Blogs Mar 12, 2009 at 9:16 am

University of Chicago Frat Boys v. Westboro Baptist Church

Dan Savage
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Comments

1
Damn, those are some impressive speakers.
on March 12, 2009 at 9:21 AM Report this
2
Yeah, but frat boys at the U. of Chicago are like hipsters in Bellevue. Wrong crowd, yo.

I like fat guy, though.
on March 12, 2009 at 9:21 AM Report this
3
Poor kid, made to hold that "Mourn for your sins" sign. Leave the children out of it.
on March 12, 2009 at 9:23 AM Report this
4
Why don't I see a police escort alongside the Westboro Baptist Church lunatics? Honest question. I can't imagine they get through all of these demonstrations unassaulted. Hell, the lunatics counter-protesting the anti-Prop 8 march back in November had protection.

Which was a good thing for them, I think.

So am I just not seeing the cops, or is Chicago remarkably capable of self-restraint?
on March 12, 2009 at 9:28 AM Report this
5
That was funny! Although I'm guessing the frat guys were more interested in just getting attention than protesting homophobia. But any poke-in-the-eye to the wbc is good.
on March 12, 2009 at 9:32 AM Report this
6
U of Cer's have long not cared about whether you are gay or straight, but rather how nerdy you are.

on March 12, 2009 at 9:32 AM Report this
7
Is Fratophobia common among teh gays?

At my altogether-too-southern University, our chapter of Lambda Chi Alpha (was not a member, but still went!) sponsored a lecture from two gay men on tolerance. It was well-attended and led to more than a few members having a gay bar pub crawl that night (and a few even went again later that week. And the next week. And the next).

The gay student group was absolutely certain there'd be awful things said and horrible questions asked, but outside of the "okay, give me some slang names for gay men" and "alright, some slang names for gay women" portion leading to some really awful puns ("Fancy Nancy", said with a heavy drawl), it was pretty awesome.

Frats aren't the bastions of intolerance most people make them out to be.
on March 12, 2009 at 9:33 AM Report this
8
I love the upcoming generation.

*wipes tear from eye*
on March 12, 2009 at 9:34 AM Report this
9
4
Most places are self-restrained and civil. Homosexual street thugs breaking up protests seems to be a Left Coast thing.
on March 12, 2009 at 9:38 AM Report this
10
Fraternities are one of the gayest places on earth...
on March 12, 2009 at 9:43 AM Report this
11
I LOVE the bear in the gray tank top and Tobias Fuenke shorts (I think he's "Fat Guy" in @2) and I LOVE EVEN MORE his arm-waving and hip-shaking at about 0:47 to 0:50. Best three seconds ever. Go watch it over and over.
on March 12, 2009 at 9:47 AM Report this
12
Hahahaha. I don't know why, but this totally made my day. I woke up grumpy this morning, and this video hit me at just the right time. Totally turned my day around.

Thank you.
on March 12, 2009 at 9:49 AM Report this
13
This is the funniest thing I have seen a fraternity do since "Animal House".
on March 12, 2009 at 9:49 AM Report this
14
Those aren't "fraternity boys", those are "U of C fraternity boys" -- i.e., smarter, more stressed out, less need to prove their manliness. At least, from what I know of U of C folks.
on March 12, 2009 at 9:50 AM Report this
15
so, do they now get a pass from the Gay Mafia when they call things "gay"?
on March 12, 2009 at 9:54 AM Report this
16
nothing better than having preconceived notions dispelled. except maybe when people (frat guys!) find a way to turn ugliness into beauty. fleeting moments when i am not ashamed to be bipedal.
on March 12, 2009 at 9:54 AM Report this
17
I agree with commentator michael strangeways, from what I've heard, "straight" frats can be some of the gayest places around. I've met at least 3 men who were once presidents of straight fraternities while they were in college who are now out.
on March 12, 2009 at 9:57 AM Report this
18
I hate Illinois nazis.
on March 12, 2009 at 10:02 AM Report this
19
@17

