Quote:
Originally Posted by KAY10
People just need to be careful.
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Fake Fraternalism
By Lawrence C. Ross Jr.
Black College Wire
I was absolutely thrilled to read Dominic Hunter’s column on the Kappa Alpha Psi hazing case ("Frat Members Should Not Have Been Punished for Hazing," Feb. 14), mainly because it’s so rare that you get an opportunity for insight into the warped and illogical thought processes that make hazing such an insidious part of the African American fraternal experience.
Lawrence C. Ross Jr.
It is through Hunter’s “distraught mind” that we understand that there are a lot of black fraternal members who see nothing wrong with breaking their oaths and causing destruction in the name of their organizations. No, unlike what most people think, in their brains the solution is simple: It’s the victim’s fault.
To understand the mentality of Divine Nine members like Hunter, you have to understand one thing — their fraternal oath means nothing. It is a suggestion, a whimsical bit of words created by long-dead men and women when concepts like fidelity, loyalty and trust were quaint concepts. Oh, sure, they may prance around campus shouting to the heavens about how they “love” their organization, but when it really comes down to it, they love themselves much, much more than they love their fraternal organization.
Now, why would I say that? Well, all who take an oath into a fraternal organization say that they will not betray the ideals and bylaws of their organizations. Every black fraternal member pledges to uphold the rules, and collectively move his or her organization forward through positive actions. Yes, that’s the real meaning of the word "pledge."
When Hunter, or people who think like him, decide to create an illegal, criminal and dangerous underground pledge process, it’s a natural progression for people who despise their oath, and hate their fraternal organization. Their selfishness should be a given to everyone who knows them, and to assume that they even think about following their fraternity’s rules is folly.
So it logically follows in Hunter’s mind this simple thought: Why in the world would any pledge be dumb enough to believe that he really upholds his fraternity’s rules? It’s the pledge’s fault, according to Hunter, for believing that.
So when Hunter asks, “Why do pledges allow this behavior?” I say, bravo! You see, the fraternity men beating their pledges have already sold their souls, proved themselves bankrupt of morals and betrayers of their fraternal principles, so the least a pledge can do in order to protect these cowardly men is to figure out that the process they’re going through for the first time is a criminal one. I mean, if uninitiated pledges can’t recognize that the process is wrong, and stand up for an oath they're yet to take, then shame on them, I say!
And besides, according to Hunter, pledging is all voluntary. There are two different and distinct options when it comes to pledging. For the uninformed, let me break it down for you:
There’s Option No. 1, which is the official pledge process as done by fraternal members, and sanctioned by the national organization. The people who follow Option No. 1 have yet to have one hazing incident, and have safely provided entry into their respective organizations year after year. This is in accordance with their oaths.
Option No. 2 is the pledge process offered illegally by fake fraternity members like Hunter. Whoa, you say! That’s harsh and personal, to call someone fake. But wait, think about what I’m saying for a second. If you don’t do something real, you’re fake, right? The real pledge process is the one approved by the fraternity. Real members follow that process. If Hunter advocates a fake option for a voluntary process that doesn’t exist officially, then he, and those who conduct it, must be fake members.
And when you understand that Hunter is a fake member, then it all becomes crystal clear. You understand that his fakeness allows him to feel sorry for those who were sent to jail for breaking the law, both fraternally and legally. Hunter bleeds for the two Kappas who are going to do real time for breaking the law. They are brothers in their fake fraternalism!
Their actions are his actions. Everyone knows that they are not responsible for beating someone so badly with wooden canes that blood stopped flowing in the pledge's buttocks. Like a battered woman who keeps putting her face in the way of a husband’s fist, the pledge is to blame. I mean, come on! The brothers throwing those canes are the real victims in this tragedy. How could they control themselves when presented with the opportunity to beat willing pledges? Impossible!
But alas, the rest of us live in the real world. Hunter and the two Kappas who are now in jail for two years are finding out that being fake brothers can have consequences. Fake brothers cause real injuries that can send you to jail for real time. I don’t shed a tear for the Kappas in jail, except for the notion that as young educated black men, they had real opportunities to avoid their plight, but chose not to. And now they pay the piper. C’est la vie.
But I have a warning for Hunter and those black Greeks who think like him. The day of the fake black Greek is coming to an end. Create a fake pledge process and you’ll end up in a real jail. And despite how much you’d love to blame the brutalized pledge for your plight, the responsibility will be all your own.
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Lawrence C. Ross Jr., a M.F.A. candidate at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, is author of "The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities and Sororities." To comment, e-mail
bcwire@hotmail.com.
http://www.blackcollegewire.org/voices/070215_ross/
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