91–100 of 125 posts
The Orange Order is a religious hate group who burn effigies of Catholic and Irish "enemies" on two story high bonfires every year. This article glosses over who they really are entirely.
The Orange Order is a religious hate group who burn effigies of Catholic and Irish "enemies" on two story high bonfires every year. This article glosses over who they really are entirely.
Most of the UK also burns effigies of a person (a Catholic domestic terrorist in this case) on bon fires every year.
The majority of the nice people of the UK don't follow or even understand them.
I haven't even mentioned their parades.
Ireland has similar groups but they're tiny and mostly ignored.
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 a…
Also, my grand uncle was a freemason, but he was rather arrogant and did not care much about the rest of the family, so I never learned anything about freemasonry from him.
Those are the only touch points that I had with freemasonry.
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 a…
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.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Dude, ping me with your lodge number and I will definitely visit if I'm in your city. Part of what attracted me to Freemasonry was the quality of their enemies, as whatever those accusers had a problem with, I was pretty sure I wanted to be on the other team. The other thing was finding the pigpen cipher doing security work. It's so not-secret I don't mind being relatively open about it, as you know that every other…
I have not visited a lodge since I moved across country. My "home" lodge was Blue Lodge #24, in Brookings, SD. But yes, I agree with your observation about Masonry being a kind of neutral territory and equalizer. I have known Masons that, in public, I am adamantly opposed to... but under the roof of a lodge, get along with perfectly fine. Another thing that always struck me as interesting is that Masons do not recrui…
There must be some lone and hungry men left solitary in the world, like Diogenes, to irrationally and unpopulary make war on the consensus of kings and groups reasonable men.
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 a…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have not visited a lodge since I moved across country. My "home" lodge was Blue Lodge #24, in Brookings, SD. But yes, I agree with your observation about Masonry being a kind of neutral territory and equalizer. I have known Masons that, in public, I am adamantly opposed to... but under the roof of a lodge, get along with perfectly fine. Another thing that always struck me as interesting is that Masons do not recrui…
I went as far as asking a friend who was in the initiation stage to recommend me. My great uncle was a mason. Ultimately I decided any group that would have me I wouldn’t want to join. There must be some lone and hungry men left solitary in the world, like Diogenes, to irrationally and unpopulary make war on the consensus of kings and groups reasonable men.
She went on to tell me a long story of how my grandfather had to join the masons to be allowed to play in a jazz orchestra in South Africa, where he had moved. When he tried to leave the masons years later, they made his life difficult for a period and even went so far as appealing to his manager that he was not a person of good standing, and spreading rumours.
He stood fast and nothing came of it, but the story left a bad taste - I can believe it was a one off and most lodges wouldn't act like that, but the story stopped me from proceeding.
Shame as it sounded interesting. (my other issue was that I'd have to lie to pretend I believe in a god, and I didn't really fancy lying about that as my lack of belief is fairly core to me)
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 a…
Freemasonry (and secret societies of the same style) was very active in the Age of Revolution and participated in the uprooting of the Church's power base.
As an active Catholic, Freemasons have always been seen with extreme suspicion, if not outright fantasies. But you could say the same of the way Catholics are perceived in some places, in particular among Anglo-Protestants and Socialists.