Post #396541 by Billy the Crud on Fri, Jul 25, 2008 2:38 PM

On 2008-07-25 09:41, Swanky wrote:
As an aside, it was said above, the proper thing to do with say, your Grandfather's fez and apron etc., if you are not keeping it, is to give it back to the Lodge, along with anything else.

Wearing a Shriner fez is like walking around in an Army colonel uniform. In the right place, it's fun, in the wrong place, you will get in trouble, maybe big trouble.

Context is key and even if you are knowledgable and a Shriner, you ought not get too miffed by a guy at a Tiki event in a fez. If they were elsewhere, maybe. But, no one there is confused and neither are you.

However, there are aspects of some things that are flat "sacred" and you have to be careful about that. If you care.

There's nothing wrong with wearing a fez if you are not a Shriner, but wearing our Shrine Fez when you are not even a Mason is considered VERY rude. The Shrine Fez(with the Scimitar, Sphinx, and Tiger talons) is a badge of Masonic honor and shows that you are a philanthropist and have donated several hours (or are about to) to the Shrine Hospitals for children. Shriners do a LOT of hard work and do fundraisers constantly.....in fact, outside of meetings, if you see a Shriner wearing his fez, he's probably in the middle of a fund raising event or parade. A lot of people collect our Fezzes and that's fine, but wearing them in public is akin to impersonating a police officer(*side note-30-40% of Shriners are active or retired law enforcement).
I, myself am a 32nd degree Master Mason and do not wear Shrine fez because I have not joined the Shrine yet and EARNED the right to do so, yet I see plenty of people running around in our regalia who aren't even Masons. This is VERY disrespectful and if this is you, please stop. A lot of people who have no respect for what we do, simply say "It's mine, I bought it at an estate sale, and I'll wear it if I want to, wherever I want to". After last years Oasis, where I saw many people wearing them, I reported to the Potentate of the local chapter of the Al Bahr Shrine, and he was pretty saddened by this. These symbols are sacred to us and if a Mason who was not yet a Shriner was seen gallivanting in Shrine regalia, he would be reprimanded and in some cases, removed from the fraternity altogether. There is also a certain code of public conduct that surrounds the wearing of the Shrine Fez and someone who is NOT a Shriner is very capable of portraying our ancient fraternity in a negative light. We run on honor and dignity and there is no room for fallacy and false representation.

If you are not a Shriner, I suggest you go to the Fezz-o-rama website and buy a fez without our symbols on it, if you wish to wear one in public.

Just two cents from the East......