Frat Brats

I thought sororities and fraternities were dead and gone. They should be. It is obvious that in this broad minded world, exclusive clubs have no place. They are lauded to provide brotherhood and sisterhood but they do so only for those invited. What their true meaning is, is gangism in its sneakiest form. The members of these organizations are gangs that in becoming a member to their exclusive halls means passing certain tests in order to remain a member. If their laws are broken, members are juried by their peers and after review, either remain in the group or are ousted. What is this? In our democratic society there is no place for invitational, walled in one way or another, be-suited or be-pinned groups in or near schools. We are all spouting philosophies of mosaic-like acceptance of everyone and in this day of global brotherhood there is no room for this rot. It doesn't matter how "good" or not, such a collection of persons are, they exclude those who either won't or can't abide by their rules or standards or whatever cover-ups they care to choose. They are closed, not open and to join in, one must run the gauntlet so-to-speak. When I was a teen and went to a high school meant to educate those choosing to go on to university, it allowed in practise, invitational clubs. The clubs were like fraternities and sororities and one could not join; one had to be invited. The kids in the school who wore the club sweaters or pins, were considered the coolest. All the students greatly admired them and secretly yearned to be them but the numbers were restricted and they would have to pass the tests. Most of the teens in the clubs came from the city's wealthiest and locally most famous. And while the school itself did not own up to the fact that most of activities of the clubs verbally and behaviourally happened within its walls, but met outside them, they, too respected these kids a trifle more and bent more to those wearing the symbols of these exclusive clubs. The town worked that way, like it or not. No one spoke of it. Relationships occurred mostly within the clubs that operated exactly like fraternities and sororities that these people would encounter when they left the school to go to higher education. At the top university, they were welcomed. Their families were donors after all. They had an "in". Let's not fool ourselves. I wasn't one of the rich kids and was not invited to any of the clubs, nor did I see on philosophical grounds the sense of these clubs. It didn't mean that I would have loved to turn them down if I were lucky enough to be tempted. I wasn't, and I suffered inside for all the years there and somehow felt unworthy. When I arrived at this high school, my well-off friends got into the clubs immediately but I was left out. They didn't notice because I gave out an I-don't-really-care attitude but I did care, and a lot. As a result I had to suck-it-up and find new friends and believe me, it was hard. I lucked out finding the best ones that I still have. I had to join all the other non-invitational clubs that were the real and best ones, open to everyone who wanted to work in them. In them, I learned about democracy and open mindedness. When we have reunions, the exclusive club folk, still sit together and behave as though the rest of the world doesn't exist. It does, and it's the real one.