Courage to reveal hazing

Letter to the editor today:

Courage to reveal hazing
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,595067115,00.html

I want to thank Chuck McCown (May 30) for having the courage to take Rush Limbaugh's cue and come forward with his story of abuse and torture at the hands of high school hazers in the mid-1970s. While never a victim or active participant, I must confess standing idly by and watching such activities on several occasions.

I must also confess a twinge of conscience as I recall fellow seniors herding naked, hooded freshmen into the boys locker room at gunpoint. The piteous cries for mercy, amid the growling and barking of the dogs, yet echo through my mind. We were freeing them from the tyrannical bonds of pre-pubescence. They should have welcomed us as liberators.

After all, these were the lucky ones. Many of their siblings, friends and neighbors were killed in our neighborhood raids. But that was only because they couldn't know the heart and soul of their senior classmates. In the end, most would survive, stronger and wiser for the experience, ready to accept the responsibilities of adulthood in a democratic society.

Robert Hammer
Salt Lake City

-----
Got comments? Email me, dammit!