By now, you've probably seen the Los Angeles Times article about the "hip" Freemasons from North Hollywood Lodge No. 542, Elysian Lodge No. 418, and Santa Monica-Palisades No. 307, all regular lodges under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of California.Some of the brothers from North Hollywood Lodge No. 542 were featured in previous Burning Taper articles. See "The Mason's Nightmare" and "Award-winning 'Who's on First: The Movie' co-stars, co-directed and co-produced by sitting Worshipful Master."
Along with other Masonic bloggers, Bro. Chris at Freemasons for Dummies and Bro. Greg at Masonic Traveler picked up on this article the day it ran. The Chicago Tribune also ran the L.A. Times story.
An anonymous poster on one of my favorite blogs, author Christopher Loring Knowles' inspired-by-Jung The Secret Sun added his uninspiring take on the article by pointing readers to his cheesy, negative patchwork video [see below].
The video offers a great glimpse into the mind of an anti-Masonic conspiracy-monger with basic videography skills. You'll see what I mean when you watch the video. Apparently, the first rule of making an anti-Masonic video is to assume that the viewers share your fear of Freemasonry and that they already "understand" why they should be afraid of us. Attacking symbols without giving any thought to what the symbols might actually mean seems to be a favorite propaganda technique.
In this case, it's a fear of skulls and tattoos, neither of which are exclusive to Freemasons, along with a misunderstanding of the meaning of the Three Pillars.
In this video, after bashing the use of these symbols by Freemasonry, the creator goes on to try to define, or re-define, what "hip" and "trendy" actually mean. Like it or not, hip and trendy are defined primarily by what people in three cities say is hip and trendy. Those three places are Paris, New York, and the home of these "hip" new Freemasons, Los Angeles.
The opinion of an anonymous video-guy from Peoria on what is hip may be "valid," but it's hardly meaningful.
Neither is his video, actually, but I thought you might find it "interesting."
Note: Unless you're a fan of gangsta-hiphop liberally peppered with the word "niggah," you might want to turn down the volume before you press "play."
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Wow. i don't know what's worse: the fact that I sat through the entire thing (hoping it to get better), or that someone spent the time making that video without having a clear purpose in mind (other something about Masons being BAD).
ReplyDeleteIt actually felt like I was back in elementary school; "Look at what that guy's wearing....he's weird and different because of that"
A lot of time and energy spent on a thoroughly disjointed and ineffective... critique? commentary? exposé? I'm not sure what the intent was. And in which degree is the top hat a symbol of Freemasonry? I must have missed that one.
ReplyDeleteAs easy as it is to laugh off anti-masons who think they see Masonic symbolism and meaning in absolutely everything, a part of me wonders if such obsession isn't the dark reflection of observant Masons who look at absolutely everything in terms of Masonic teachings, symbols, and metaphors.
I thought the Top Hat was a token in the original version of the game of Monopoly.
ReplyDeleteThe game, of course, is a metaphor for the way the Zionist-backed Freemasonic Illuminati businessmen alien reptilian overlords rule The World.
— W.S.
Masonry is now just a sub-genre of steampunk.
ReplyDeleteIt might actually help in the long run.
Man, that was just bad. I think this was more or less what I was trying to allude to, that whats hip in LA is what makes people in the sticks skeerd.
ReplyDeleteAnd what was up with the music. Why not use some of that symbolic white stripes music.
I was not sure what the movie's point was.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I wish the white stripes would come and play in my lodge.
I want my four minutes back. Watching what the other side thinks about us helps our Lodge with Masonic education helping to bring further clarity into the questions we get asked.
ReplyDeleteThis didn't help at all. I feel cheated.
My bad! I missed the "note" and had the speakers on. Was there a relationship between the music and video? Anyway, I am off to the Temple to check my mailbox....and "harvest a few souls for Satan".
ReplyDeleteThat video reminds me of some papers that were delivered to my home a few months ago from a Freemason pretending to be that which he is not.
ReplyDeleteIt like the video are in a word --ignorant.
