Post #583124 by Vince Martini on Sat, Apr 2, 2011 9:04 PM

Not quite sure what all of this REALLY has to do with fezzes, but a point of clarification.

I am in the hospitality industry and have worked Masonic groups for years. Sure, the Shriner groups I have managed HAVE "old members"...to use your relative term, but these group's also have "not-so-old members"...to coin my own term. My groups, especially the Royal Jesters, seem to be doing quite well and would not take kindly to being labelled "a thing of the past."

Additionally, a friend and former Shriner Imperial Potentate (the big daddy of the whole she-bang) would not take kindly to being called 'old' either. My buddy, Gary Dunwoody, is in his 60's and was the grand pooh-bah in 2005-2006. He works his ass off (as a business owner and active Shriner) and has more energy than a squirrel on Red Bull.

Anywho...

The Masons do not seem to be fading into history at all. In fact, this article in the Boston Phoenix talks about the resurgence of Masonic lodges. Read some of the comments at the end of the article too. Several "younger" Masons weigh-in about the growth of their chapters in other areas.

http://thephoenix.com/boston/life/115823-how-the-boston-rock-scene-grew-up-got-real-jobs-/#ixzz1IQZnUdLf"

"I think a lot of people's misconception of the fraternity is that it's a bunch of stodgy old men," says Master Mason J.R. Roach. Roach, 41, is a big dude with black hair and a couple of tattoos that he keeps covered up. Once he was the drummer for Boston stalwarts Sam Black Church and played with KISS, Ted Nugent, Motörhead, Black Sabbath, and Dio."

Now, back to fezzes. Wear them with pride, folks!!!

On 2011-03-27 07:46, Swanky wrote:
The era of Tiki was also the height of Freemasonry. If you have not noticed, most of the white Masons you see, and that is, Shriners in fezes, are mostly old. The time the Masons expect from you is a thing of the past. We modern men can't imagine spending most of our evenings at the Hall away from our wives, family and home. I was a very young person to be interested in being a Mason in the 1990s. Le Droit Humaine is a good branch if any one is interested. The ONLY accepted Rite of Fremasonry that accepts women! A sodality rather than a Fraternity.

But what is interesting is that while the white Masons are largely dying off and going away, in the black communities, Masonry is on the rise! It has had a real rebirth in the last 2 decades and it hope will continue to live and thrive through new groups embracing it.

Also consider that every PResident of the United States has been a Mason except Abe Lincoln and JFK, and until recently the same is true of Supreme Court Justices and Generals... So, for Vic to ban the Fez in TV was something of a bold thing. A lot of very powerful people would have taken note. But, they also likely understood. They all were wearing suits to restaurants and taking off their hats and standing when a lady entered, etc. And they all had sworn oathes of secrecy, etc.

[ Edited by: swanky 2011-03-27 12:55 ]