So I want to share something with you that I’ve never shared with anyone and before I kind of get into everything I want to make sure that you like and subscribe because I bet you’re new here and you’re wondering uh what all this story is going to be about but you’re in
The right place if I’m talking about hazing and fraternities and how you know my experience and what how that happened for me and what you can do to just make sure you protect yourself and be aware is so important so you don’t want to go anywhere let’s get it Unplugged so I want to get into this topic and be as uh really focused on making sure that you can make your best decision and first before I kind of go into things I can’t share the specific school and I cannot share the specific fraternity on as far as how this came
About as far as that goes I can spare I can share that but anything in regards to specific names the school and the organization to which this happened um I cannot disclose and that’s just some legality stuff but what I will say is this I went to a um HBCU in Virginia
Okay I went to HBCU in Virginia and at that school uh I had previously I went to another school and I dated someone who was the sister sorority to this fraternity and so while I was dating her I got to see firsthand some really good camaraderie right which is everything
That you probably going to be excited if you’re in college or from what you remember about being in college what that feels like you’re new you’re fresh as a freshman you see fraternities on the yard they’re doing their steps they’re doing all kind of tricks they’re getting the ladies they look like
Exactly what something maybe ideally you’d want to have if they have something you don’t and maybe that something is different you know from anything you can think of for me it just reminded me of just a feeling of power a feeling of I own the yard in some aspect
And way for this short period of time and then possibly coming back for homecomings I would feel like something now I kind of allude to ex what those experiences look like but of course everything on paper it’s all about Brotherhood and a lifetime of community and service fine that’s wonderful it’s a
Great ideology and a great opportunity to be a part of it’s everything that I thought for me made sense here’s where things take a darker turn I expressed my interest once I left the prior school and went to this newer School bigger school um a lot more of a an experience
As far as in terms of opportunity and I expressed interest and I just you know made friends with one of the guys that was a part of the organization and for me it seemed like everything was like a no-brainer we started to you know get some uh time in
Have some lunch you know all that good stuff just trying to understand and fit my way in um and so how this kind of even went a little further of course I approached you know on the aspect of hey this is what something I want for my
Life um and he vouched for me to get in now me getting in was really like an interest meeting so I’m going into this interest meeting this is like 2008 so this this whole thing happened between 2008 to 2009 in that aspect so um without going in so much I basically uh
Met other guys who were also trying to get in you know what I mean like at we all was like very informal um basically we had um some information that was given to us as far as uh when we’re going to meet location time and certain things to be expected things started to
Kind of get a little bit more on a routine so right around the window this is like fall 2008 October November of course we’re getting ready for the winter break um things started to become a little more formalized and meaning we would have um actual practices rehearsals of chanting information and
Speaking it we’re locking up we’re getting you know in the grit we’re all in this line uh in this room in um a very uh in a house somebody’s crib I can’t say who’s what um but there’s there’s when anytime when it comes to fraternities in this process of pledging
And what they like to call pledging um they basically have an enforcer or we going to call it ADP then you have like someone who is like like the uh like the dean like the person who leads the actual line okay so you have a line the line is um starting from the
Shortest person all the way up to the tallest person and that’s the flow of how it works um and the aspect of that the why that matters is the fact that basically it’s just the way how the lineup goes I can’t go too far into into
That um but you’re locked up together as in Brotherhood so the aspects of it is great while the aspect or the the symbolism of it is wonderful um a lot of the actions taken against you are detrial and it’s really supposed to be a place for you to um really be broken
Down and built right up but a lot of times during the process of the building down or breaking down something uh has to take um you know basically a a a seat back right so that means it may be your health your mental health maybe your physical health it might be your eating
Habits so things that you normally necessarily care about gets pushed back and the only thing that becomes clear in your mind and what you’re thinking about is how can I finish into this program and become the person that I seen on the yard wearing the regalia the paraphernalia getting all the girls
