Sunday, February 18, 2007

Beta Theta Pi at Yale circa 1915




These photos are of a pledge paddle from the Yale class of 1915. I acquired the device on e-Bay, where after it had served a term as the crown jewel of my college fetish collection, I resold it.It bears the Greek letters for Beta Theta Pi, founded in 1839, which, although it was the first college fraternity to publish its constitution--in 1879, and one is tempted to ask why--it “continues to guard certain secrets reserved for members,” according to Wikipedia. If those secrets are consistent with the symbolism it shares with other occult organizations, then it's likely they are responsible for bringing the world to the brink of ruin.



Nothing in the public profile particularly sets Beta's apart from similar secret societies like Scull & Bones, and Trogdor, who “bonded by oath and ritual,” are “bound by trust and responsibility,” to “form lifelong bonds of trust,” except perhaps, as the first fraternity founded west of the Allegheny Mountains and the first to locate a chapter west of the Mississippi River, BTP exemplifies manifest destiny. Beta's absorption of The Mystic Seven in 1889, also adds an extra layer of occult freemasonic cast to their tradition.

Within these bonded entities, a system of “Leadership Development & Self Governance” requiring “each chapter to identify future leaders, [and] provide for their education and training,” determines the individual’s placement, and establishes the hierarchal system, although how George W. Bush made the leap from cheerleader to President indicts that system, it also explains why we were offered only the systematic choice of a fellow Skull & Bonesman, John Kerry as an alternative in 2004.
An Open Motto is the public expression of unique ideals and/or standards, and Beta’s mottoes are uniquely standard: Worthy of the Highest, the Three Great Principles, and Firmam Consensus Facit, Latin for “Co-operation makes strength, is but an embodiment of the experience of man in all ages and nations.”

The Code of Beta Theta Pi, in Article 1, Section 2, continues the theme of “securing unity of action and sympathy in matters of common interest,” concluding it “recognizes mutual assistance” as foundational.

There is a depth to match the extent of the bond. In Goal IXLifelong Fraternal Brotherhood, is created and strengthened by the intensity and integrity of effort required for success and enriched by the shared responsibility for achievement that endures.” Note that the phrase integrity of effort refers to unity, not integrity.

Beta Theta Pi Heraldry page describes the symbolism pyrographically etched in the wood, at least to some degree. The symbol in the saddle of the grip, what I thought was the universal pictograph for “Ouch,” is the

“standard badge of the Fraternity, is to be worn over the heart and in a manner befitting the honor and dignity to which the badge is entitled. the use of the badge as a ring, as a decoration or in any other element on printed matter or T-shirts or in any other printer manner (other than as the official badge of the Fraternity) is specifically prohibited,”
so we learn this paddle would be considered contraband today, but we aren’t told the meaning of the imperial laurel victor’s wreath.

We are told that in 1897, “the current coat of arms containing the dragon and ____kai____, designed by George M. Chandler, then an undergraduate, replaced the original Arms, which was designed by John I. Covington in 1869,” but we are not told why the change was made, and what space-kai-space means, unless it's the unpronounceable name of the anti-Christ.

The rare heraldic dragon sinister, were it standing, would take the blazonry word specific to dragons: segeant, as distinct from a lion’s standing rampant. If one paw of either were raised, he’d be erect, which may indicate we have a one-armed dragon on our hands. The three stars are “a development of the pledge button,” before which “ pledges wore ribbons of pink and blue.”


The reverse side, with the personalization “Ted” Babbit from “Budge” Richardson Nov. 23, 1915, is dominated by a hooded figure standing before the Yale University initial Y. Nowhere on Beta’s heraldry page are hooded figures explicated, but for anyone who grew up in the south certainly, the symbol carries a heavy weight of unfortunate connotations.These symbols speak to the esoteric understanding within separate, and never equal, covert communities. Whatever their organizing methodology was, which formerly allowed them to create reality unseen and unbidden, it has given way to a general awareness of manipulation and deceit in the exoteric world. The moral horror in Iraq is a bell that cannot be unrung. Whatever the controls an individual faces from within, from a paddling, to a fist-fuck, to a snuff film, it needs to become revealed. Then we can put an end to scenes like this:

The grief on these guard’s faces is difficult to mask, especially in contrast to Rumsfeld’s bizarre emoting.
That The Old Guard ceremonial unit was singularly charged with the recovery of bodies at the Pentagon is a detail not lost on the press, although they didn't report it:
DoD News Briefing - Victoria Clarke, ASD PA (David Chu, Meg Falk, Maj. Gen. Jim Jackson; and Ed Plaugher, fire chief of Arlington County.)

