so much prejudice and ignorance on this thread its breathtaking.
As others have already said, you find twats, slimy bigoted idiots and corrupt people in all walks of life, not just the masons. There are lots of Old Boys Clubs, in many different guises - why are the masons regarded as something evil?
Charitable giving. Yes, some of the charities are primarily for the benefit of masons - they have boarding schools where children may get a good education after their parent has died. They run care homes where elderly masons or their family members can have a decent standard of care in their twilight years. They support anyone in difficulty. They have just paid for one of my husband's friends to have a stairlift installed. Why shouldn't they look after their own first & foremost? But they award more money to non-masonic causes.
They do support a lot of smaller charities in their own areas. In my area they are the chief fundraiser for a local hospice. They support many smaller charities that would otherwise struggle for funds, because they can't afford to advertise to the extent the larger ones do. One local masonic hall (houses several different lodges) regularly hosts social evenings to raise money for local charities.
as an example, look at these: mcf.org.uk/vote/
and www.freemasonrytoday.com/freemasonry-cares/the-grand-charity
There is a lot of info out there if you want to google, as a start I'd suggest looking at mcf.org.uk/
My DH is a mason, and personally I'd rather he was out with a group of similarly-aged men doing silly rituals, than sitting in a pub getting pissed. What many people don't realise is that one of the aims of a freemason is self-improvement, and he has learned a lot (for instance about historical events mentioned in the Bible) by researching around some of the ritual.
He's in lodges in 2 different provinces. Mostly the formal Ladies Evenings have been ditched in favour of much more informal social evenings, where non-masons are just as welcome, and there are no patronising speeches.
In one province I think its fair to say freemasonry is in its decline, with few members under 50. Mostly these are white, middle-class heterosexual Christians, but there are a good number of Jewish brethren (and indeed there are some predominantly Jewish lodges). It's perhaps this age group who are the most likely to be accused of bigoted, misogynistic attitudes - but isn't this typical of that demographic as a whole, not specifically freemasons?
In the other province, his lodge has a good number of younger members, and I'd say these were mainly of non-British origin, and a fair number are Muslim. There are lodges all over the world, and being a freemason is a good way to make friends if you find yourself somewhere you don't know anyone.