[Closed] Invited to be a Freemason - for the third time. What am I doing wrong?

Go along, see what you think, maybe your suppositions will be wrong.

I'm not a Freemason, btw, but I do believe on finding out the facts for myself before jumping to conclusions.

Tell people your a communist

Join - your career / business will suddenly take off

No thanks teef, it's really, really not my thing. Don't do clubs and despise mumbo-jumbo of any variety.

Just wondered if it had happened to anyone else?

Get a Knights Templar Cross tattoo'd on your left wrist and an illuminati symbol on your right and tell them you have no need of petty institutions.
That'll shut them up. 😆

what do they actually do?

Yep, I've turned them away on a number of occasions.

Can I please display my ignorance and ask what they actually do?

Yeah I know there's funny handshakes and nipple-tweaking and rangers-supporting and stuff but there must be more to it than that, no?

A distant uncle was a Mason - they are predominantly a charitable organisation, though the charity tends to be towards themselves a bit - they took good care of my aunt after he'd died.

That doesn't read very well, does it?

I'd definitely go along and see what they got up to - be intersting to see how much of all our preconceptions are actually true!

good point swadey.

Rusty, you have to accept the invitation to go along and look around so you can report back to us about what they do!

I think most peoples' preconceptions of them tend to be a bit wide of the mark, they like their little ceremonies, but they're all pretty meaningless. They tend to be a bit more open minded about what they do now, as they've realised that keeping schtumm has done them no favours over the years. As swadey suggests, mostly just "charidee" that they don't like to talk about...

Not a member BTW

from the masons i know it sounds like grown men role playing, then getting cheap drink afterwards.

A club for shopkeepers with no other hobbies afaik. Not surprised the Corporal has connections.

Was christened a Catholic too, so think this disqualifies me anyway

they are predominantly a charitable organisation

not just any old charity organisation. They are the biggest donor to charities after the national lottery I learned last week, and all the money is collected from within their membership, not donations from the public.

I got invited a few years ago by a guy I worked with. He was a senior manager who was retiring. He was a top bloke who had given me good advice over the years. He lived alone and saw it as a way of getting out and meeting people.
He knew it wasnt my cup of tea but I had a good time and they were a bunch of nice people that I met. A couple were a on the recruit a little as the average age was well over 50.

Never went back however.

I was once invited, attended and decided that it was a bit of an 'old boys network', looking after each other under the guise of being a charitable organisation.

Couldn't be arsed to take it any further, TBH.

I was a lodge member when I lived in the UK. Bit like the rotary club, but slightly weirder, in a nice sort of way

Ok ok, so I WAS a mason yonks ago. Totally harmless but a bit samey, lots of old(er) blokes meeting up every month & having a good natter with a bit of 'harmony' which was usually some other old bloke or blokes reasonably proficient on some kind of musical instrument, & a half decent meal.
Depends on the lodge really. The one I was in was classed as a 'knife & fork' lodge, where you went for a chin wag, some scran & cheap booze. It was ok but as I said, same thing every time.
Based on sound principles though (honesty & charidee) I said BASED, not RAN.

Well, thanks to all for the opinions and advice.

Won't be taking the offer up (am a atheist and could never admit to a belief in God, would be sheer hypocrisy and TBH, it just doesn't [i]feel[/i] right), but will definitely read more about it and try to be a bit less judgemental in future.

Will have another chat to my mate about it and thank him for the invite, but explain that it's just not me.

Very easy to get taken in by all the hype, and from what a couple of you have said above, seems quite benign, but I think I'd rather pass.

You don't have to believe in God, just a 'superior being' God doesn't get a mention.

are they like a middle class version of the ROAB? I went to them once to accept a cheque they had fundraised for a ward I worked on, and it was a bit wierd. (it was a ****in' big sum of money though, very helpful!)

I spent a fair chunk of my local government career avoiding being 'compromised' by them - colleagues that did join found themselves pressured on a regular basis to choose between duty to their employer and loyalty to their lodge friends.

Whatever the stated rules, it's human nature to seek favours isn't it?

My erstwhile boss would assert 'he's alright' after meeting someone, a sure indication that a favour was being sought.... After he retired and I took over I made sure that those chaps were in no doubt that their conniving and compromising efforts would be wasted on me.... It made my job a hell of a lot easier.

Potentially incompatible for those in the public services/government and certainly not for me. At it's most innocent level probably no worse or more boring than Rotary, and I do acknowledge it's (mainly inward facing) charity but I've come across some right evil operators who attempted to make great use of their Masonic membership. Thankfully easy to spot - and very satisfying to ignore 😉

Was christened a Catholic too, so think this disqualifies me anyway

A common misconception which was started by one of the popes (pious?) who forbade catholics from joining on the grounds that the catholic church had no control over the said group.

Of course, if you've seen the news today, you'll realise what happens when the catholic church has control over folk. Arseh0les.

I read some place fairly recently (sorry cant remember where) that for many men, being a Freemason gradually takes on the role, seriousness and emotional place of a formal religion - with a sense of congregation, ceremony, communal commitment to a belief/way of life. It becomes thier belief system, say the way deep rooted Catholics have a belief framework and a need to attend services.

I thought that was a bit scary, but I have no idea if the writer was correct or not.

Years ago I was told no one got promoted in the local gov planning dept though, unless they were 'one of the boys'. The woman I knew there said she had not a chance in hell of ever getting promotion, though in the article mentioned above, I think they said there was some sort of womens lodge in some towns.

There are womens lodges in some places - my Mum was Master of such a lodge when I was a kid.

My Dad was also a Mason for much of my life - seemed to go off and get pissed at some lodges and not at others. Was master of one lodge for a bit. It was suggested to me that it would be worthwhile joining, but I never took up the offer. Half the senior Police in Leeds at the time seemed to be members. My Mum still gets a Christmas hamper from the lodge that my Dad was master of and he died over 10 years ago!

I have and had family in that
Must say they do look after my Nan and always
do even though my Grandad had died many years back.
Most of it is to do with looking after your Brothers
work related mainly for most.
I have been asked to join being of nature of work and
the basis of the Massons.

I went to a work course that was in a lodge - I had a right good nosey round!

there was a chest of drawers with 3 flat drawers (ie you can't put anything in them) with bad paintings of pseudo religious and satanic themes

there was a biggish room with the same style of bad paintings and no windows with a throne in there

I came to the conclusion that the masons are a bunch of timewasters really, go out for a bike ride instead

Hi Rusty 🙂