Q: Is it true -- (off mike) -- Old Guard? Is that who you've got doing this; the guys who do the ceremonial...

Jackson: Yes. The Old Guard is an active duty infantry organization with a multiple mission requirement, and one of them is to be able to do contingency work like this. And they do spend a significant amount of their time practicing these skills.

Q: I notice that funerals were proceeding at Arlington Cemetery this morning, at least some. I heard 21-gun salutes while I was -- (off mike)

...Jackson: We have reduced some of our support to the funerals, but some are, in fact, going on based on capabilities and families' desires.

Q: Sir, so some of the people that would normally be involved in funerals are now guarding some of the entryways here in the building?

Jackson: That's correct.
The tradition of silence and secrecy within an elite group like the Old Guard must at core, hold many terrible secrets, in order for this secret to have a context in which to be held.

The following bit of marginalia was the single most important trigger to my recognition of the truth. It is from a vanity web page of a Las Vegas politician named Steve Ross, who was attending a federal-government sponsored "environmental summit" at the Sheraton Hotel north of the Navy Annex and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. Titled like a return-to-school report, My Experience in Arlington, Virginia during the Pentagon Terrorist Attack, after describing how he came to know an American Airlines 757-jet had crashed into the Pentagon, he made this tangential remark:
During that time, many of the Pentagon employees entered the hotel to get off the street due to the threat. When I returned to my table with lunch, I noticed that one of the Pentagon employees had sat down at the same table. After a few minutes of watching the news broadcasts he asked very puzzled if something had happened to the World Trade Center towers. Apparently he had not heard that the World Trade Center towers had collapsed. It was truly amazing to see this man become completely and utterly stunned when he told the news. He remained completely still with his eyes fixed to the news broadcast for quite a while. Everyone at the table was moved by the sadness that he exhibited.

I have experienced having all the wind knocked out of me by non-physical force--I know what it takes for that to happen. For this Pentagon employee to suddenly realize he had been taking part unwittingly in a public shock and awe event, must have felt like a blow to the solar plexus.

Deb Anlauf, of Colfax, Wisconsin, the wife of Jeff Anlauf, the owner of BP Amoco, was in her 14th floor room of the Sheraton Hotel, when she heard a "loud roar" and then "Suddenly I saw this plane right outside my window. You felt like you could touch it; it was that close.... Then it shot straight across from where we are and flew right into the Pentagon. ... When it hit, the whole hotel shook.
It is my opinion that Mrs. Anlauf did not receive the same blow to the stomach. I think she fabricated her eyewitness experience for political reasons. We need to get the hotel records for 9-11-01 for the rooms in the upper floors that face east. We need to find out where else ringers were planted. We can tell each other apart now. And if there's any doubt, just wait.



IF WORLD WAR III IS FOUGHT WITH NUCLEAR WEAPONS, WORLD WAR IV WILL BE FOUGHT WITH STICKS AND STONES-ALBERT EINSTEIN




"The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open
society; and we are as a people inherently and historically
opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret
proceedings.

"We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and
unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the
dangers which are cited to justify it."
-- John F. Kennedy

45 comments:

  1. "but we are not told why the change was made, and what space-kai-space means, unless it's the unpronounceable name of the anti-Christ."

    Where is the logic? Why would it be the name of the anti-Christ and not some innocuous fraternal secret?

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  2. I don't see how you can make logical claims based upon what you don't know. This post is rife with ad ignorantium...

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  3. Then why do you keep coming back, and why do you bother leaving comments? Shit--do we need to get a therapist in here?

