What actually are the Masons?

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And what do they do? Why is it so secretive? I know some men involved, but they never divulge anything. Why? What is the treat?

A bunch of saddo accountants living in the past.

What kind of sinister stuff? Does anyone know?

Its just a boys club, a way to make friends and network. It's hard not to laugh, they have rituals and secret hand shakes, but my husband loves it. I suspect if you were told the secrets you would probably just laugh, so that's why its a secret.

It’s a club where you have to help each other with work/contracts etc. Totally incompatible with a free market and certainly shouldn’t be allowed in the police/government/judiciary.

Can I ask, is there an element of homosexuality about it

Ehm no there's not

It's an old boys club, although there are female lodges too.
They learn stuff and act it out.
Family member raised millions for charity a while back as part of his role.

I think a lot of the issues are to do with the high level professionals who are members doing favours for other members that aren't exactly moral or sometimes legal.

For example high ranking police officers making parking tickets disappear, council planning passing planning permissions etc It seems all backscratching stuff.

There's a thread by a female mason in the Ask Me Anything section.

Itwouldtakemuchmorethanthis

It’s a club where you have to help each other with work/contracts etc. Totally incompatible with a free market and certainly shouldn’t be allowed in the police/government/judiciary.

Actually that isn't true these days. It's against the rules to use it for personal gain.

Actually that isn't true these days. It's against the rules to use it for personal gain.

How old's your Granny?

I know a few masons. My take on it is it’s an old fashioned men’s club. Lots of traditions. You have to be approved to join.

The people I know are absolutely lovely, they do a lot locally for charities. They also look after their own, for instance a husband and wife I know were both diagnosed with cancer recently, their fellow masons cared for them both, food, lifts to the hospital 50 miles away and financial help.

I have had a couple of tours of the lodge and found it fascinating.

I don’t think it is the same organisation it was a century ago where members would have been influential (and able to get a parking fine squashed for instance which is tosh in 2019 as parking fines are a local authority matter not a police matter).

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/02/secret-handshake-police-freemasons

How old's your Granny??

The masons do a lot of charity work that people don't hear about. My grandad, dad and stepmom were or are masons (inner wheel for women) and do lots for the local hospice.
They also have a benevolent society and give thousands to support children in the U.K. each year.
Yes, they are a fairly secretive organisation and I've no idea what really goes on - pretty sure someone high up in the maddie McCann investigation must have be a mason to spin it out so long. Rudolph Steiner was also a mason.

Rudolph Steiner is this supposed to recommend them???!

What was it like in the 1950s and 1960s then? (Not sure if I should say this!) but my grandfather was quite high up in the masons. I’m pretty sure his father was too a mason. They were business men. My dad was approached but can’t do anything to stay away enough.

Jimmy Savile did a lot for charity too...

The higher-up Masons are into some dark stuff.

My Dad & DH is a mason, it's a networking, social, philanthropy club with some ceremonies.
In the past they were powerful and it was a bit of an old boys club. Now from what I gather it isn't powerful still a lot of old boys though.
I don't like the secrecy bit I do like the caring for each other and charity work, I've heard of lots of extremely kind acts that masons have done.

I find it very odd. I'd sure like to know more about it. The street opposite is has a building. Very odd.

The charity stuff keeps coming up as a justification, but why not simply fundraise for the local hospice/cancer/research/ the rape crisis centre in the usual ways? Why does charity need to take a detour via a highly secretive, ritualistic boys’ club?

Yes, pp, this is what I wonder to. If it's all just about charity, why be secretive?

I find it fascinating.

I don't know much about the organisation other that how they looked after my gran.

My grandfather was a Freemason and died v young. My gran lived the rest of her life with v little.

In her 90s she lost her eyesight and needed to go into a residential home (she didn't want to live with family. She was v independent). The Freemasons run care and nursing homes and other than a contribution from the state they paid for everything until she died. The home she was in was outstanding. It was like a hotel! When we went to visit they would set up a private tea room for us to have tea or lunch nor whatever. BecauSe I was her granddaughter the chef always made me jam rolly poly even though I was a married adult 😂

When she started to go downhill and was bed ridden they cared for her more than any home should have, most would have transferred her to a nursing home. The chef would come in every day and ask her what she wanted to eat and make her anything she asked for.

Sadly she became so ill she had to go into hospital. It because apparent she was not going to recover (she was 97!) but even though the home said she would take her back to die the hospital wouldn't allow it because it wasn't a nursing home. So the Freemasons then gave us the family a choice of 2 Masonic nursing homes she could go to. She was only there 10 days but again it was incredible. They were so caring and respectful to her and us.

I don't know much about the organisation but I am very grateful for everything they did for my Gran.

My husbands one, its lots of old ceremonys and dinners. He does a lot of charity work with them. He's not a football/rugby/ mates down the pub kind of guy so its been great for him to be able to socialise with other blokes( and I get one night a week watching call the midwife and the likes) He says it also makes him feel reasured that if anything happened to him, everything would be taken care of. Some of the long time elderly widows are still visited by their departed husbands lodge members to make sure they're ok. So for us its been a good thing but obviously we dont what goes on in the higher echelons

The only things I know about masons are that you aren’t allowed to be a Planning Inspector and a mason, and if you are a Catholic you can’t be one either and have to join some Catholic networking / charity club instead, if you want to do that sort of thing. One of our relatives by marriage used to be in them in London and he used to go on about certain things being covered up. We just thought he was losing his marbles a bit towards the end, but I think in hindsight maybe there was some truth in what he said.