Lim: Fraternities
Why do fraternities thrive? Why do young men continue to die?
The Supreme Court in its decision on the Lenny Villa case agreed with the lower court that there was no criminal intent in the Aquila Legis hazing and that the violent acts were done pursuant to tradition.
Tradition. In our culture, tradition is revered — often to the point of asininity — which is why those who dare defy tradition are shunned. I cannot fathom why anyone with an ounce of sanity would perpetuate a tradition of violence. And yet, so many do. Every year.
Why do men — young, promising and talented — submit themselves to such horrendous rituals simply to gain admission to fraternities? Is it for the doors that will open for them in the future? Is it for the pride of being part of such prestigious herds?
These herds are breeding grounds for toxic masculinity. Do not shamelessly attach any kind of prestige to these herds that are party to violence, indignity, death.
After each pledge survives his own hazing, it is almost guaranteed he will inflict greater violence on the next set of pledges. Rites of passage lose their significance when it becomes about bragging rights rather than building brotherhood.
This is how a culture of violence is developed, how members become emboldened to commit diabolical acts they would otherwise not commit on their own, how members become desensitized to the inhumanity of torture and how all these criminal acts become “tradition.”
We should not follow tradition blindly.
Why do men — young, intelligent and accomplished — beat their so-called brothers? Why do they think that partaking in such a brutal activity cements their bonds as brothers? Why do they think that such extreme initiation rites serve to weed out the weak? Why do they think undergoing such inhumane rituals produces better men?
Hazing is not a rite of manhood. Hazing is a crime against humanity. Those who humiliate, degrade and injure, those who mutilate, maim and murder — these are not men of honor. These are men who have sold their souls to the Devil.
Do not allow your desperate need to belong or to carve a place for yourself in this world to impair your ability to think. Those who flog you, torture you, expose you to danger and death — these are not your brothers.
When the brotherhood that you seek clouds your judgement, causing you to abandon reason and compassion to become party to carnage and violence, know that this is not the brotherhood you should seek.
Why do fraternities thrive? Why do young men continue to die? Why do so many young men of great talent, intelligence and promise subject themselves to untold indignities and dangers to be part of a herd?
Because tragically, so many young men have no sense of self, they seek manhood through all the wrong ways and find brotherhood in all the wrong places.