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  4. Fascinating that you would take a relic of a bygone day and try to read so much into it. Might I point out that the young men in the film Dazed and Confused hoisted paddles. It is not like the Administrative body of the fraternity is the one that created the paddle, it was a young man who did. As for the "we're not told why the change was made" I've seen "The Son of the Stars" just as you have and what you fail to mention is that there is a page showing all the incarnations of the badges before then. Maybe is was a cosmetic change? Maybe it is more personal to the members of the fraternity? Maybe a hundred different things...the point is you are trying to make sinister, something that is utterly benign. People like you terrify me. How you leap to conclussions is mind baffling.

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  5. Maybe you should disband your secret organization before you lose your heads in the coming revolution.

    Just sayin'

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  6. As a recently initiated Beta, I have to say that I find the Beta bit rather hilarious. lol i've always liked the idea of being apart of a secret, ritualistic society that controls the world.

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  7. You little brat, if I got my hands on you I'd paddle your little ass until it was black and blue. You got that bro?

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  8. btw, i'm the guy who posted last.

    look, i just think it's funny what people think of secret societies now that i'm actually in one. of course, i'm not saying that beta is anything like skull and bones, but yea. it's especially funny when you consider who unorganized the Administrative Offices of beta are.

    but yea, sorry if you took that as trying to make fun of you. i realize now that i was kinda condescending,s o sorry about that.

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  9. No offense was taken Greenville, SC, I was just playing with you. But what you don't know about your secret organization could fill volumes.

    You are judged by the company you keep. Ask yourself, what non-selfish reason could I possibly have to belong to Beta?

    The world is falling apart as we speak. You are apparently a young person, so step up to the plate bro. If you are not a part of the solution, then you are a part of the problem.

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  10. Ah, ok.

    Hm you have a good point. So far, it has been one of the best decisions I have made this year. We're new on campus, so we are hoping to turn our chapter into something that builds up the community rather than creates all the crap that most fraternities do now.

    Who knows? Maybe over time we can reverse the process.

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  11. Wow, I think it's funny how people see fraternities these days. I am pro-greek and am pro-Beta. The majority of most influential people have a history of being a part of a secret society. In my opinion, this article was written out of spite. You make accusations without logic thinking.

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  12. Is the reason you spend so much time looking into Beta because you were "axed" from their tent/house during rush? I'd bet money on you being a democrat with no friends. Lol I'm really glad I just wasted 2 minutes of my life, but more glad you wasted days of yours. Wooglin looks down on you in disgust. =D I could go all day with these secret jokes. For Betas reading this, One of our pledges during their pledge semester thought wooglin was a racecar. Hilarious. I love Beta! Best decision I ever made. ~Kai~ brothers.

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  13. I have been a Beta for a while now and i love it. I have a close group of friends who will always be there for the rest of my life. My chapter has one of the highest philanthropy rates of any organization on campus and a very competitive GPA. Fraternities are just groups of people who want to help others and become better people ourselves. The reason so many Greeks go on to great positions in society is because we use the experiences we gain within our organization and build on them to become good leaders. So if you don't like Beta (Greek Life) and have never been a member of an organization like one, than your opinion has no ground to stand on. I will continue building up my brothers into better people and i hope they do the same for me. _kai_ for life

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  14. I love that all your research and speculation could not be further from the truth. What a waste of effort. I think it speaks volumes to Beta that our secrets are some of the only not available on the internet.

    Proud to be a Beta,

    yours in ~Kai~

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    Replies
    1. Two big thumbs up!!!

      Yours in ~KAI~

      Delete
  15. My name is spelled Warran and the conjunction of "you are" is spelled "you're," Mr. College Student.

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  16. Mr. Warran, sorry you got kicked out at rush and had to make a spite article about that which you know nothing about. lol BTP does not stand for our initials. Those are English Letters. Don't quit your day job... assuming you have one.

    Stay Proud brothers
    Yours in _kai_

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  17. hahaha I like how you try to make a connection between Beta and the 9/11 conspiracy. I can assure you the "secrets" of beta theta pi are nothing more than a password and a few other superficial things that are common in all greek organizations. If you're trying to figure out who's taking over the world, you're looking in the wrong place. Google the bohemian grove. Those guys are the real sketchballs.

