secret societies and 60 Minutes

DGMarie · #1 10-05-2003, 07:51 PM

If you're watching, they're on 60 minutes right now...

hoosier · #2 10-05-2003, 08:48 PM

I was watching my girls at the Women's World Cup.

ChaosDST · #3 10-05-2003, 08:56 PM

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/...in576332.shtml

Lady Pi Phi · #4 10-05-2003, 09:23 PM

It might be on later again tonight. I know it is here. I'm going to try and catch it. It's supposed to be on again at 12:30am.

ADPi-Jen · #5 10-05-2003, 09:32 PM

all I can say is...wow.

hoosier · #6 10-05-2003, 10:51 PM

“It has gays who got the SAT scores, it's got the gays who got the straight A's,” says Brooks. “It's got the blacks who are the president of the right associations. It's different criteria. More multicultural, but it's still an elite, selective institution.”

Typical news coverage of GLO life - the only person quoted is a non-member, who claims he got his info from members whose names he can't disclose.

DeltAlum · #7 10-05-2003, 11:38 PM

This one goes beyond GLO's in my estimation. While not suggesting that it is the case, there is some scary potential in that group in terms of deal-making -- both governmental and big business.

DZPrincess2003 · #8 10-06-2003, 12:14 AM

Wonder if that's where some of the ideas for the movie, "The Skulls" came from?

#9 10-06-2003, 12:25 AM

As far as the Skulls rituals go -- it was described as mumbo-jumbo ... a sort of Harry Potter meets Dracula.

As far as that video footage of Initiation goes...

If that footage is indeed true, I'm glad that I didn't have to go through that stuff.. My initiation was beautiful. That initiation looked terrifying.

I wonder what prompted Alexandra Robbins to write her book about the Skull and Bones? Anyone know if she was Greek at Yale?

AXWhoah · #10 10-06-2003, 12:28 AM

It's exactly the place where the idea for The Skulls came from.

Tex1899 · #11 10-06-2003, 12:35 AM

I'm almost positive Alexandra Robbins is a member of a secret society at Yale. On one hand I think she's jealous that she wasn't tapped into Skull & Bones. On the other, people are curious about what they don't have.

According to CBS, Robbins says the main purpose is to get as many members as possible into positions of power. Well, then you can argue that one fraternity's main purpose is to control Hollywood (through their numerous alumni who are/have been involved in showbusiness). And you can argue that another's main purpose is to control a certain school in the northeast because they've had at least 3 university presidents in 50 years, plus one of the men on the task for who closed the Greek system at this school is a member of that fraternity.

Skull & Bones isn't going away. They're the best of the best at one of the nation's leading universities, so naturally they're going to end up in prominent positions.

Secrets of the Tomb is a pretty quick read, too..around 200 pages.

MysticCat · #12 10-06-2003, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DeltAlum
This one goes beyond GLO's in my estimation.

I think you're right. Strictly speaking, GLOs are not "secret societies" or organizations, they are societies or organizations with secrets.

The distinction is significant. A secret society keep its membership (and sometimes even its existence) secret, a tactic that may be directly related to goals of influence. Its harder to fight when one really doesn't know who or what the enemy is.

A society with secrets like a GLO, on the other hand, makes no secret of its existence or its membership, or even what it stands for and hopes to accomplish. It merely keeps private some aspects of the organization's life -- initiation, symbolism, and the like -- for the purpose of strengthening the fraternal bonds between members.

Skull and Bones is a secret society, at least insofar as it traditionally has officially kept membership secret. Interest in it is certainly peaked by the influence of some of its members, including the current president, his father, and the current vice president. Skull and Bones is also the stuff that the dreams of conspiracy theorists are made of.

kdonline · #13 10-06-2003, 11:36 AM

Acc. to what's posted on Amazon.com, Robbins was a member of a rival society @ Yale, called Scroll & Key.

RACooper · #14 10-06-2003, 03:13 PM

I've actually read her book....

The TV expose basically grabbed to "sensational" parts of her book. It left out most of the history and accurate picture of the interior.... all in all an interesting book about secret societies at Yale and Skull and Bones in particular.

wptw · #15 10-06-2003, 04:05 PM

This says it all, I think...

David Brooks, a conservative commentator who has published a book on the social dynamics of the upwardly mobile, says that while Skull & Bones may be elite and secret, it's anything but exciting.

“My view of secret societies is they're like the first class cabin in airplanes. They're really impressive until you get into them, and then once you're there they're a little dull. So you hear all these conspiracy theories about Skull and Bones,” says Brooks.

“And to me, to be in one of these organizations, you have to have an incredibly high tolerance for tedium 'cause you're sittin' around talking, talking, and talking. You're not running the world, you're just gassing.”

The most elite society at the most elite university produces people who go on to highly influential positions in society? How shocking! What a surprise! Wow, it must be a giant conspiracy. What other possible explanation can there be for this phenomenon?

wptw