Fraternity parties: I just don't get it....

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Obviously I was never in a fraternity, and I wouldn't have set foot in a frat house for any reason when I was that age. For the first time at age 45, I happened to go into a major frat house at USC last night when a rush week party was underway (just the frat brothers; no outsiders or girls), and I just don't see how anyone could possibly live there; let alone attend one of the parties! . The feeling of judgement and fear of Aspie persecution is overwhelming, and the crowd and noise, and smells of beer and 50 or 100 frat brothers who don't put showers or laundry on the priority list, etc etc... Knowing that in this particular frat house, the members are mostly all sons of millionaires (and at least one son of a prominent billionaire in the IT world), is mind boggling. My wife's nephew is a junior this year at USC, and has moved into his frat house; sharing a tiny room with built-in bunk beds (and sharing a bathroom with God-knows-how-many other frat brothers) at the end of the hall. The small window air conditioner was not working right, so I pointed out that it has a filter, which when pulled, had been caked completely up with crud. At my suggestion, they cleaned it, and surprise: the air conditioner started working fine. I wonder if they'd never have noticed it wasn't working???



I'm not putting anyone down with this observation; I'm just stating my disbelief at how anyone could actually consider such a place as a privilege to be allowed to live in. In fact I'd rather have surgery awake with no anesthetic if I were given an ultimatum to take one or the other. I have a few pictures from my phone camera, but I agreed not to share any for privacy sake.

Charles

I'm pretty sure a lot of NTs would wholeheartedly agree with you. That kind of life is not for everyone.

Never even heard of it, let alone know anybody who's ever been to one.

lol! I spent most of my life HATING the 'frat boy' types - they seemed so wrapped up in things I not only didn't understand, but couldn't understand why anyone would WANT to understand! I even was sort of judgy against some sorority women I met in college - sure, they seemed nice, but they were probably the two faced types I especially disliked, right?

Fast forward a decade or two and now I'm dating a man who positively BLEEDS black and chrome yellow! I have somehow spent the last few years completely immersed in their world, and discovered that (once again) I came to what seemed to be a logical conclusion whilst lacking important data.

What changed it all for me was realizing that these guys really are in it for the brotherhood - I can't speak for all fraternities, but there's a loyalty involved here that won me over almost immediately. My boyfriend told me once that after a terrible motorcycle accident, his brothers literally WIPED HIS ASS for him. Now, when I lived at the alumni house, I've gotta admit I got REALLY TIRED of the endlessly revolving door, but... I dunno, it was the only time in my life when I had essentially no privacy and yet felt like no one gave a damn what I was up to and so it didn't matter at all. Very strange, I assure you, but it really did do a lot to break down some personal elitism I'd built up along the way.


PS - I went to exactly one frat party when I was in college, and I made it about six steps inside before fleeing. I have every reason to believe these guys were exactly the people I ran from then - and yet I haven't met such a varied, amazing group of kind men all in one place before or since. Go figure.

When I anded university, I was too busy working on assignments (usually other students' because they were in our research group and we were graded on a group basis. If one did poorly, we all failed), tinkering about with various experimental devices (laser-guided human interface devices I have been designing for the sake of it), constructing a decent 40K army for myself and four (Grey Knights, Sisters of Battle, Death Korps of Krieg, and Orks) for a friend. I lacked the time and desire to be around loud, non-productive (drinking and using illicit substances until you pass out isn't my idea of productivity) partiers. I have even heard of the frat boys urinating, defecating and vomiting on themselves, vandalizing/stealing property of the neighbors and waking up only to have crudely-drawn genitalia on their faces after becoming heavily intoxicated. One student even woke up with a certain kind of toy lodged in a certain area.

No thanks, I'll just stick with the relatively quiet confines of my room.