    I was born in the backwoods,
    Raised in a cave.
    Fuckin' and Fightin'
    is all I crave.
    I've got an iron-clad stomach,
    and a nine-inch rod.
    I'm a mean motherfucker,
    I'm a Beta, by God!

    ReplyDelete
  18. No offense, Steven, but this rant is about the dumbest thing I've read in ages. __kai__ relates to the antichrist? You pulled that out of your ass. It is a mystic that is both kind and gentlemanly. I know nothing of other "secret" societies but I assure you there are no ominous threats from the men of Beta Theta Pi

    Roll Tide
    #63

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  19. If men like you honestly believe stuff like this, then in one aspect Beta has failed. By what we do, the world should know we are a fraternity of men whose obligations are not shrouded in mystery. While the words that compose these obligations may never be uttered to one who does not worthily wear the badge, the meaning should be visible in all of us.
    Yours in _kai_
    -1126-

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  20. Fellow Betas - we'd better be careful, he's almost got us figured out

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  21. ok, all i'm going to say, is this whole shpeal is nutso. i don't know how you got from greek fraternity to 9/11 and i never will. i promise though, greek secret societies aren't there to blow things up and wreak havok. and the way you describe our practices as "occult" is VERY offensive. also, i read some comments where you tried to convince a young man that his organization is judging him and is bad for him. shut the hell up. greek societies are quite benefitial for their members, but that's a long rant i won't get on now. As a greek, all i'm going to say is that we're not here to destroy the world. we're here to have fun and do good in our community. and if you honestly think we're all part of some apocolypse then you belong in a loony bin

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  22. I am a BTP member and I can tell you that there are MANY things that the general fraternity does not want you to know about its history. You should have a clue as to what this has to do with if you look at the imagery on the back of this paddle and the year on the cover of ALL the current ritual books. The year on the cover is the year the current ritual came into being... notice how that year was part of a major political change... trying to get the point across so that other Betas will get the message without others understanding what I am trying to say. I don't want to say any more because I am someone who likes to build bridges, not burn them

    ___Kai___

    Anon

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  23. Mr. Warran,

    I appreciate your interest in Beta. I haven't taken an exhaustive look at the rest of your blog to see if you have done research on other societies.

    I think the takeaway from all the banter in your comment section is there are many ways to view the organization, many ways to be a member.

    Your young Beta commenters are only spouting cultural platitudes they have stewed in from wherever they were raised. ie. compare a New Yorker to an Alabaman. Both proud Americans, but with radically different views of what it means to be one.

    One thing I can say as a long-time member is, virtually all of what you speculate in your post is not just mistaken, but DANGEROUSLY so.

    One thing that has always made me proud, despite the impression the mysterious symbols conjure up, is how secular and altruistic Beta is both to those inside and outside the organization.

    _Kai_ #68

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  24. http://www.salagir.com/gfx/troll-web.jpg

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  25. Sudden realization! I have a friend whose name is shortened to Kai. Clearly he is the antichrist. His full name is Malachi Lane. Because Mal means bad, and lance is a pole-shaped object, clearly this is a reference to AIDs! Beta Theta Pi started AIDs!

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  26. This website is ludicrous! Anyways, I don't think anyone would believe the non-sense that goes on in here...

    _kai_
    148

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  27. You must have been kicked out at rush or maybe never received a bid while all your friends did, either way this crap you call research is far from the truth. All fraternities have secrets that they hold near and dear to their hearts. These secrets are what seperate us from a club. Beta was the first fraternity west of the alleghany's and all that shows is how proud we are as a fraternity.

    Yours in,
    __Kai___

    ReplyDelete
  28. So what fresh hell are you little brats stirring up now?

