
Freemasons and Ritual Murder: The Story of William Morgan - caramiadare
https://www.libertarianism.org/media/liberty-chronicles/everything-is-freemasons
======
neverartful
I was a Mason for a number of years. The reality among Masons varies from
jurisdiction (i.e., state) to jurisdiction and also from lodge to lodge. In
other words, no single person can speak for all. What I'm saying here is just
my experience. I participated in 2 different states and found the differences
pretty significant between the 2 (not good or bad, just different).

It was a multi-faceted experience for me (good and bad). I'm grateful that I
had the experiences, but I'm also grateful to have moved on. Within the "Blue
Lodge" (regular Freemasonry), there are really 2 kinds of meetings: stated
(monthly, normally boring stuff), and special (typically degree conferrals).
The degree conferrals was a fantastic experience for me and I'll always keep
as treasured memories. There are 3 degrees: Entered Apprentice (EA),
FellowCraft (FC), and Master Mason (MM). The last section of each degree has a
lecture specific to the degree. I really enjoyed the lectures (and ritual if
it's done really well), and most especially the one for Fellow Craft (referred
to as the 'stair lecture'). The other part of Blue Lodge that's supposed to be
meaningful is the friendships that you develop and spend time with your fellow
brothers.

Outside of the Blue Lodge are various appendant bodies (affiliated
organizations): York Rite, Scottish Rite, and Shriners are the main ones. I
did belong to the Scottish Rite and really enjoyed the ritual. The Scottish
Rite has 32 degrees and a separate ritual for each. The rituals are
essentially plays/drama intended to convey one or more traits/values. I was
fortunate enough to attend Scottish Rite degrees in Guthrie, Oklahoma. The
Scottish Rite temple there is beautiful and watching the degree conferrals
there was the highlight of my Masonic experiences.

Why am I grateful for my Masonic experiences? I got to meet some really
interesting people; I got to experience the degrees/ritual, and I became a
better person by internalizing some of the teachings. This last part for me
was becoming more tolerant and patient.

How far do the 'blood oaths' really go? I don't know. It seems that they were
real long ago, but I really believe that they're 100% symbolic in the US. Is
it possible that there is some super secret and nefarious inner ring? Yes,
it's possible but I wouldn't bet on it.

Many Masons discuss the 2 types of Masons: card-carrying Masons (registered,
and carries ID card in their wallet) and real Masons (no physical proof, but
it's in their heart). Ideally, the 2 types would always be one and the same,
but they aren't always.

------
BjoernKW
(Disclaimer: I'm a freemason. I wrote a few lines here about what it's like to
be a freemason today:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16153129](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16153129)

If you have any questions please ask.)

Now that's one convoluted podcast. Starting at conflating stonemasonry with
Freemasonry (Morgan was a bricklayer by the way, which is related but not
equivalent to being a stonemason), segueing into conspiracy theories and
finishing off at the supposed foundations of libertarianism in the US.

While for lack of reliable accounts much of what happened around William
Morgan's death probably will remain uncertain William Morgan himself seems to
have been a somewhat dubious character of questionable repute:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Morgan_(anti-
Mason)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Morgan_\(anti-Mason\))

What becomes clear from both the podcast episode and the Wikipedia article
though is that much of the anti-masonic sentiment around that time was rooted
in religious and political ideas that weren't exactly egalitarian but whose
originators rather worried about their own position in the new society that
developed in 19th century USA.

~~~
tptacek
What's the win to being a mason? What's it like? It's not something I've ever
thought about, and it seems like there are a couple HN people involved in it.
I'd love to be educated a bit about it!

~~~
BjoernKW
It's about becoming a better person, the best version of yourself.

Lodge meetings, which usually take place once a week, are the main component
of Freemasonry. These meetings consist of open discussions (excluding
arguments about party politics and religion), someone giving a talk or merely
sharing experiences that are interesting or noteworthy (e.g. like dealing with
an ethically difficult situation in everyday life).

Once a month there's a special meeting where the actual Masonic ritual takes
place. This ritual basically is an allegorical play that - not unlike some
meditation techniques - can help you with finding out more about yourself and
about how to use your potential to live a worthwhile life.

The wins probably vary from Freemason to Freemason.

Apart from the perhaps more elusive ones like finding your purpose in life I'd
say becoming more mindful, especially when it comes to ethics in everyday life
is something many Freemasons would mention.

