What we love to hate...

Everyone has those accounts that they secretly follow on twitter – don’t try and deny it. Two of mine are Total Sorority Move (TSM) and Total Frat Move (TFM) and I began following them because I thought they were somewhat accurate and also hilarious. But lately I have just become more and more offended with the tweets appearing on TSM and TFM’s newfeed and I am seriously debating not following them anymore.

Here are just a few examples of some recent tweets that have upset me lately:

“We don’t hate you because you aren’t in a sorority. You aren’t in a sorority because we hate you. TSM”

“Getting a mass text from the Chapter President asking who has clean urine he can use. TFM.”

“If the chaser isn’t diet, I’ll take it straight. TSM.”

“Not needing a presidential bumper sticker because the Z71 package on my Tahoe tells you exactly which party I am for. TFM.”

“Totes excited to change the clocks tonight because we gain an hour of drinking. TSM.”

““Did we order a stripper” In response to a female cop knocking on our door. TFM.”

The thing that most bothers me about these twitter handles is that not only do the speak horribly about people who aren’t involved in the Greek system, but they reflect a view point that is not only so far from my own view but also so far over the line that I’m not sure where on the political spectrum these account holders fall. While everyone is entitled to freedom of speech, with the rise of the internet, freedom of speech has become accessible and viewable to everyone. The problem with TSM and TFM is that they are followed by more than just members of the Greek community. They are followed by high schoolers and even middle schoolers who probably can’t understand that the messages being broadcast on these pages are one: not reflective of the whole Greek community and two: not 100% truthful or friendly.

Greek life is about creating life long brother and sisterhoods not putting down GDI’s (god damn independents aka non-Greeks) or even the houses that are considered to be of a lower caliber. In all honestly these twitter feeds have become a new source of cyber bullying because while they aren’t directed at a specific person their messages demean and make fun of many different groups of people. Aside from being offensive, these accounts just reaffirm all the negative stereotypes that non-Greeks have about Greeks: exclusivity, cattiness, drama, and hazing – just to name a few. Even though so many successful people have been members of a Greek community, people “in the real world” don’t attribute success to being in a fraternity or a sorority because of all the negative connotations that come along with out letters. Despite, some individual’s dislike for the Greek system being in a fraternity or sorority does do some good. From traditions one learns respect, from sisterhood/brotherhood one learns the importance of family, and from ritual and scholarship one learns the about work ethic and responsibility. While these correlations may seemed farfetched once you are a part of a chapter you can seem the relationship, and while some parts of Greek life go away after college (weekly themed parties, mixers, tailgates and the like) the lessons learned during that time will never fade away.