Quote:
Originally posted by FuzzieAlum (in part)
I don't think the military is a very valid comparison. Yes, both GLOs and the military want tight, cohesive groups. But a GLO is not about life and death like the military is! The military may train you by dropping you in the middle of nowhere. That really could happen in actual service. I sure hope that doesn't actually happen in the course of a GLO's regular activities, though. In a GLO, you really shouldn't be killing your enemy, defending your own life, or dodging literal bullets.
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Actually, I think it may be a very apt comparison. Bear with me a minute -- I'm thinking out loud (or on the keyboard).
There has been a lot of talking in this thread about bonding, and I think that is very important. But there is an equally important component that I think has not been addressed; at least if it has, I missed it. That second component is rite of passage.
American society as a whole is woefully bereft of rites of passages, particularly for boys: rites that mark the transition from boyhood to manhood. For many young men, fraternities (I am going to talk mainly about fraternities here; I'll try not to go too Robert Bly
) and fraternity initiations provide such a rite. Indeed, the pledge manuals of many fraternities speak of initiation in terms of a rite of passage.
Globally, rites of passage in less "civilized" societies typically involve what might be termed testing, trial, or ordeal. That is, prior to actual initiation into manhood, the initiate must prove himself and his worth (to himself and to the men he wishes to join) by undergoing and passing one or more trials or tests. To be quite honest, I think there is something inbred in males wanting and needing to prove themselves in this way. Rituals (and here I am using the term broadly) that succeed for boys understand this and tap into this primal need. An example: initiation into the Order of the Arrow, a sort of camping brotherhood for Boy Scouts, is preceeded by a weekend-long "Ordeal" that involves no talking, manual labor (with others, which can be challenging with no talking), camping alone in the woods, meager meals, and the like. Upon completion, a boy feels like he has really accomplished something, proven himself and
earned the right to be initiated.
Quite simply I think, where hazing "succeeds" (if that is the right word), it is when it taps into this primal desire to be tested and proved worthy, which in turn engenders loyalty to the group one has been found worthy to join.
How does the military comparison fit in? True, fraternity brothers are not about "life and death" in the same way as the military, but in a real sense fraternity brothers
are about life and death. We talk in term of lifetime brotherhood, of helping and even protecting each other. When potential initiates go through "testing" together and help each other get through it, then they learn that they can count on each other no matter what.
So, to answer James's question, I think what makes hazing "work" (again, if that is the right word) is that it satisfies the need to be tested and proven worthy, and that in the process it teaches potential initiates to rely on each other and help each other in overcoming any trials. The challenge for fraternities today is to figure out how to accomplish these same goals in a way that isn't hazing.
My $0.02.