Being able to openly discuss difficult matters without fear of being judged is
another benefit as well as being accepted regardless of your personal
background or origin.

Freemasonry also allows you to get to know people from all walks of life and
backgrounds that otherwise you perhaps wouldn't have met. Apart from being a
great way to discover new ideas this can also help with becoming more tolerant
towards others who don't necessarily share your background or points of view.

There are many more practical benefits, too, like becoming a better public
speaker. Giving talks is encouraged and lodge meetings are a great opportunity
to give talks in a comfortable environment.

------
vidanay
Masons can barely organize a pancake breakfast, much less a conspiracy to
commit murder.

Source: I am a Mason in Illinois.

~~~
jermaustin1
Are you allowed to divulge that information?

~~~
BjoernKW
Not the OP but I'm a Freemason, too. Anything in particular you'd like to
know?

There's nothing secret about Freemasonry anymore today. All the rituals are
available for everyone to see and for the most part have been since Prichard's
"Masonry Dissected", published in 1730:
[https://freemasonry.bcy.ca/ritual/prichard.pdf](https://freemasonry.bcy.ca/ritual/prichard.pdf)

Masons don't usually talk publicly about the specifics of the ritual or the
traditional tokens, words and grips. We still don't "divulge" those "secrets"
(as mentioned before these are publicly known anyway) because discretion is
considered a virtue.

Masons also don't reveal that someone else is a Mason (simply because he might
not want this to happen).

Other than that many Masons will talk openly about Freemasonry.

------
throwaway_o7dn
How prevalent is masonry in the bay area and the startup world?

~~~
throwaway_o7dn
Some more questions:

Is it easier to get funding if you are a member of masonry? Are all VCs part
of the fraternity?

Does favouritism occur within members, and if so how do they justify having
high moral values?

~~~
tptacek
Further questions:

* Who controls the British crown?

* Who keeps the metric system down?

* Who keeps Atlantis off the maps?

* Who keeps the Martians under wraps?

* Who holds back the electric car?

* Who makes Steve Guttenberg... a star?

* Who robs cavefish of their sight?

* Who rigs every Oscar night?

Thanks in advance!

------
cmelbye
[deleted]

~~~
zipotm
Good question!

------
mundo
Is there a transcript or summary? Freemasonry is a fascinating topic with a
storied and disputed history, but also a magnet for conspiracy theory lunacy.

~~~
neonate
The article itself is a transcript, and there's a "read transcript" link in
the top box.

~~~
mundo
Ugh I didn't scroll down.

------
equalunique
I don't know why this in on HN, but in the spirit of serendipity, I ask: Why
not?

~~~
cmelbye
[deleted]

~~~
dang
> _There is currently a shadow-banned question in this thread which asks the
> following > How prevalent is masonry in the bay area and the startup world?_

That comment was killed by HN software which is based on past abuses by
spammers and trolls. To my knowledge, our software hasn't been inducted into
any secret societies.

It's off topic to complain about killed comments and especially to post wrong
speculations about why they were killed. Instead, if you see a dead comment
that shouldn't be dead, vouch for it by clicking its timestamp to go to its
page, then clicking 'vouch' at the top. When a dead comment gets enough
vouches—often just one—it gets resurrected. This way the community gets to
override decisions made both by the software and by moderators, on a comment-
by-comment basis.

~~~
cmelbye
[deleted]

~~~
throwaway_o7dn
I think this thread answers my question. Thank you.

------
Blazespinnaker
Hang on, let me get my tifnfoil hat.

~~~
dang
Would you please stop posting unsubstantive comments here? You've done this a
fair bit, and it degrades the quality of the site—both itself and by
encouraging others to do the same.

I'm sure you wouldn't litter in a city park. HN is also a park of sorts, so if
you'd treat it with the same respect, we'd appreciate it.

[https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html)

~~~
Blazespinnaker
Perhaps you have me confused with someone else? Looking at my history I don’t
see anything particularly abusive and certainly not “unsubstantiated”.

~~~
dang
I was thinking of
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16208095](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16208095)
and
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16192384](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16192384)
when I posted that. But you're right, your other history looks fine, so "a
fair bit" was too strong—sorry!

The word is 'unsubstantive' and we use it to mean empty comments that lower
the signal/noise ratio here. The idea on HN is if you have a substantive
point, to make it thoughtfully; and if not, then simply to not comment until
you do.

