
The Last Secrets of Skull and Bones (1977) - wglb
http://reprints.longform.org/skull-and-bones-yale
======
samstave
I find it interesting that people have been talking about secret societies and
occult for many many decades, yet its still a taboo area for people to speak
about in the main stream...

I knew a guy who went to Yale and was tapped by the 322...

But there is so much more to all of the secret societies, occult and other
aspects of conspiracy which I find fascinating.

This is a talk given in 1958 regarding the Illuminati: \- Pawns in the Game -
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1uem-
RXmJU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1uem-RXmJU)

~~~
toofy
> ...yet it’s still a taboo area for people to speak about in the main
> stream...

This would be a result of how many people immediately jump to absurd
conclusions that something evil _absolutely must_ somehow be at play. It’s
bizarre how many otherwise rational and logical humans turn into full blown
conspiracy theorists the moment they read “secret society” it’s like their own
personal rationality offswitch.

Until we can calm down the mass hysteria surrounding this topic, it will
almost certainly remain taboo, and honestly, considering how weird the topics
always turn, I’d rather it stay taboo than watch a panicky hysterical mass
attack innocent people who just want a bit of privacy. History is full of
paranoid mass hysteria instances where the masses go absolutely bonkers and
innocent people suffer—for somewhat recent examples, look at the satanic
panics or Wenatchee WA where, in their hysteria, they issued 29,726 charges of
child abuse... yes, that number is correct, 29,726 charges. A number of
people’s lives were ruined as they were publicly dragged through the ordeal,
yet not a single charge stuck. Not one.

Mass hysteria is a very real phenomena and these topics of secret societies
and the occult are probably better left as taboo, just reference any forum
about the subject to see clear examples as to how much of our population are
incredibly ill-equipped to discuss them rationally.

~~~
V-2
Generally speaking, if a society isn't "evil" \- and the situation doesn't
really fit into any of the 'whistleblower' or 'opposition against an
oppressive regime' scenarios - then why does it have to operate in secret?

It's typical of mafia-like, criminal organizations. Case in point:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_Due](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_Due)

~~~
wl
I'm a member of several initiatory groups that practice secrecy. The secrecy
bonds initiates together and makes the lessons imparted more powerful. Such
practices have antecedents dating to antiquity. If it's not for you, that's
fine.

~~~
starbeast
I've known several people associated with masonry. One got kicked out after
doing a 'mason in distress' sign at a judge to get his drug trial stopped.
Another, who has held several senior positions within lodges, has a second
secret life that he has to keep hidden from them. Is just all borrowed power
games and as far as I can tell the deal isn't worth it, the last secret has
got to be an empty box, the power being in the idea of the secret itself. Then
you get to stand around and look all enlightened and stuff. Then you go home
and the car still has a squeaky noise that nobody can identify and the bath
drain is mysteriously full of hair.

~~~
wl
If you want to play power games in Freemasonry, you certainly can do so. That
seems to me to be missing the point. I'm also not sure what kind of second
secret life your friend has to hide from the craft.

I think most folks misunderstand the use of secrecy in initiatic orders. If
someone joins an order to learn their secrets, they will be sorely
disappointed. Signs, passwords, and grips can have symbolic meaning, but they
convey nothing the initiate is unlikely to already know. Some of the secret
legends can be entertaining, but they, by themselves, won't improve your life.
Rather, all these things are tools that, when used in concert, can bring about
a change in a person. Not everyone needs or wants that, and that's fine.

~~~
starbeast
>I'm also not sure what kind of second secret life your friend has to hide
from the craft.

Some people try to be experts in theoretical conspiracy. I think he is just
more into the experimental side of the field.

------
fipple
An interesting factoid illustrating power begetting power is that in 2004, the
two major candidates for US President were both members of Skull and Bones,
which admits 15 college juniors per year.

~~~
RickJWagner
I bet that made for some interesting discussions at S&B gatherings. Which to
support?

~~~
Graham24
Yeah, it sure did.

Whoops, sorry, forget I said that...

------
arxpoetica
Fun fact: secret societies — and the resultant woes of society — is a central
theme in the Book of Mormon.

> ...And it came to pass that they formed a secret combination, even as they
> of old; which combination is most abominable and wicked above all, in the
> sight of God...

> ...And it came to pass that there arose a rebellion among the people,
> because of that secret combination which was built up to get power and
> gain...

> ...And the regulations of the government were destroyed, because of the
> secret combination of the friends and kindreds of those who murdered the
> prophets...

~~~
dev_dull
Wasn’t it written in the 1800s? That seems like the heyday of secret societies
in the USA.

~~~
JasonFruit
Opposition to secret societies was common in rural American religion at that
time. It's survived among Primitive Baptists, some conservative Methodists,
and others. There's a general feeling that Christian brotherhood is inhibited
by that sort of secret-keeping.

------
starbeast
>“Who was the fool, who the wise man, beggar or king? Whether poor or rich,
all’s the same in death.”

As much as being fans of the Illuminati (and who isn't?) they might also be
fans of Diogenes of Sinope.

