Quote:
Originally Posted by Titchou
I think we should ban that word here. I cringe every time I see it.
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Eh. Banning words is never a good idea.
I think the over-reaction to it is at least as annoying as the word itself. I rarely use it, but it doesn't bother me, and I think that the idea that it is somehow less than respectful is fairly ludicrous. References to "the dear old frat" or the like were common in many fraternities not that long ago. Avoidance of the word by many groups has nothing to do with the idea that "frat" is somehow disrespectful and everything to with fairly recent desires to distance fraternities from a "frat boy," "frat house" image. It's the same motivation that led to "recruitment" instead of "rush" and "new member" instead of "pledge." There's nothing wrong with a determination that "fraternity" is preferable "frat," but there's no point in treating "frat" like some kind of dirty word.