I’ve never really understood those fraternities where the upper eschelon members treat the lower eschelon members reprehensibly, yet the lower members are just grateful to be part of the group. These same members will often sneer at non-members as being beneath them, and will even sneer at non-members who are appalled at their treatment because the non-members “just don’t get it.” And then they go back to the frat house to be ridiculed and humiliated and sometimes even injured or killed. There’s got to be a reason why this is, but I just don’t understand it.

It’s paying the patriarchal dues so that you can be an asshole when you pass.  One year of faux humiliation in exchange for a lifetime of being an ass and getting away with it.

What’s a “collective media ask”?

Does anyone else see hints of the cronyism that plagued U.S. Grant’s administration? 

We’re on the basic cable Pandagon, so all cursewords are replaced with words that sort of sound the same.

My favorite of this genre was “The Usual Suspects”, where people got called “fairy godmother” a lot.

Caren, except that most of the lower members (in this case, soldiers) don’t get to be the abusers later. Yet they still stand by their leaders, even as they screw them royally over. Odd.

There’s got to be a reason why this is, but I just don’t understand it.

Really? You really don’t get it? It seems so obvious.

It’s two things. One is the same reason that some people, when they see a line of people waiting for something, will join the line. They don’t know what the line is for but they see other people waiting in line, so they assume it must be worth it. Here, they’ve seen other people endure the bullshit, so they’re convinced that there must be something that you get at the end that’s worth it.

The second is that the abuse comes from above, not laterally. Rush groups don’t abuse each other. That’s the whole point - creation of a group identity by sharing experiences of abuse. It’s the same pattern in the military, in police and firefighter training, in the Boy Scouts (not so much abuse but hardship, like camping), in business (team-building shit) in basically any organization where the aim is to have members functioning as part of a whole instead of as individuals.

If you still don’t understand it, it’s because your the kind of person that stuff could never work on. (I think that’s a mark in your favor.) It works on me, or at least it used to.