Looking like somebody special having these friends or groups of what we call Brothers uh or sisters if you’re if you’re a sister watching this how can I be a part of that and how can I feel good about that well all of those things were in my mind prior to taking this
Winter break and so I was willing to be uh to put myself uh amongst you know guys that I felt like hey I was safe with um that would basically take me into the next level and put me on to this journey so long story short um the
Last uh night before before essentially we kicking off the Break um you know things happen we had guys people that came in alumni that you know kind of thrashed us around you know any anywhere from hitting us uh slapping us around those things like that and there were
Hints from the leader or like I said the dean the person who’s kind of run the group like you know you going get your ass beat you know you going to get you know get this wood you ready for this wood so when someone says you know get ready for this wood
How about I just show you how about how about I just show you hold on a sec okay I said I was going to show you right so this is an example of what that would or actual uh fraternity it’s been Dusty cuz I ain’t
Pull this out uh in a while and I was going to use this um in terms of a uh book cover to talk about my experience but anyway this particular um wood was is an example of what was used what would be used to you know slap you
Behind your ass um your ass is all red and up and you can’t move you know for hours that’s exactly what I endured um when I came back from winter break of course I was uh feeling very hesitant about how this experience might be because prior to this winter break we
Were doing calisthetics working out all kind of you know things together we were sent on missions to be able to do certain things um some things may look like U moving some furniture for some some of the alumni brothers that were part of this organization uh some of those things
Look like um being able to maybe get food for a brother or whatever they bring it to back to his house all kind of like weird service based uh tasks right now um as I’m going you know into the next uh phase of things right so as
Far as like coming back from winter break and getting into the full nitty-gritty what I experienced was uh a very fast Progressive um you know right into the fire situation if you will uh the nights became longer standing up you know all night was a real thing um getting hit by
This wood upwards of 25 to 50 times or more per night was very much a thing um being able to pass down an egg you know from the smallest guy remember talk about that line the smallest guy down the line all the way to the tallest man in the line um anything
From anything you could think of uh you know the most disturbing things as far as even something as uh crazy as having hot sauce poured um on your genitals genital area what not not uh a lot of pervasive stuff a lot of stuff that just necessarily didn’t make sense um you
Know we we we started off in one point what we call a certain stage and so you have a certain stage I can’t name that but you have another stage that gets to I can’t name it can’t name that either but that next stage to get to that
Initiation of that night and experience you’re slapped repeatedly by many different grown ass men um that want to see you to quit essentially but want to also pass down an experience that they had when they were um in college at one point right maybe have been two years
Ago a year before that there maybe maybe you know years ago before that whatever I don’t know okay um I can say that it becomes even more strenuous uh more of an attack on your body than you can ever imagine there were nights where I just didn’t even
Want to get out of my car I was that much in pain because my ass was actually bruised to a point uh of Beyond repair it had to be surgically repaired to be able to basically um you know be able to sit on my ass properly I was dying and I
Didn’t realize it I was dying all for a cause that really didn’t make any sense uh for me you know my life it wasn’t for me some people I feel like maybe it’s meant for but it’s it really wasn’t for me and that’s something that you got to
Be able to ask yourself is this something that I want to do if this is how they have a process people call you know hazing you know different type of terminology in some of these organizations they’ll call it pledging they may call it they may call it just
Hey a process they may ridicule you as a black man a fellow black man at that just for basically uh just siding a paper you know a lot of things were just done you know you know for formality reasons having you show up at a funeral
Home um why that a funeral home I don’t I really can’t say honestly uh but having you show up at weird odd locations to have some type of formal interest meeting when all along you’ve already been uh chosen or selected or or already in that process it’s just
Formality so there’s a lot of aspects to uh this story that I kind of go into and I kind of fast forward a little bit to the day that I was um essentially uh you know was my last day I was you know I couldn’t even walk as much I was so
Badly bruised sleep was the last thing I can think of uh you know it’s the dead of January this is part of the reason why I’m talking about this um this is happened in 2009 so this is 20124 I mean this is some years now over over 15 12
