Subj : Re: I'm a Freeemason, AMA
To   : xqtr
From : Zero Reader
Date : Sat Nov 11 2017 13:36:38

On 11/11/17, xqtr said the following...
 
 xq> Why someone would like to join such a group? when there is so much
 xq> conspiracy theories about them? What could possible someone seek to have
 xq> the desire to join this group and eventually what he finally gets? Why

Some people have family members going back generations that were Masons. I
do, and some of those men were people I looked up to growing up. Some people
seek friends or community. For me, it was mostly a pursuit of knowledge,
because it's supposed to be a philosophical society at the core. Maybe that's
true in some areas, but here it's more of a "good old boys club" and one that
is full of hypocrisy at that.

 xq> they have secret handshakes and stuff, if what they are saying about
 xq> masons are not truth? and lastly, what is the "profit" from all this? I

Even college service fraternities have secret handshakes. There really is no
secret, you can google up the grips and pass-grips easy enough. They are
mostly for symbolic purposes. Masons don't really go around doing secret
handshakes, and I'd be willing to bet most of them don't even remember the
grips.

After I became a Mason I gave the "pass grip of a Master Mason" to a family
member of mine who has been active in the society for at least 40 years. He
didn't even pick up on the grip, even though I performed it in such a way
that it was very obvious.

Profit? See my previous post in which I outlined all the various dues that
get collected. If a lodge is properly managed, it only collects enough money
to support itself and any proceeds should go to charity. Many lodges can
barely keep the doors open, so charity is very much an afterthought. For
those of us who wanted to perform acts of charity, it's frustrating.

 xq> would like to be one? Lets say that if you characterized as a mason you
 xq> loose creditability or others look you like a weirdo or something. Why
 xq> bothering and getting mess with all this?

I'd rather be weird than boring. :-) I have no problems if anyone thinks I'm
in a cult or a satanist or if I lose credibility in their eyes. It's probably
someone I wouldn't want to associate with anyway if they are that
close-minded. BTW, Masonry is none of those things. It's not a cult (if you
don't pay dues, you can't participate), it's not satanic or political. It's a
social club that feels like a men's group at a church.

I actually found it too religious for my sensibilities, which is one of the
reasons I don't attend anymore.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A31 (Raspberry Pi)
 * Origin: Alcoholiday / Est. 1995 / alco.bbs.io (700:100/3)

.