In our regionally segmented social society, one question that often arises in the study of Fratology is, “Are some cultures inherently fratty?” Along with this, of course, comes the inverse question, “Are some cultures inherently not fratty?”
Quite honestly, the answer to the affirmative in either case is, in almost every instance, a gross simplification. Many cultural segments which would appear, on the surface, to be devoid of fratitude may be, in fact, very fratty upon closer and more careful inspection. For instance, the nomadic sheep herders of Outer Mongolia may offend traditional notions of frattiness with their quaint dress and questionable hygeine, but at the same time may ooze fratitude with their liberal ingestion of alcoholic beverages of a strength befitting even the most effective of paint removers.
Therefore, to answer the question of cultural frattiness, one must look at the culture in question in depth. One must observe the nuances of how the fratty in that culture frat, how hard they frat, and what activities they take part in that would be generally decided to not be fratty. Pursuant to this exercise, we will now look at the culture of the Deep South of the United States.
As all that are well versed in fraternal history know, the conservative and exclusive nature of Southern fraternities has long fostered such fratty standards as fratty dress and concentration of people with rich fathers. However, recent frat scholars have noted that as admission standards have become more lax through the years some decidedly unfratty elements of general Southern society have venomously infiltrated the Southern fratmosphere. Chief among these insipid aberrations is the native Southern redneck creeping his more reprehensible tendencies into the fabric of Southern fratting.
The line which has been crossed is one that is clear, but oft ignored. This line is the difference between the redneck and the good ole boy, and the difference is, if properly examined, as clear as night and day. While the redneck and the good ole boy may enjoy similar pasttimes (football, beer, chasing women, and shooting unsuspecting wildlife), the good ole boy is always cognizent of the need to conduct themselves during said activities with a modicum of class and style. We must assume that you, as a reader of this site engaged in the advanced study of fratting hard, know the not-so-subtle differences in the two very distinct classes, so further discussion of those differences is not required. Suffice it to say, however, that the question of Southern culture, as it relates to fratting hard, is the question of “redneck or good ole boy?” If an act or omission is unique to the redneck, it is decidedly not fratty. If an act or omission is unique to the good ole boy, it is decidedly fratty.
As an exercise, we will illustrate two simple examples of this test:
1) Attending a college football game, a good ole boy will be seen in, at bare minimum, a tucked collared shirt. A redneck will be seen in the bare minimum of shirt, pants, and body paint required by law in a public forum.
2) When attempting to choose a female companion, the good ole boy will attempt to secure a lady who is both attractive and fashionable. The male redneck will, on the other hand, choose the lady with the blackest roots on the blondest hair, or possibly a lady with the most well done Hank Williams, Jr. tattoo on her lower back.
As a parting note, I leave you with a graphic representation of “Southern, done wrong.” Rest assured, the young lady featured in this link is doomed to live a life that will never know the joy of truly fratting hard unless she seeks immediate and extensive fratherapy (be sure to look at the whole site):
Blessed Are the Unfratty, For They Shall Die Alone
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