    24.136.36.184
    24.167.11.178
    24.167.17.203
    66.231.146.5
    67.190.192.199
    68.101.78.202
    68.159.167.171
    68.171.233.90
    68.171.233.116
    68.171.234.156
    68.171.234.227
    69.37.184.236
    70.121.215.60
    70.171.33.7
    70.185.100.57
    70.185.106.118
    71.226.85.37
    72.178.143.181
    72.178.143.210
    72.189.251.4
    72.190.123.88
    72.196.116.212
    75.97.1.232
    97.101.186.52
    98.180.1.69
    98.180.37.198
    98.188.250.103
    99.72.58.196
    128.61.125.135
    128.187.0.178
    128.227.3.88
    128.227.3.119
    128.227.5.84
    128.227.5.112
    128.227.7.26
    128.227.7.249
    128.227.11.156
    128.227.12.145
    128.227.15.98
    128.227.15.227
    128.227.41.74
    128.227.48.208
    128.227.50.192
    128.227.53.230
    128.227.55.8
    128.227.58.186
    128.227.87.140
    128.227.109.160
    128.227.135.33
    129.62.129.67
    140.141.24.123
    141.114.226.27
    155.33.169.196
    166.137.10.202
    166.205.11.134
    173.65.231.63
    174.157.226.67
    206.53.147.48
    206.53.147.91
    206.53.147.158
    206.53.153.193
    208.107.73.101
    216.130.21.211
    216.153.43.36
    216.220.216.173

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  29. Just became a brother of Beta, a nib to be exact. We have secrets that you will never know due to your inability to function in social society let alone a brotherhood. I wish it wasn't the case for Beta like all fraternities is rich in its history but some are just not cut out to be greek

    Yours in,
    __Kai___

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  30. I'm Greek active and you need to learn punctuation.

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  31. I was going to assume that this page was satire, until I took a look at the rest of the blog. As a proud Beta for almost 30 years, I can assure you that none of your speculations about The Fraternity are even close to correct. I can also assure you, on my own authority, that the rest of your Trutherism displayed here is utter hogwash as well. However, if you don't know that by now you probably never will, so I hope you are comfortable in the fantasy world you have constructed.
    To my fellow brothers who are signing their notes _kai_, you should only do so when conversing with a brother.

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  32. It is by the cooperation of wise and charitable men from outstanding organizations that truly bring greatness to our world. Without the collusion of individuals who seek to benefit their fellow man, seek wisdom, and offer a hearty handshake of friendship; the freedoms that Mr Warran is endulging in would not be. so let him think that he knows something when in essence his knowledge is that of a barbarian.

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  33. Get back to work Fidelity Investments, 192.223.163.6, Roanoke, Texas

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  34. to answer the question about why they would make their constitution public:

    Fraternities used to be illegal by college standards and if you were found to be in one you would be expelled. After many years of hiding, like every other fraternity, Beta Theta Pi released its constitution because it believe that fraternities didn't stand for anything bad and shouldn't have to hide.

    learn to do some research on fraternities in general before you waste everyone's time by writing this. If you actually wanted to learn about fraternities you could have just called one of the administrative offices and straight-up asked them questions, but I'm willing to bet your more content with your theories.

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  35. Uh oh this guy is good with computers. You don't know shit when it comes to Beta and you never will. I don't even know how anyone could come to these assumptions about something so secret that they were never a part of. We all have one thing in common, everlasting brotherhood. My brothers have my back and in return I have theirs.
    Yours in
    ~kai~
    Kappa chapter

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  36. Wow I lost interest halfway through reading this and I'm a beta. If you want people to listen to you rant aimlessly, at least put the effort in to write it well.

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  37. hahaha I like how you try to make a connection between Beta and the 9/11 conspiracy. I can assure you the "secrets" of beta theta pi are nothing more than a password and a few other superficial things that are common in all greek organizations.

    cheap phentermine pills

    ReplyDelete
  38. Glad to see fellow brothers come together. Becoming a Beta was one of the greatest decisions of my life and always will be. I am proud to be apart of a fraternity in which our secrets only lie within the confines of our brotherhood, not on the internet. Thank God I am a Beta. And to all my fellow brothers reading this:

    Your in ___kai___

    #1855

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  39. someone didn't get a bid...

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  40. stevenwarran said...

    I'm Greek active and you need to learn punctuation.
    Sunday, April 04, 2010 8:29:00 PM

    Any self respecting greek wouldn't try to expose other greek's secrets. Yeah we may hate each other and fued, but we all have secrets and at the end of the day if I knew another fraternities secrets I would keep them to myself, because I wouldn't want someone else to expose me. Obviously you belong to a local service fraternity because you never got a bid from the greatest Fraternity in the world...The one and only Beta Theta Pi

    _kai_ 1632

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