The old me wants to write this blog – raw, uncut, unedited, uncensored. The old me would post his picture (with a few photoshop edits), slander his name, and probably give him a real reason to "fear for his life." But the new me seeks to stray from the old ways of doing things and offer some meaningful words to an individual who seems to be directing all of his energies towards black greek-lettered organizations.
Dislike/disgust/distaste of black greek-lettered organizations is not a new phenomenon; in fact we see this relationship between those who pledged and those who stand against greek organizations painted in movies (i.e. "School Daze"), television shows (i.e. "A Different World"), and music all the time. However this is my issue: if you do not understand something, I would rather you ask questions (*whether you get an open answer is an entirely different matter) than to make up lies to further what seems to be nothing more than an example of self-loathing propaganda.
When I first got on Twitter and saw the trending topic, my initial reaction was "this must be somebody who dropped line or didn’t make it pass intake and they wanna tell the world why they’re mad." But then several friends told me that this student has been on the warpath against black greeks since his Freshmen year – but the climax to all current drama really starts with a forum discussing "Greeks vs. Gangs." Not a very new debate, I even have some non-greek friends who joke about it; however, I’m really curious to know where all the hate comes from. From my understanding, he is staunchly against hazing and he sees greek organizations as gangs because we have colors, hand signs, and calls.
First – hazing, it happens – move on. I don’t mean to sound harsh, but hazing & pledging (yes, there is a difference) are two concepts that are just simply understood – if that’s not something you are down for, it’s quite simple – don’t sign up to join. Second – like any organization/corporation/group of course we are going to have some cultural aspects. Does that make us a gang? Did you have to rob a bank to be greek? Did the big brothers/sisters make you commit some crime against their rival in order to be welcomed as one of them? Unless you belong to Dope Phi Dope (POOOLICE! OOOOOH SH*T! #lilduval, #gorillathrilla), your answer to all of those questions should have been "no."
Black greek organizations, like many black organizations/institutes were started because our founders were initially turned away from white organizations/institutes and they sought to better the conditions of people who had been wholly undermined and underrated by society. If it were not for the Prince Hall Masons/OES, there would be no black greek-lettered organizations (*both of which are based on Christian principles & the bible). If it were not for the black greek-lettered organizations there would be no individuals like: Dr. Dorothy Irene Height, Thurgood Marshall, Dr. Bernard A. Harris Jr., Dr. Benjamin E. Mayes, John Lewis, Dr. Mae Jemison and countless others. So before you seek to reach conclusions about who we are – know some facts/history.
It has been said that people fear what they don’t understand; hate what they can’t conquer. While I personally don’t care if you like greek-lettered organizations or not, I would at least hope that instead of spreading foolish stories he would offer some type of intellectual grounds for his arguments. (Sidenote: I refuse to believe that a bunch of greeks approached him in Wal-Mart and threatened him. He can tie that lie up in a bow and sell it to the Office of Greek Life, but I’m not buying it.)
That’s just my 12 cents.
Signed,
A PROUD (and financial/active) MEMBER of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
