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Eight Secret Societies (2016)

smithsonianmag.com

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Re: Eight Secret Societies (2016)

#61

Post by bombcar »

nkzd wrote: post #24
gjsman-1000 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the most fundamental characteristics of evil is that the evil person cannot help but desire to gain fame for their crimes. (Just look up how many criminals have been arrested by their social media posts.) A Secret Society might be completely secretive, and yet be unable to resist helping themselves to claiming some credit. Kind of like the Anonymous hacker group in their day. Or Ross Ulbricht adopting the name…

That's very interesting. Makes you wonder how many criminals escaped justice because they had a willpower to resist temptation of fame.

I’ve heard multiple people who would know say that if someone plans a crime well and singly, there’s often a very good chance they’ll never be caught.

It’s repeat action that gets them.

Re: Eight Secret Societies (2016)

#62

Post by pyinstallwoes »

more_corn wrote: post #52
gjsman-1000 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the most fundamental characteristics of evil is that the evil person cannot help but desire to gain fame for their crimes. (Just look up how many criminals have been arrested by their social media posts.) A Secret Society might be completely secretive, and yet be unable to resist helping themselves to claiming some credit. Kind of like the Anonymous hacker group in their day. Or Ross Ulbricht adopting the name…

There’s no such thing as evil. It therefore has no fundamental traits. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who thinks of himself as evil. Everyone is the hero of his own story. Take “the dread pirate roberts” you know it’s a reference to The Princess Bride right? The hero of The Princess Bride? Now Ross ram a high drug site on the dark web. Was Ross evil? He certainly didn’t think so. He philosophically disagreed wi…

Evil exists. You’re rationalizing pure logic. If I stalked you, terrorized you, did the most irrationally consistently irrational things to anything in your world and those near you, you’d be hard pressed to call me anything other than driven by evil.

There is meticulous, introspective, malicious, terrible intent that reads its head. Luckily it seems rare but sadly I’ve come across it.

Re: Eight Secret Societies (2016)

#63

Post by kbelder »

smm11 wrote: post #9

There's 9. I'm "blood brothers" with some kid who was five when I was, and his name escaped me decades ago. Nobody is to ever know this, so I guess I just broke that oath.

I remember when I was a young, another kid showed me how to do a magic trick, making a toothpick bounce without touching it. I had to promise to never explain the trick to a girl.

So far, that's been a pretty easy oath to keep.

Re: Eight Secret Societies (2016)

#64

Post by TigeriusKirk »

silisili wrote: post #26
c7b wrote: post #22

Nice that they found a mix, I expected >90% of them to be religious or semi-religious (what you hear about the freemasons sounds quite cult-ish too, eg). But not sure why they decided to include the Molly Maguires. Sounds like a plain mob to me, the Yakuzas and the Cosa Nostra probably have more rituals than those, and both are still very much in existence.

I think there's a strong correlation. For example, there was an Oddfellows chapter near me I checked out a few times. They turned out to be some weird sect of Wiccans. I mean, it's nice that they do good works, and I guess alls as well if they keep them separate, but I didn't intend spending time with people who pray to antlers and host nude religious gatherings. And it felt to me, perhaps in a way, they were using a…

I have never heard of Oddfellows doing such things, but now I'm really curious to find out more.

Re: Eight Secret Societies (2016)

#65

Post by Animats »

BuyMyBitcoins wrote: post #41
charles_kaw wrote: post #25

Secret societies have an air of mystique around them, but often they're just social clubs with extra steps. People are social creatures, and having something to belong to is healthy for most!

Those are the fake secret societies the real ones make in order to make you think they’re all just glorified social clubs. /s

There have been real secret organizations, but they tend to be more like terrorist groups. The League of Free Jurists, the Irgun, etc. Ones that work as lobbies have to have some visibility. You can't stay completely behind the scenes forever and accomplish much.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is arguably one such. Its existence is not a secret, but its 1970s plan to make the US more friendly to corporations didn't become known until it had already worked.

Re: Eight Secret Societies (2016)

#66

Post by [deleted] »

colordrops wrote: post #58
BuyMyBitcoins wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those are the fake secret societies the real ones make in order to make you think they’re all just glorified social clubs. /s

Why the sarcasm marker? Powerful secret societies have existed throughout history and there's no reason to believe they've stopped now.

[deleted]

Re: Eight Secret Societies (2016)

#67

Post by bovermyer »

I'm a Freemason. I haven't been to a lodge meeting in quite awhile, but there are a few observations I think worth making:

* "Secret societies" have an air of mystique about them, and that played no small part in my joining. The theatricality of some rituals gives a sense of gravitas to the group that is often lacking in everyday life.

* Freemasonry at least does a lot of quiet charity. There is a not-insignificant amount of money they give to help people out, and they do very little publicity of this. In fact... I'd wager you haven't heard of Freemasons doing anything at all in a long time, if ever.

* The perceived exclusivity of membership in a society like this is often portrayed as conducive to arrogance in its members in popular media, but every single Mason I've ever met is extraordinarily humble.

* It's an unfortunate reality that most societies like this are gender-specific.

* Freemasonry is theistic, rather than explicitly Christian. Interestingly, the Catholic church _hates_ Freemasonry, for some reason.

Re: Eight Secret Societies (2016)

#69

Post by ransom1538 »

If you are ever in SF and want a good 30 seconds of fun, head over to Post and Taylor street. There is a large door there. Just open it. You will see a 6ft metal OWL "Weaving Spiders Come Not Here" - just walk around someone will be with you shortly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemian_Club

Re: Eight Secret Societies (2016)

#70

Post by ransom1538 »

billybuckwheat wrote: post #11

Isn't the whole idea behind a secret society that the general public doesn't know about it? I thought that's what secret meant.

" Isn't the whole idea behind a secret society that the general public doesn't know about it? I thought that's what secret meant. "

Nope. It's to recruit. They want to recruit people that can help make them more money (or friendships).

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