I'm a pretty open-minded person for the most part. I give most people the benefit of the doubt even if in the end I come out looking like a total asshole for being so gullible.
But there's just one group of people I have unmitigated dislike for.
Sorority girls.
They just seem to always run in packs, which is fine, but can be a bit of a nuisance when in public they assume that other people won't be annoyed by their antics.
Now before you go thinking that I must have pledged and got rejected: don't. I never expressed any interest in pledging anyone's sorority: black, white, Christian, or otherwise. While all my college friends were prepping and preening themseves for selection by the Deltas or AKAs or whoever, I was the one person who avoided wearing red or pink so that no one thought I was trying to be recruited.
Now, that aside, I was at Target the other day (you remember that don't you?) I spent maybe ten minutes doing actual shopping (I'm not a dilly dallyier when it comes to crowded stores) and fifteen minutes in line.
The fastest moving line had one person who was just finishing up and three sorority girls who were in a group, but ringing up separately. They each had maybe two items. (I guess self-checkout would have been "work" for them.) I had less than ten (one being alcoholic), myself, and had i.d. and debit card ready to expedite my checkout.
I kept my distance behind them so as not to scare the poor dears with my married-inhabitant of the real world-wearer of comfortable shoes-normalness. As sorostitute sorority girl number three was about to ring up, she saw another sorority friend peeping magazines at the end of the line. "Hey, come get in line here!" she said, pointing to the spot right in front of my feet.
Excuse me? Did she not see that I'd been waiting in the line patiently for ten minutes, and doing my civic duty of giving them plenty of personal space? That, my friends, is assault. Fortunately, sorority-friend had already cut in line elsewhere and didn't have the opportunity to break in front of me. See, I'm the kind of person that feels bad when I have break line without items just to help someone check out at the grocery store.
I probably wouldn't have said anything, but I'd put good money on the people behind me that they'd have raised hell.
I'm using that anecdote merely to express that I have real problems with people who believe themselves to be more priviledged than those around them. I chose not to associate myself with those sorts of organizations specifically because, venom or no, I'm pretty down to Earth. People just change when they get sucked into groups that require certain standards of dress and living in general.
They come out of school with these huge networks of people behind them to help them find good jobs in their field of study. They believe that a pewter "Delta Delta Delta" license plate on the front of their car is going to cause people to change lanes for them.
I'm sorry if I've offended anyone's sensibilties. I work too hard at trying to make my life better than my parents' and grandparents' that it pisses me off that people have a "gimmie" attitude. I try to be patient and I'm polite to strangers. I even try to be cordial to people who are outright nasty. Some people just make it very hard to be nice.
Posted by Tiffany at February 21, 2005 01:33 PM2 of my ultimatly, 8 room mates in college were sorority girls. I learned to hate all of them after sorority girl number one decided that she wanted to live with one of her pledge sisters down the hall and so just "switched" room mates with her. I returned to my room to find an entirely new room mate in my room who turned out to be a real live psychotic! I hated sorority girl number two a couple of semesters later too. Hate, Hate, Hate the greeks! both kinds boys and girls. I was very into the whole GDI thing myself. I could go on with my sorority/fraternity hate thing, but you know, time passes, things change, we all grow up and no, wait, I still hate them.
Posted by: Diana at February 21, 2005 04:13 PMIt's not just the Greeks. There's all kinds of people that are completely self-absorbed and think they and their time and space are more important than yours. Just wait - if you ever have kids, you'll find this out in the carpool lane (it's the microcosm of society). Just because they think that I'm "just" a stay-at-home mom in my giant Suburban and they have to rush to their "oh-so-important" job in their "family unfriendly" cars doesn't mean that their time is more valuable than mine and the other 150 people waiting patiently in the line to drop their kids off. What these jerks don't realize is that in the life I had before kids I might have been their boss. The woman behind me might indeed be an HR manager for the next company they inteview with and just took the day off. What they don't know is that I really am rushing off to work after I drop off my kids - it's just happens to be a block away. I also have a right to make sure that my kids aren't tardy because they felt the need to break in line. We were there ON TIME.
I'm a huge rule follower. I don't like to step outside the lines when it comes to right and wrong (except the speed limit, which in Texas is a mere "suggestion"). I have a strong sense of justice and this really pisses me off. What are these people teaching their kids? To be exactly the same way. I ALWAYS point out the "cheaters" to my kids. I don't ever want that to be okay with them.
And by the way, I was in a sorority in college. However, I was not in one of the snottier ones and I've always been a "floater" trying to have friends of all sexes, races, ages and social classes. It does get harder to mix with different social classes as one gets older and has kids, though. You tend to only mix with those people that you'd want your kids to socialize with and your idea of what's acceptable narrows considerably when it comes to the welfare of your kids.
