I tried out the fraternity life for a short time. Why? Because I couldn't just go believing what my independent-minded friends had to say when they knocked the organizations. I "pledged," ran through the motions, etc, for a semester. My findings? Sure, there is a benign facade that the house(s) will show to the public, but damn, there are some serious domination issues being allowed to run rampant in the initiation rituals.

Run hard for an hour, and then roll in mustard that we have spit in, pissed in, shit in for all you know. Do this after two hours of blissful sleep at the edge of alcohol poisoning brought on by the keg party earlier. We will not be satisfied until you are humiliated. Clean the house plaques (which we have shat upon), using a toothbrush. Eat this pudding, eat this peppersteak, eat, eat, eat, but don't forget to drink, drink, drink, and the vomitorium is just out the back. But if you puke, there will be a punishment.

Others, who went further than I, cried to their girlfriends about animal abuse that they were forced to go through with. I wasn't there for that, or some "brothers" might have found themselves on the wrong end of the knife.

And the thought rolling through my mind during this nonsense was . . . I paid to do this shit? I am paying dues to this organization that wants me to do this shit? Seriously? Me? Paying? Shit?

When I told the frat boys no, they gave me the soft-sell "well, that's fine, we're still your friends." All I will tell you about that is, it was one hell of a joke. In a short span of time, I had had threats and public denunciations aplenty from these people who earlier had declared me among the "most loved pledges."

And--get this--all of this was after media coverage had brought on a storm of legislation about "hazing" in fraternity houses. These people did not see this kind of treatment as "hazing." I'd have been gone a lot earlier had any of this crap gone on during the several-month "getting to know you" period.

But that's what they do. They act like a decent social organization until it is time to roll out the "rituals," which are always designed to humiliate. Individually, the members act like they are your friends, until you disagree with the rituals, at which point you become a target.

Screw them. I have never told anyone this. This has been good for me.

Herring405