Current mood:
blah
Been gone for a minute. I apologize. And before that, my head was in the clouds....as you may have read in my other blogs....Sometimes we need a holiday from our loved ones...but I will return to him...don't worry Pharaoh...lolblahI feel the need to again discuss how I feel about this sorority and fraternity thing.
Let me preface this by saying that I feel I have every right to express my opinion on this matter being that I once joined one myself. I know first hand that sororities and fraternities are not the answer for young black college students. They do not add value to our society as a people but rather separate us into sects and exclusive groups.
I know that I have a friend or two on my "friendlist" that are members of such elitist groups...again...I am never here to offend but to offer my point of view and to shut down Babylon. You too, may voice your opinions right here in my blogs. I welcome all lines of reasoning.
For this particular blog, I will not be citing other works of literature....This is all me, my brethren and sistren. For more "educated" writing on this matter rather than opinionated...please check my blog...Black History?
Now, on to my crusade against sororities and fraternities....with the recent release of the movie, Stomp The Yard, I feel compelled to write something on this subject. I was asked twice by two different people to go see this movie and I thought, why not? But wait a minute, why waste $10 of my hard earned dollars on a movie surrounding a subject that I feel so strongly against?!
Being the activist and borderline hippie I have always been, I never thought to join a sorority....even though my cousin, who pledged Alpha Phi Alpha, offered me the $500+ dollars to pledge my local chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha....I was not moved. I always looked up to him and saw him more of a big brother than a cousin but his choice to join a fraternity was barbaric I thought as he showed me his brandings....That's right folks, he was branded like USDA beef. Wonder how PETA would feel about that?
Anyways, I digress. At the time I was a struggling student and I could use that money desperately for tuition or rent...so I asked if I could use that gift instead for something better. No Deal. Being an AKA was the better deal, he thought. Give me a break....
But I did end up joining a sorority some point in my educational career. I saw Gamma Sigma Sigma as something different and I thought that by joinging I was being a rebel....a renegade...I was disgusted with that fact taht sororities and fraternities were "separate but equal" and by that I mean they were racially divided and here we are in the new millenium living as if we are still in the days of Jim Crow.
So I joined GSS because it was number one, a multicultural sorority - being born into a multicultural family this fit me more as a person...then number 2, it was a community service sorority-not about that partying and other mess that the others are associated with.
When I saw White, Black, Hispanic, Indian and even handicapped women all together and working in the community, I thought...now there is a group that represents my spirit. But alas, people, this group too was far from perfect. Don't get me wrong...I had wonderful times in the beginning with GSS and I met some beautiful ladies who are my sisters in love...not GSS.
However, I quickly saw that GSS was nothing more than another sorority with the same agenda as all the others. There were women who felt that GSS was their life and therefore, it should be everyone else's life...there were plenty who joined simply because they were not excepted into or afraid to join the other real sororities. ( I say "real" because many feel that GSS is not a true sorority.) When this happens, those that want what the other sororities offer, simply mold GSS into what they want which was something I did not sign up for. There was huge amounts of tension between members...accusations of theft and hazing.
Simply put, my water personality could not handle all this drama and madness. During my undergrad years, I simply faded into the background with my sorors...I was way too busy travelling the world and seeking spiritual wisdom and evolving.
Nonetheless, I still decided in my more mature years to join an alumni group here in Atlanta. If I was not comvinced before that GSS was simply wrong for me....I now know that I should have stuck with the same decision I made in college....LEAVE THOSE SORORITES ALONE!
Here we go with the very same thing again...same process and same stages...only this time, it's a damn shame because we are not in school anymore...we are grown ass women. The madness has to stop, people. As with college, there are some in the alumni group that I will forever love...however, a gamma sig I am not and will never be.
I even dated someone in a fraternity while I dabbled again with GSS and after hearing him tell me that I was not invited to certain parties of his because it was a certain sorority event...in other words, If I did not belong to this particular sorority then I was not invited....just a shitty way of saying that I joined the wrong group. If I asked one minor question about his life...he responded with "I can't tell you that because you are not a member."
Where is the unity in these groups? These groups cannot even promote unity within themselves so how could they accomplish this amongst themselves and other groups? Why is it that they hide who they are? Why must we fight and spend our hard earned money simply to become a member? I have heard many reasons why people join but let's get real...you can do community service on your own and FOR FREE! I have never been hired anywhere or given even the slightest hook-up for being a gamma sig...
And we can say something about the rich history of these groups...but I hardly even hear this from these groups themselves...again, maybe that too is a secret...
And what is up with all this secrecy.....if you can not be proud of it in front of others...then is it really something to be proud of in private?
Get a grip people, college is not just about going greek.
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