Maybe someone here knows?

Originally posted by MrNECROS
It IS a secret society, I know dozens of Freemasons personally and NONE of them will publically admit their membership.

If they don't admit their membership, then how do you know they are Freemasons? Masons are PROUD of their affiliation. I have never met one that kept it a secret, so it's odd that you would know several who do.

I think you are lying. You are lying about knowing ANY Freemasons just as you have lied about Freemasons blowing up your toilet.

Originally posted by Cug
Elitist is the wrong word. After all in masonry the CEO of Superhuge Inc. and a guy mowing lawns for a living are total equals.

Yet if the guy mowing lawns showed up for an interview at Superhuge Inc with the CEO, along with 5 other more qualified non-mason applicants, who would get the job?

The guy that shakes hands the best or has the correct ring on that day.

I have known guys that have joined for exactly that reason. Number one reason seems to be family pressure, either immediate family or family through marriage. At least two of my friends joined due to their father-in-laws influence, and I had a similar experience with the family of someone I was engaged too.

And before you all say that is not the way masonry works, you have to ask to join; well in theory you’re also supposed to always drive the speed limit, but how often does that really happen in practice either…

Originally posted by defcon5
Yet if the guy mowing lawns showed up for an interview at Superhuge Inc with the CEO, along with 5 other more qualified non-mason applicants, who would get the job?
The guy that shakes hands the best or has the correct ring on that day.

Not if I were the CEO. I won't say that hasn't happened, but it shouldn't...and NO WHERE in Masonic teaching is any such thing ever said or even suggested. If some take it upon themselves to USE Freemasonry that way, they are acting in an un-Masonic manner.

And before you all say that is not the way masonry works, you have to ask to join; well in theory you’re also supposed to always drive the speed limit, but how often does that really happen in practice either…

Too late, I've already said it, and I agree with you. Many of us who are Masons often fail (even daily) to subdue our passions and IMPROVE ourselves...

We are, after all, but human beings....

Originally posted by defcon5
The guy that shakes hands the best or has the correct ring on that day.

I don't agree with that at all. Most masons would be too concerned with running their business correctly. They would be too concerned with the applicant being able to do the job. NOW if you were to say that all the men were similarly qualified, but one was a mason, then the mason would probably get hired because, as a mason, the employer would know that this man is likely more honest and upstanding than his non-mason counterparts.

I know you don't believe it, but a mason's faith, country, family and job ALL come before Freemasonry. And bcoming a mason, contrary to popular belief, does not grant you automatic priviledges. Priviledges, along with respect, still have to be earned within the lodge.

Originally posted by sebatwerk

Originally posted by defcon5
The guy that shakes hands the best or has the correct ring on that day.

I don't agree with that at all. Most masons would be too concerned with running their business correctly. They would be too concerned with the applicant being able to do the job. NOW if you were to say that all the men were similarly qualified, but one was a mason, then the mason would probably get hired because, as a mason, the employer would know that this man is likely more honest and upstanding than his non-mason counterparts.

I know you don't believe it, but a mason's faith, country, family and job ALL come before Freemasonry. And bcoming a mason, contrary to popular belief, does not grant you automatic priviledges. Priviledges, along with respect, still have to be earned within the lodge.

Seb is absolutly correct. i have never been shown special treatment because i was a mason. however if a mason came to me and wanted to be hired and was well quilified i would hire him. i KNOW he's trushworthy, i know he's honest, and i have a certain connection with him that has already begun that i dont have to try starting with a new employee that i know nothing about.

Going by this thread, it seems the general consensus would be that if you are a mason and an employer, you would more likely to employ another mason than someone who was not, even if they have identical qualifications.

This seems like a relatively logical stance, giving that the mason is mean't to be a like minded person who can be wholeheartedly trusted, and the non-mason is far more likely to be untrustworthy.

I've come across this mentality on numerous occasions, if you are not part of the group you are automatically considered an outsider with lower values.

In my mind, ethics and morals are the responsibility of the individual, not the social group they might long to be part of.

People learn at different paces and continue to do so until the day they die.

My own ideology is to assume that any new individuals coming into my life are good people and have to prove to me otherwise.

This is a critisism toward the group mentality which sometimes, more often than not, governs the individuals outlook toward others.

It is not a critsism toward masons alone.

Thread's off topic. Closed.