The natural source of secrecy is fear. When any new religion over-runs a former religion, the professors of the new become the persecutors of the old. We see this in all instances that history brings before us. When Hilkiah the priest and Shaphan the scribe, in the reign of King Josiah, found, or pretended to find, the law, called the law of Moses, a thousand years after the time of Moses, (and it does not appear from 2 Kings, xxii., xxiii., that such a law was ever practiced or known before the time of Josiah), he established that law as a national religion, and put all the priests of the Sun to death. When the christian religion over-ran the Jewish religion, the Jews were the continual subject of persecution in all christian countries. When the Protestant religion in England over-ran the Roman Catholic religion, it was made death for a Catholic priest to be found in England. As this has been the case in all the instances we have any knowledge of, we are obliged to admit it with respect to the case in question, and that when the christian religion over-ran the religion of the Druids in Italy, ancient Gaul, Britain, and Ireland, the Druids became the subject of persecution. This would naturally and necessarily oblige such of them as remained attached to their original religion to meet in secret, and under the strongest injunctions of secrecy. Their safety depended upon it. A false brother might expose the lives of many of them to destruction; and from the remains of the religion of the Druids, thus preserved, arose the institution which, to avoid the name of Druid, took that of Mason, and practiced under this new name the rites and ceremonies of Druids.
ReplyDeleteWell, that's almost four minutes of my life that I'll never get back.
ReplyDeleteI wish that somebody would do a study on the relationship between a person's beliefs in conspiracy theories and their ability to utilize good spelling and grammar.
Hey, I'm just sayin', you know?
Mercy me. I'm like some of y'all. I want my time back.
ReplyDeleteSee The Masonic Line at http://masonicline.blogspot.com/ for a more conservative view.
Wow, I wish the warning was more explicit. Who do I talk to in order to get my time back.
ReplyDeleteBrandt
Other than a couple of piercings on one guy, what's so hip about them? They frankly look older than the guys joining a couple of my Lodges.
ReplyDeleteJusta Mason
P.S. Thanks to evryone who saved me four minutes of time not watching more rambling anti-Masonic stupidity. I used the time instead to e-mail an E.A. and see how he's doing.
Though I couldn't resist losing four minutes of my life to see this cinematic accomplishment for myself, there IS some good news if your curiosity is likewise undeterred: the "video" and the soundtrack are completely unrelated - the maker just did a slideshow over an existing rap song that has nothing to do with Masonry at all - so you won't miss anything by keeping your speakers muted and dragging the cursor through the timeline to read the visuals.
ReplyDeleteBut moving on... ;)
As a member of Santa Monica-Palisades #307 (whose paraphrased, not for attribution, and widely shared in our area thoughts are well reflected in the piece), I've been amazed by the overwhelmingly positive feedback thusfar; happily, this "video" is the solitary exception.
And it's not only us or our brothers in Hollywoods North and Not from the article who are hearing from people flung far and wide, either: a group of us were visiting another lodge tonight to be part of a degree and our hosts confirmed that they'd also heard from their own friends, family and other brothers - including people from literally around the world, as have I - and that the word was overwhelmingly positive.
Regardless of what someone thinks about the article, the fact that Freemasons can be progressive modern men as well as serious about The Craft is now a reality (as anyone reading this knows). So despite concerns (as hinted at towards the end of the article) that as our membership evolves and the organization's public image transforms we run the risk of attracting people to the fraternity for the wrong reasons, I personally think we are entering a very positive period for Masonry in America, and I am simultaneously quietly proud of and profoundly humbled by the many amazing men I have gotten to know who I now can call Brother.
So thanks for being cool, y'all. ;)
Actually, those guys are older than some of the brothers that have been raised at my Lodge, including myself. I am in the Gen Y crowd (I am 25 years old) and I find that there really is a revival of Masonry. It is not as much that the wheel is getting reinvented but that men are looking for a place that they can hang out. I am the Junior Warden of my Lodge and actually have been thinking of questions for a survey to see what kind of activities these younger men are looking for in Lodge.
ReplyDeleteMilly Mason said:
ReplyDeleteI am the Junior Warden of my Lodge and actually have been thinking of questions for a survey to see what kind of activities these younger men are looking for in Lodge.
MM, considering the recent chatter in Masonic Blog-land about investigations, do you find out from petitioners what their outside interests are? That way, you already know without having to go through another survey.
In the late 1940s, when Masonry was on steroids and we had an abnormally large number of petitioners, the guys coming in back then said what they wanted was to learn more about the fraternity, its customs and its meaning. I imagine it's no different today with the much smaller influx.
Justa Mason
Well, to say the least, I thought that whoever wasted their hard earned money on that piece of trash was an idiot. I had always been told "if you are going to do something do it right" that was TRASH.
ReplyDeleteBrother Daemon (pictured on the far right) was actually my mentor. He helped me learn and pass my second degree proficiency at the Tem/Cat lodge here in California. We havn't seen him in a while but I hope he is doing well.
ReplyDelete-Christopher
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