>"I am searching for the bones of your father, but could not distinguish them
from those of a slave."

Diogenes of Sinope trolling Alexander the Great (again) ~300BC

One thing about these secret societies is that they give the political
hegemony some resistance to the Rasputin problem. People who are addicted to
power have a peculiar weakness to woo merchants promising further power over
supernatural realms, which if the power addict even slightly entertains as a
possibility of existing, they will feel compelled to follow, even on the off
chance of more power. If they already feel they have the inside track on the
occult, they are far more likely to rely on the resident court woo merchants,
rather than following the latest wild eyed cosmic debris that just wandered
in.

As an aside, a friend of mine has the theory that Trump is conclusive proof of
the non-existence, or at least lack of real power, of the Illuminati or
equivalent. On the basis that there is no sane over-arching conspiracy of
total control where you would choose to end up with Donald Trump. He only
makes sense from a world of many groups that have varying power and
competency, where one of them is currently trying to fuck the other up.

------
arminiusreturns
Yet to speak of anything even remotely similar gets you labeled a crackpot
conspiracy theorist, even on HN.

~~~
ironic_ali
Going down the rabbit hole of looking at the alleged evidence puts one in the
same bucket. I'm from the UK and know for a fact the msm have covered for the
establishment crimes for decades/centuries. Then you look at who owns the msm
and it is clear why.

There literally is no point trying to defend this position to people who have
not spent a great deal of time investigating it, because it takes a lot of
time to investigate.... and the MSM is not the source of the truth. Yet, it is
entrenched in UK political life, either by being involved, or turning a blind
eye.

A search for Cyril Smith, for example, will begin to open the eyes of the most
logical and rational of thinkers.

An example from the US of lies (that dragged UK and others into the war) is
the testimony of a 15 year old girl to make up a fake eyewitness account to
justify the first Iraq war:
[https://old.reddit.com/r/Sino/comments/a4mx0m/american_gov_g...](https://old.reddit.com/r/Sino/comments/a4mx0m/american_gov_got_15_year_old_girl_to_make_up_fake/)

~~~
cf141q5325
Fyi the girl is the daughter of then Kuwaiti ambassador to the US.

>Furthermore, it was revealed that her testimony was organized as part of the
Citizens for a Free Kuwait public relations campaign which was run by an
American public relations firm Hill & Knowlton for the Kuwaiti government.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nayirah_testimony](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nayirah_testimony)

------
blancheneige
I think the HN crowd would be baffled by the shit we had to do for pledging.
Not at S&B mind you, another ivy equivalent.

~~~
ams6110
Well, do tell. And why do these society rituals seem so infused with
homoeroticism and other sexual elements?

~~~
blancheneige
supposed to be a bonding experience where you get to show your true
commitment. the whole paraphernalia is usually lost on everyone

------
motohagiography
Panics about secret societies and fraternal organizations are a useful leading
indicator of an authoritarian political tide. When you look at who worries
about them, and governments that make pronouncements about them, looking back
on who the good guys were, it usually wasn't the ones threatened by what
happens when good men find a way to connect with one another.

------
morpheuskafka
Yale needs to take a clear stand against this "secret society" nonsense. It
patently has no place at a global research university. To be sure, a
significant amount of all the talk about it is likely grossly exaggerated and
unfounded. But the core fact of a respected institute of education having any
relationship with organizations rooted in sociopolitical elitism (with an
attendant history of discrimination) that serve no benefit to the institution
or the public remains.

In practice, the system may or may not be harmless. But to keep it alive
serves zero useful purposes and degrades the reputation of the institution.

~~~
natechols
Yale University isn't responsible for these societies and has no control over
them. They occupy private property and by their very nature lack any formal
institutional affiliation with the school. They're simply private clubs where
current and former students can hang out and plot the next global financial
collapse, have orgies, or whatever exactly it is they do. In any case, not
Yale's problem - except an image problem, maybe.

As an alumnus, I find the hand-wringing over these societies weird, because
they're completely irrelevant to most students and have been for a long time.
(No, I wasn't invited to join one. I don't even think I knew anybody in one of
the name-brand societies, at least not well.) The fact that Bush and Kerry
were both Bonesmen was amusing, but hardly surprising - the societies are
exactly where you'd expect ambitious, privileged social climbers to end up by
senior year. They're not even very secret, since the membership lists
inevitably leaked. The only time the rest of campus noticed is when they walk
past one of the "tombs" \- windowless clubhouses - or when a really terrible
movie about S&B ("The Skulls") came out while I was an undergrad.

Are they creepy and elitist? Of course. Are they a sinister conspiracy? No
more than Goldman Sachs or McKinsey.

~~~
starbeast
In the UK, we have had a government filled with people from the Bullingdon
Club, an Oxford society that initiated members by having them burn money in
front of the homeless. Homelessness has then rocketed under these people's
reign, something they unfortunately cannot take seriously by the initiative
act of their club. This society's association with government had the amusing
high point where our sitting prime minister was accused of having oral sex
with a cooked pig by another secret society member from within his own party.

This stuff might not affect the colleges that much, the fallout happens later
when these people go off and get jobs.