Posted by: Momotrips at February 21, 2005 09:36 PMI'm not a fan of sorostitutes either. I've never had very good encounters with them, when they deigned to "interact" with me. I was once seated at a bar waiting for a friend (this was the 80s, I was in college) and I was wearing a faux pearl necklace. All the sorostitutes in our region (and at that time, the late 80s) wore pearl necklaces (a way to identify one another?) A girl hopped onto a bar stool next to me, spied my "pearl" necklace and decided to strike up conversation with, "Are you in a sorority?"
"No," I replied but had turned to face her, obviously open to conversation between adults. Instead, she turned away from me, obvious rejection because I wasn't one of her people.
I just love that word, "sorostitutes."
Posted by: Erica at February 22, 2005 10:35 PMAt my school in the early ninties we called them Bow-Hos. When they were really feeling the bow, they would wear a huge poofy number that matched the one piece jump suit thing they all wore and the rest of us called a clown suit. I also liked that they had the pledges wear name tags on their clothes so that the rest of us would know to avoid them - if the ever present bow and trash can shorts didn't send enough of a message.
Posted by: Diana at February 23, 2005 02:23 PMIt's you stupid fucking people who know NOTHING about Greek life who stereotype 2 girls you've met into one huge group. How would you feel if someone said all GDIs were fat, ugly, poor, and had no friends in high school? Yea it's true about some of you, probably most- but not all. My sisters are the most beautiful, smart, fun, amazing women I know. The only reason you would have enough spare time to dedicate a whole website thread thing to hating sorority girls is because you are jealous. Now- go get your hair and nails done, feel better about yourself, and get over the fact that you don't live up to sorority girl standards. :)
Posted by: AZTriDelt at May 17, 2005 12:19 AMI don't know if you've looked around enough to notice, AZTriDelt, but this rag is MY PERSONAL WEBSITE. I can devote as much time and space as I want to spewing whatever hatred I choose to what topic is on my mind at any given point.
That one post out of 300+ is the only time I've brought up sororities.
You're making yourself look crass and stupid by criticizing the host. You can dissent to my opinion, and that of others if you want, but you're making it perfectly clear that you know nothing and have made no effort to learn anything about me or my readers.
While I can just say "fuck off" and send you a nasty e-mail explaining web-journal commenting etiquette, I'll let you learn your lesson the hard way.
Posted by: Tiffany at May 17, 2005 04:54 PMSorority chicks are entirely too self absorbed and think that their little cliques mean something in the real world.
I don't hate sorority girls but I do hate myopic twits.
Sorority girl standards? Hahaha, that's hilarious. More like sorority girl narrowly defined tolerances for acceptability.
Posted by: Johnny Huh? at May 17, 2005 05:35 PMSweetheart, take it from a former sorority girl, you just proved the whole point about why I always felt the need to apologize for being in a Sorority in the first place. Your little snit fit has shown that you are indeed just the type of person that our dear Tiffany deems to dislike. Spend a few years in the real world and time and distance will show you that perhaps you were not always as nice and welcoming to people of all types back in your younger years. College life in general and sorority life in particular are very narrow, insulated and encapsulated. You will find the work-a-day world a real culture shock.
Did you notice that I didn't judge Tiffany for her opinion just because I had been in a sorority? I respect her opinion and tend to agree, actually about many sorority girls. I made a conscious effort to rise above the behavior I observed while in college so that I could experience the best part of sororitiy
life and leave aside the worst.
And by the way, what does belonging to a Sorority have to do with how one looks, their weight, how much money they have and how many friends they had in high school. College is a fresh start if you're lucky and I knew many sorority girls that were skinny or chubby, pretty or homely, outgoing or shy, rich or poor. I also knew many GDI girls that were breathtakingly beautiful, richer than God and intelligent and dynamic. You are showing your elitist attitude and it is not becoming and certainly not disproving Tiffany's thesis.
So, once again, take it from a former sorority girl who now has three sons (triplets - sounds like a death sentence to you, doesn't it?), oh and I can't forget that I've gained a little in the ensuing years - wisdom as well as weight. Turn it around now. Mix and mingle with other kids at school, be inclusive, relish getting to know people in a deeper manner, find friends and lovers that will care about you when you're old, fat and wrinkled (even if that never comes to pass) - that's what life should be all about.
Posted by: Momotrips at May 17, 2005 09:07 PMI don't like TriDelts - they taste like Monistat.
Posted by: Harvey at May 18, 2005 07:59 AMBwahahahaha! Harvey you're a sick man - I love it! TriDelt - everyone else has...
I was thisclose to pleging TriDelt, too. I had letters from women at church, friends' mom's, etc. Phew! After I saw how they "shunned" a very sweet friend that got pregnant the VERY FIRST TIME she had sex at the age of 20 with her only boyfriend since she was 17 (Really - it was a huge deal to her) I knew I'd dodged a big bullet. They were just not very nice. Like most of those girls were "innocent". She went on to raise a wonderful daughter on her own. She was the bigger person in this situation and ultimately is more successful than all of those that treated her badly, as she produced a beautiful, respectful human and they tried their best to tear one down.
Posted by: Momotrips at May 18, 2005 04:55 PM