**Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog post are mine and mine alone.**
Rarely does something happen that makes me say, "I need to write a blog post about this...immediately."
The exception to that statement happened last night.
While scrolling through my Facebook news feed, I came across this post:
Before we continue with our (ir)regularly scheduled blog post, let me provide some context for those of you following along at home.
While a student at American University in Washington, DC, I was a member of the Delta Gamma (DG) sorority. (Yes, it's technically a fraternity for women, but we don't have time for that history lesson and yes, I'm technically still a member, it just sounds weird to say that, like I'm still in college at age 43...lol.)
So, when I see news about DG, especially about chapters in DC, I pay attention.
You may be saying to yourself, "Self, why is this such earth shattering news? Fraternities and sororities are in trouble all the time."
You're right, self.
So, yes, while the closure of a DG chapter is upsetting and saddening, it's not what really enraged me.
Now you may be saying to yourself, "Self, she must be upset about the behavior of the GW DG members."
Yes, self, you're correct again.
Anytime I hear of misconduct (we'll just use that generic term) on the part of sorority or fraternity members, it upsets me. (Should you be interested, the misconduct of the GW chapter is briefly described here. -- hazing, serving alcohol to minors, among other things)
However, this is also not what really incensed me.
What REALLY incensed me was the reaction by members of the GW chapter to the closure.
How do I know how they were reacting?
Social media, of course.
After reading the above post, I started to scroll through the comments that people were leaving. The majority of the comments were backing up EO (Executive Office) for closing the chapter. Then, I started to see a few that were defending the members of the chapter and condemning EO for closing it. Based on the "likes" for those comments, it was easy to deduce that they were written by family members of GW DG's or members themselves.
I started to view the FB profiles for those that were members.
And I started to get really angry.
None of the profiles were public in that I could see posts that they were writing, but I could see their cover and profile photos.
And this is the kind of stuff that I started to see:
(FYI: The hashtag stands for I don't give a f*ck.)
While the actual image itself might be considered humorous by some, the hashtag puts it over the top.
I then saw this:
In case you're not familiar with the "Bye Felicia" phenomenon (spawned from quote from a 1995 movie), you can get a basic idea here. It's similar to the above IDGAF.
So, while these were basically flipping DG the middle finger, the next one is the worst, in my mind.
To me, this screams, "I know I did something wrong, but who cares? I don't need to be responsible for my actions because they were the "in" thing to do, others were doing it, blah blah."
For me, the theme of these photos posted on FB is just that.
I did nothing wrong.
Even if I did do something wrong, who cares?
Rules don't apply to me.
Let me deflect the fact that I did do something wrong and blame it on someone else.
Held responsible for my actions (or the actions of those that I associate with)? NOPE.
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich said that well-behaved women rarely make history, so that's justification for my actions.
The fact that no one wants to be held responsible for their actions in today's society angers me to no end.
One of the comments on DG's post above about closing the chapter (written by a chapter member), said something to the effect of, I don't need older women who are out of touch telling me what I can and can't do (what's wrong and what's right).
Here's a newsflash -- you willingly signed up to be a member of the organization. While pledging that organization, you were told of the organization's rules and standards. You KNOW what you signed up for.
::steps down from soap box::
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