Why go through the pain?

Coming from the North Shore of Chicago, I never thought about initiations involving violence or pain. The only instance I heard of such a thing in the area was the Glenbrook high school girls’ soccer hazing incident that spread all over the U.S. news. I knew that gangs in Chicago maybe had such rituals, but not to the extent of the Palestinian rituals. Having been given the idea of pain or almost a “perseverance” for a goal, I thought about how it related to today’s society. Many television shows, reality shows specifically, place people in uncomfortable physical and mental situations, all justified by the end; the money, the popularity and the glamour. Does the end justify the means? (cliché)
Right before college, my brother was telling me about fraternity hazing, and as I read the story, it made me think about why someone go through this process. As my brother told me stories of hazing, such as throwing someone into the Wabash River, carrying bricks in one’s backpack for a whole semester, excessive drinking, I kept thinking to myself why in the world would anyone ever join a fraternity. Later, as it became closer to college, a reason hit me. To go through this initiation makes the person one of the group, someone who has gone through the exact same torture, the exact same situation, and probably the exact same feelings. The initiation almost becomes a never-ending circle of violence or initiations, as when the new members are hazed, they will end up hazing the other new members years later, and so on and so on in a never ending chain or circle. Each person will feel that they fit into the group. Not only this, but who would ever want to end this long string of tradition and suffering, if they had to stand up to every single member? Who knows, but violent or painful initiations/rituals will always exist, in a never ending loop of the pain givers and receivers.