Funny you say that. My old franternity's president came out after he graduated too. But..we all kinda just knew.
on March 12, 2009 at 10:02 AM Report this
20
Dunno if it's the same at this school, but my university's chapter of ADPhi was a "co-ed literary society" and definitely didn't fit the frat boy stereotype. This kind of stunt would have been right up their alley.
on March 12, 2009 at 10:04 AM Report this
21
awesome! frat boys dancing in their underwear and an anti-hate rally breaks out; good on on U of C frat boys
on March 12, 2009 at 10:05 AM Report this
22
Kinda makes you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside, doesn't it?
on March 12, 2009 at 10:13 AM Report this
23
@14: As an erstwhile U of C person myself, you are correct. The U of C is, in some respects, as much of a meritocracy as any U.S. university can hope to be. There are virtually no sports scholarships, and compared to other Ivy Leaguers, very few legacies.

The undergrads there are self-selected intellectuals and geeks. The Greek system is just the slightly more extroverted subset of this.
on March 12, 2009 at 10:13 AM Report this
24
Oh, c'mon. It's not like Frat Boys NEED an excuse to get drunk and dance around in their underwear.
on March 12, 2009 at 10:19 AM Report this
25
Sweet!
on March 12, 2009 at 10:25 AM Report this
26
7 sums it up nicely. The fraternity-members-as-homophobes card has as much credence as gays-are-sexcrazed-pedophiles. When I see people yell about tolerance then denounce frat boys, I wonder if the point has been missed. Black and white narrative types have no place in the real world.
on March 12, 2009 at 10:38 AM Report this
27
Wow, Baconcat, I was a Lambda Chi, too. We were very open, accepting, insightful, giving and intelligent students. I went to a smaller liberal arts college in Michigan. I even had a wonderful relationship with a fraternity brother. Sure, it was not perfect, but what the fuck is? I applaud these young men and I am sure they are sincere.

Oh yeah, on calling it a "frat." A line from a very bad porn film: Don't call my fraternity a "frat." Would I call your country a "cunt?"
on March 12, 2009 at 10:42 AM Report this
28
Hi 23,
U of C is not an Ivy League school.
on March 12, 2009 at 10:42 AM Report this
29
@28: Indeed it is not in the athletic conference with that name, but those schools, along with Stanford and a couple others, are those against which it measures itself.
on March 12, 2009 at 10:52 AM Report this
30
Those guys can't be gay, they are crappy dancers!
on March 12, 2009 at 10:52 AM Report this
31
My husband of 30 plus years was president of his fraternity. He is loving, kind and just about perfect. I'll bet most of the guys in the video will be the same.
on March 12, 2009 at 10:56 AM Report this
32
My boyfriend is a member of two fraternities[yes, he gets all pissing on calling it a "frat" too #27]. He is incredibly open and accepting. At their mid-winter formal no one cared when two frat boys [out gay btw] were practically going at it on the dance floor. Plus, I have seen my bf around his "brothers" enough to see that no place like a frat breeds homo-eroticism. I watched as a frat brother relished and desired to paddle his "little". Cannot tell me that all that desire is straight now... he he... but frat boys. Not so bad, once you get to know them.
on March 12, 2009 at 11:31 AM Report this
33
@7: There seems to be an equal proportion of fratophobia to fratophilia in the gay community.

