Yeah, don’t let a few rotten apples sully the noble traditions that are Mile High clubs, beer bongs, ookie cookie, Ugliest Date contests and Animal House.
That would be silly.
Listen asshole, every fraternity with a national charter has at least two philanthropies that they contribute time and money to over the course of a year. When was the last time you donated time or money to Multiple Sclerosis or Habitat for Humanity? Further, many of them have academic scholarships for their outstanding members and recognize athletic achievements.
Scholarship is recognized and rewarded, being a jackass isn’t.
You want to point to Fraternity members that do stupid stuff and paint the whole group with the same brush? Why don’t you take a sampling of any college crime and paint the related group likewise? How many freshmen get in fights? How many are accused of rape/date-rape? Should we ban all freshmen? Should we consider them all threats to a peaceful society? No. Some people do stupid things, that does not mean that a) the group as a whole is responsible or b) anyone with a similar affiliation holds the same views as the offending party.
One last thing:
frat [sym]¹[/sym] Fraternity
cunt [sym]¹[/sym] Country
thinksnow, Re-Founding Father, [sym]QX, C[/sym] Chapter. The Ohio State University.
Just goes to show with a statement like that, you aren’t much better than they are.
MEBuckner, it’s cool. I had just had a cherished memory brutalized, but I’ve got no issue with your post. It wasn’t your illusions and blinders that just got wiped away, and I wouldn’t expect you to feel in any way similar, nor do I expect any special consideration.
[sub]Not your fault either, Esprix[/sub]
I heard this from an unknown comdedian.
OK, 'scuse the hijack, but I really, really hate this little ditty. Back when I was in college, I was in a fraternity and we had an especially-anal vice president who repeated this like a mantra. Most of us just ignored him and continued to use the phrase “frat.”
Look, “country” is a two-syllable word; “fraternity” is a four-syllable word. It’s a lot more efficient to replace “fraternity” with “frat” in everyday conversation. Do you always refer to the “television,” or do you more often than not refer to that device as a “TV”? Same principle at work here.
Fraternity participation is a fun addition to college life, but it isn’t a sacred order, in spite of what the rituals say. Enjoy it, make good use of the friendships it provides, but don’t make it out to be some kind of holy institution where abbreviation is a sacrilege.
Sorry, I meant to delete the “Re: Fuck you.” It was placed there automatically because I was replying to thinksnow. I was not trying to say “fuck you” to thinksnow or to anyone else.
An appropriate punishment in my eyes would be that they be forced to dress up in exactly what they wore for halloween, and dropped off in Compton with no money, credit cards, or cellphones, and try to make their way back to their precious safe haven of Auburn U.
And have a helicopter overhead film everything that happens. 
also, Dewey Cheatem Undhow, my sentiments exactly re: frat/cunt.
Yeah, making a joke directed towards a group of obvious shitheads isn’t much better than mocking and making light of what is maybe the darkest cloud in our nations history, including murder and everything else under the sun.
Give me a fucking break.
Yeah, well when that word is used as a derogatory slang by Greek system bashes, choosing not to for-shorten the word was a matter of respect/pride.
No, Fraternity (and this includes Sororities, as most of them are, technically “Fraternities”) life is not sacred or all-encompassing, but it can be the base of some very strong friendships, life-long ones that share a common core. For that reason, and for the fact that I am the first Re-Founding Father of the Ohio State Chapter and therefor put a helluva lot more effort into the House than probably any normal member of the Greek system, I dislike the word “frat,” it’s use as a derogatory slur and it’s intended defamation of the system as a whole.
You don’t like the “mantra,” fine, but realize that when people use the word “frat,” they are maligning an institution that, while occasionally sky-lined for the actions of a few stupid members, does a lot of good for the community and for it’s members.
::Sigh::
Fine. Frat != fraternity.
In the same vein, “frat boys” != fraternity members.
OK?
I know a lot of guys who are in fraternities and I’m one of only three girls on my floor who is not in a sorority. Most of them are fine people. Ok? Fraternity members.
And then there are the people who act JUST LIKE the stereotype, and they are bastards, and they do stupid things, and they are the kind of people who are linked to in the OP, and THEY are frat boys.
Oll korrect?
