Silver, just another quick clarification - Yes, I do believe letters should be earned - but the definition of "earning" is not the same as hazing. Earning letters means that you learn about your organization, what it means to other new members, brothers, and alumni, and how you fit in to the "big picture."
It also means to earn letters AFTER initiation - that you as a brother/sister/alumnus contribute just as much as new members, and, most importantly, that you try to live the ideals of your Ritual on a daily basis.
It does NOT mean that you subject yourself to humiliation, paddling, and other forms of physical and mental abuse. That is not brotherhood, it is subservience, and is 180 degrees out of the ideals of most all fraternal organizations. We become hypocrites when we try to defend hazing as a "positive experience." I've never heard anyone say they looked back on their pledge period as an "enjoyable experience" if hazing was involved. In fact, most people would say they became members "in spite of" the hazing.
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