on March 12, 2009 at 11:57 AM Report this
34
Because the times they are a-changin
on March 12, 2009 at 12:18 PM Report this
35
"STRAIGHT HUGGIN'" is the best part of this whole thing.
on March 12, 2009 at 12:41 PM Report this
36
@28, rankings-wise, it fits right in with them. Also, it is important to note that UofC frats are not like any frat around Seattle.
Things in Hyde Park are pretty mellow and students are too wimpy and rational to try and physically attack wbc.
on March 12, 2009 at 12:47 PM Report this
37
I've maintained for years that the proper response to WBC and similar crazies is mockery. Remember The Big Pink Bus of Drag Queens in The Awful Truth? I thought Phelps was going to blow a coronary gasket right there and then. Mockery is the best response to unspeakable idiocy of the WBC type, not assault (the case has been made, rather convincingly, that WBC's whole raison d'etre is to piss people off enough to get their members assaulted so they can sue for damages).
on March 12, 2009 at 12:49 PM Report this
38
It is those that do not go to college that are far more homophobic than today's frat guy. Frats are all about activities that push your gaydar to the limit but without actually really acting on or being gay. Today, young educated people in general are very tolerant. Demonstrating real anti-gay feelings are an obvious sign of being uneducated or a young adult who has been hopelessly brainwashed by an overbearing parent. Hip hop use to play into that equation but I think that has rapidly been changing.
Go Westboro! You are the best.
It's all over. We just have to wait for these morons to eventually die. Unfortunately, I will be too old to enjoy full equal rights that I have spent the past 20 years fighting so hard for. :(
on March 12, 2009 at 1:04 PM Report this
39
@37 What you say is SO right!
I hate it when I see some very young, just got involved, LGBT person angerly confront Westboro. It takes just one person to make them that more legit.
Mockery is the best in this situation. Religious people cringe over Westboro. Just look to programs like SNL and other political shows. They have far more influence than any hopeless debate show like "Cross Fire".
on March 12, 2009 at 1:10 PM Report this
40
I don't know if you Seattle-ites knew this, but it was COLD here in Chicago this week. Just another reason that this rules.
on March 12, 2009 at 2:29 PM Report this
41
This made my day. Let's hear it for STRAIGHT HUGGIN frat boys.
on March 12, 2009 at 3:21 PM Report this
42
I was right fucking there and I had a better view than whoever took the video. I was also high as shit at the time, so it was that much funnier.

Julie-that day wasn't too bad, actually. It was one of those Chicago days when you bring your big coat "just in case" but you know you'll be most comfortable in just a fleece + two layers.

I should have never moved to the north side.
on March 12, 2009 at 3:24 PM Report this
43
When I went the the U of C, Alpha Delta Phi was where the stoner chem majors lived alongside the stoner Humanities majors. And, in those days, at least, it was coed.

I send those boys on the porch a big MWAHHHHH!
on March 12, 2009 at 9:20 PM Report this
44

A few weeks ago, an turkisch airplain with 135 people onboard, crashed near the bigest Dutch airport. Killing 9 people, injuring more then 90.

The Westboro Baptist Church said this was because God hates the Dutch, and they wanted to comeover to protest..
Well, I am Dutch, and sadly they did not come over, otherwise we would have "welcomed"them...
Good to see the frat boys of Alpha Delta Phi, of the University of Chicago did not miss out on the oppertunity...

So on the behalf off many Dutch.. thanks dudes!!!!
on March 12, 2009 at 10:00 PM Report this
45
@4
They don't want police escorts. They want to provoke an assault which they catch on camera and then file suit. It's how they fund their efforts as about 90% or more of the church members are related.
on March 12, 2009 at 10:41 PM Report this
46
Actually they were thankful for the escort they got in Omaha last year, it just didn't protect them as much as they'd hoped...

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=27…

and they sure didn't stick around to film the high schooler kids coming at them; The WBC just took off running. Guess they want to get to heaven, just not right now as the song goes..
on March 15, 2009 at 10:08 AM Report this
47
@18
LOL! I was gonna post a Blues Brothers reference, but you beat me to it.

I think these are some of the coolest frat boys ever.
on March 17, 2009 at 7:06 AM Report this
48
A number of years ago when they were threatining to come to Ottawa to burn the Canadian flag in front of the Supreme Court building the local police made a point of saying they didn't think they could guarantee their safety. They never came.
on March 23, 2009 at 10:26 AM Report this

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