a Mr. Gwin, our overseer, who was ordered by Gen. Lee to strip us to the waist and give us fifty lashes each, excepting my sister, who received but twenty; we were accordingly stripped to the skin by the overseer, who, however, had sufficient humanity to decline whipping us; accordingly Dick Williams, a county constable, was called in, who gave us the number of lashes ordered; Gen. Lee, in the meantime, stood by, and frequently enjoined Williams to 'lay it on well,' an injunction which he did not fail to heed; not satisfied with simply lacerating our naked flesh, Gen. Lee then ordered the overseer to thoroughly wash our backs with brine, which was done. After this my cousin and myself were sent to Hanover.

Granted, the perspective may be a little skewed, seeing as Mr. Norris was presumably interviewed by a Northerner in 1866, immediately after the war---there may have been some political leanings towards making Gen. Lee look bad. Nonetheless, it's something to think about, and a "concrete example."

Or, take this press release, from KA's own Web site:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 18, 2002
Contact: Ashley Worboys
(540) 463-1865

Kappa Alpha Order Closes University of Tennessee's Pi Chapter

Lexington, Va. - Officials of Kappa Alpha Order announced today the Pi chapter located at the University of Tennessee has been closed for a period of two years. The decision was reached after an investigation into the chapter last month revealed some members violated University and Fraternity policy.

"These are serious issues that need disciplinary attention," said Larry Wiese, executive director of Kappa Alpha Order's National Headquarters. "We needed to put an end to the negative behavior. Through continued discussions with Pi chapter alumni and members of Kappa Alpha Order's national staff, we determined closing the chapter was the best course of action."

Kappa Alpha officials first discovered the possibility of fraternity violations in February. A local alumni's report followed along with a preliminary investigation. The report described activities involving alcohol and a strip dancer inside the fraternity house. KA's national organization suspended the local chapter immediately and notified University officials.

Wiese said no final decision has been made on what will happen to the chapter's house but the national office has been working with the University and local alumni on that matter.

"The chapter will be reinstated after the cooling off period," said Wiese. "We will evaluate that possibility in two years."

Kappa Alpha Order was founded in 1865 in Lexington, Va. and is a
national men's collegiate fraternity with 127 chapters from Princeton, New Jersey to Seattle, Washington. Kappa Alpha Order boasts 5,000 undergraduates and 100,000 living alumni members.

What the press release doesn't mention, however, are gambling, cock fighting (with birds, I presume), weekly visits by strippers, and how brothers recuited local homeless men for impromptu "Fight Club" boxing shows.

To quote Wired: "The bums were recruited, liquored up, given large boxing gloves and then, as one member said, 'we let them go to town.'"

I guess slaves weren't available.

One member of the chapter spoke up to the UTK Daily Beacon about the gambling and cock fights in the basement (okay, maybe it wasn't chickens): "It wasn't that big of a deal with nationals. They let us go with that," [UTK KA Chapter President Patrick] Diener said.

I'll argue however, that the national office did the right thing by kicking the chapter. Funny how that last paragraph mentions cities that are assuredly "Yankee" strongholds.

Speaking of slavery and old times there best left forgotten, how about the five-year suspension of the University of North Texas chapter?

Seems that "approximately 35 Kappa Alpha members shouted racial slurs at African-American football recruits who were touring the student union," according to the Daily Texan.

Get this---not only were they wearing their letters, they were waving a Confederate flag at the time (presumably one of the battle variety).

To quote "The Battalion," "The accusation of racism is the fourth disciplinary violation Kalpha Alpha has faced at UNT. In 1990, Kalpha Alpha was placed on a two-year probation for campus alcohol violations. In Nov. 1996, a Kappa Alpha pledge book was found containing racist comments made by fraternity members. In 1998, the fraternity was placed on a two-year probation for allegations of hazing and alcohol abuse. The list of violations this fraternity has committed is ridiculously long."

Just down the street at Southwestern Texas, KA was suspended for "safety and alcohol violations and allegations of physical abuse and racist conduct." Both in the same month---I'm impressed.

Let's also not forget the Bowling Green KA brother arrested for setting fire to his own frat house.

Here's a great quote from that chapter's president, John Deeb: "The gentlemen in this room have very positive feelings for him."

Down in lovely Alabama, my neighboring state, their Supreme Court ruled that a KA brother couldn't sue the fraternity for hazing. Why? Because he'd endured it an entire school year.

A little closer to my lovely Statesboro, GA home, the Emory University KA chapter found themselves in a flap because their yearbook photo featured a member in blackface.

Here's the picture in question:

To quote columnist Amos Jones, "Emory will be a better university with KA gone. If KA remains, we're surely headed for an escalation of the racial tensions they delight in igniting."

In a less spectacular incident, App State's KA and Sigma Nu chapters both got the boot (may God damn those Mountaineers to hell) after "host[ing] an off-campus 'bid party' Feb. 4 and fail[ing] to provide security at the party, maintain a guest list or monitor underage drinking."

Hope this helps, Icon---true Southern values at work. Hell, I just say "yes, sir" and "no, ma'am" a whole lot. Maybe I should start drinking more and get a rebel flag tattooed somewhere on me.