.jpg)
I was at the gym yesterday, and about ready to walk out the door. I walked over to one of my favorite trainers to say goodbye, and his client was running his mouth. The client is an undergraduate fraternity man from nearby University of Denver (that's not him in the picture, but he looked kind of similar).
The kid was talking with great enthusiasm about how they had the pledges over Thursday night and made them "do all kinds of nasty shit." You know, like sending them on a scavenger hunt and making them eat hot peppers. Stuff like that.
Now, those who know me know what a struggle it is for me to be developmental when talking about hot-button issues like hazing. But, when I'm at the gym and my testosterone is racing... well, I can be a little confrontational.
"That's hazing, and you should be ashamed of yourself," I said to the young man.
"It's not hazing," he said.
"Actually, it is," I continued. "And you're a sadistic little punk for thinking you have the right to do that to other guys in order to join your shitty fraternity. You're a hazer and so are your brothers."
"You don't know anything about fraternities," he told me.
This is where the personal trainer jumped in. "Hey, you might want to knock it off," he told the client, giving me a cease-and-desist look. The kid clearly has no idea who he was mouthing off to, and why would he?
"Which fraternity?" I asked.
"You don't need to know which fraternity," he replied.
"If it's not hazing, then why do you care if I know which fraternity you're a member of?" I asked. "Are you afraid I might tell someone at the university?"
"If the university thinks that's hazing, then they can just bend over and take it up the ass!" he said.
I swear, that's what he said. Both the trainer and I chuckled. I've often thought that hazing is the most obvious repression of gay sexual energy -- but I'll save that for another blog.
"T.J. won't call the university," the trainer reassured.
Nope. I'm just going to write about it in my blog. And if someone at DU reads this, I bet they won't be one bending over.
Lesson of the day – if you're stupid enough to be a proud hazer, keep your mouth shut about it. You never know who's working out next to you.