Yeah, our blowhard VP used the same “its a derogatory slogan” argument. The funny thing is, I ran into folks who didn’t like fraternities (one of my other student activities was chock full of 'em), and while they had a lot of derogatory things to say about Greek life, the word “frat” wasn’t considered one of them. It was considered a shortened version of “fraternity,” nothing more.
I really think that some tightassed pledge trainer came up with that little ditty and it caught on among the Greek set. If you were to ask your average non-Greek if they thought “frat” was a slur towards fraternities, they’d look at you like that was a ridiculous idea. And they’d be right.
You won’t get any argument from me on the benefits of Greek life: as I noted, I was in a fraternity, and served as one of the higher offices (Treasurer, to be specific) my senior year. I understand the strong friendships that are formed. I understand the effort it takes to run such an organization. But when you lose your mind over a benign thing like the word “frat,” you look like someone who takes Greek life WAY too seriously.
Yea you are right, it’s ok to make jokes about a group of obvious shitheads, who, by the way, stand a 50-50 chance of being Southerners to begin with. Might it just be, perchance, that these aren’t young Southern men, but, oh my gosh, they might be from somewhere else??? But of course, only inbred southerners would pull this kind of joke.
You definitely need a break, among other things.
I was expecting you to say “I don’t mind people like them, some of my best friends are in a Fraternity.”
My point is that, if one were to take a cross-section of college students, you’ll find just as many people fitting the stereotype who are living in dorms, members of the theatre, in ROTC, or are completely unaffiliated with any group or organization.
These aren’t “frat boys,” they are assholes. The same can be said about the Fraternity members that do things like this: they are assholes. The same can be said about black people that commit crimes, they aren’t “niggers,” they are assholes. And Southerners that commit crimes aren’t “stupid rednecks”, they are assholes, too. Same for Indians and Russians and French and Marines and Sailors and Police Officers and Mothers and Fathers and Day-Care workers. Some people are assholes. Don’t use a term that represents a wider organization in a negative manner and then be surprised when someone takes issue. This is why I don’t like the use of the word “frat,” it always seems to be used in the negative. YMMV.
Well, perhaps, except in my case, I never went through a pledge class nor was I a pledge trainer (House Manager, 1½ years, Treasurer ½ year.)
I’ll go ahead and object to your stating that I’ve “lost my mind” over the use of a word, too. I am irked that, once again, people are using a high-profile event to paint an entire system with the same wide, biased and prejudiced brush. I’m irritated that the people that do this slander and defame the entire system for the actions of a few who are, generally speaking, no different than any other representative sample of the whole collegiate community.
The Confederate Battle Flag is a bit of Souther Heritage: a Heritage of racism, slavery, oppression and treason. But let’s keep our condemnation only to those who wave it or support it as a secret handshake of their bigotry, kinda like how Chief Justice Rhenquist gets together with groups and sings Dixie.
How many people from the south were convicted of treason after the Civil War?
Marc
Ultress
This time, without skirting the point, please explain how making a offhand joke about the south “isn’t much better” than mocking KKK lynchings.
Hoo-boy, has my little hijack gotten out of hand…
Look, I agree that disgusting events like those described in the OP shouldn’t be used as a blanket indictment of the Greek system. I think my prior posts have made clear that I believe the Greek system is a net positive for those who participate in it. Indeed, as I have noted, I participated in that system when I was in college.
But people who get upset over the use of the word “frat” are just being ridiculous. They are taking themselves, and the Greek system, far too seriously. No matter how you spin it, the word just isn’t derogatory. It’s an abbreviated form of fraternity, used for convenience. No disrespect is paid to the fraternity system by referring to your fraternity as a “frat.”
Rock on, thinksnow. I am constantly amazed at how many educated and erudite people who would never use any other pejoratives will gleefully whip out “frat boy”. Dewey, it’s not “just being ridiculous”, most people use the term to belittle something they don’t understand. I guess other minority groups of people who get upset by their lables are “just taking themselves too seriously.”
BTW, the situation described in the OP. Absolutely heinous. No excuse.
I realize your anger, I truly do. But could we substitute something in here for anencephalic? Like maybe . . . peckerhead son of a syphillitic Babylonian sewer whore?
[sub]'Cuz I have a cousin who died because he was anencephalic.[/sub]