Years um where this has happened and so I remember feeling super sick um of course like I mentioned earlier I was I was dying I didn’t know it I had a MCA infection that was in my blood that could have killed me at any time you
Know um but God seen fit God see God seen fit for me to survive it um I think the worst part of this is as I had to uh you know I remember just feeling so um medically impaired and and so messed up you know me by the time I got to see
Someone in the healthc care aspect of things damage was done I mean I had to get surgery right away um you know another surgery to kind of basically put a skin graft over it and I have a scar for the rest of my life so I have to ask you after I’ve shared
My story about what I went through it may not happen to you it may happen to you but to ask you this is it is it worth it being in a room by yourself is it worth it being in a room by yourself knowing that the guys that
Basically said hey you know I’m going to be your brothers I’m going to take care of you we’re going to look after you from the process all the way to the end you know guys that you’ve sweat Blood Sweat tears and seen all types of different um and smells and all kind of
Different you know struggles people have gone through um is is it worth it is it worth going through all that over your life you know the life that your your mom your dad or whoever who vouched for you to go to college and go to HBCU is
It worth your life your health to go through what I went through what I just shared with you I’ll leave you to make that decision on your own but I will would want to tell you like I would tell my own kids if I had kids is to think of
Your life because that is so much more worth it I look past that situation and doing this video is therapy for me it’s therapy and knowing that maybe I can help you maybe I can help someone who has thought about Crossing those Burning Sands who have thought about joining a
Fraternity or a sorority and be something that’s a part of this greater um you know World Mission and do something wonderful for their life with this organization to be or feel like there’s something on campus when they don’t feel like they’re much of anything I’ve seen people men who maybe you know
Weren’t much of of a face on the on the yard you know they didn’t have much personality suddenly now they’ve had all this personality once they’ve received those couple waack of the ass now they’re this you know popular dude on campus now they getting all the ass
Don’t buy into it it’s a small window of time college is four years 5 years if you’re if you’re like myself and you had to switch some switch schools and transfer right because some schools don’t transfer all that stuff but it’s a small window of time and to come back
You know to say oh well you know I’m I have I’m anywhere I go you know uh and people just you know making all these sounds and noises to to let the other other people know that they’re in this organization so I can feel what
I can feel included to say I felt like I’m a part of something that was really special to be honest with you there’s other there’s there’s grown ass people that um you know who are in these organizations who really don’t even give a damn about other black people in
General and the only time that they realize that they actually do is when they find out that they’re in the sorority or fraternity that this that the same ones that they’re also in isn’t that up so again you make the call for yourself and I will tell you and my personal
Experience maybe I’m biased but I would never want to put my health in someone else’s hands especially people who would sensually burrow you burrow your your your you know who you were under the rug like nothing ever happened like they have no type of accountability to what
Happened to you now all this may sound as grievances from someone who went through something that happened over 12 10 you know years ago however but this is this is a place where I can speak to you and be a mentor and say something happened to me I allowed myself to have something
Happen to me that I should never have let happen to me and I want to protect someone else from letting that happen to or at least give you enough information that share my story and you make your own determination you make your own call this is your life you do whatever you
Want to do but I can tell you at the end of the day what matters most is being able to thrive travel live be able to have a full life without any kind of regrets if you can you have some sure but regrets you can avoid that’s
One experience I can tell you if I could have saved it for my life I would have anyway that’s my take I hope this video was uh insightful gave you something to think about I would love to hear your comments or read your comments should say on this video let me know
Your thoughts you can say whatever you want to say if it’s a negative thing I hey I’ve heard it all if it’s a positive thing cool I would love to just know it so that maybe I can address if it’s a if it’s something that I can help and share
With you no one deserves to be ridiculed and accosted or attacked over no foolishness don’t let it be you until the next video Let’s Get It unplugged
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