# Who was this guy I was following? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 5, 2009, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-this-guy-i-was-following/495360 "2009-05-05T00:03:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![redshift](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bbce88/32.png) [@redshift](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/redshift)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2009, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-this-guy-i-was-following/495360/21 "2009-05-06T20:34:02Z")
I’d have to agree, I’ve hung out with a lot of masons and its more of a big country club nowadays than anything else. (I used to be active in DeMolay, nowadays I can’t find time for much anything). ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-this-guy-i-was-following/495360/22 "2009-05-07T08:12:08Z")
> [@](#): > > **AskNott** : …and the girls group is Job’s Daughters. Wow. They used to be the “Rainbow Girls.” ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-this-guy-i-was-following/495360/23 "2009-05-07T09:01:27Z")
> [@InkBlot](#): > > 32nd Degree overlaid on a Knights of Columbus You actually see the [Knights of Columbus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_of_Columbus) insignia in that? The triangles are oriented wrong, and the crosses aren’t in the KofC logo at all. (Also, the KofC is a Catholic organization, and the Catholic Church does not like Freemasonry.) ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-this-guy-i-was-following/495360/24 "2009-05-07T12:05:26Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > If you want to join, you **must ask** a Mason. They’re not allowed to recruit. But they are allowed to [beg you to ask them](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9DWF6A-90o). ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-this-guy-i-was-following/495360/25 "2009-05-12T17:12:19Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > **Yog Sosoth,** as a former 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason and Shriner, I can fill in some of the gaps. Some of these posters are pulling your leg a bit. > > 1. The whole thing starts here. The square and compass are tools of the ancient trade of the stone mason. “G” for geometry. 3 degrees here; entered apprentice, fellowcraft, and master mason. A guy with the square and compass is a master mason, and eligible to join those other orgs. > > An associated women’s group is Eastern Star. The boys’ group is DeMolay, and the girls group is Job’s Daughters. > > The 4th through 32nd degrees can be either the York Rite or Scottish Rite. Each degree has its own lesson, its own symbol, and its own password. I don’t remember most of them. Some of them have glorious sounding names; the 32nd in Scottish Rite, for example, is Knights of the Royal Secret. > > 1. The Knights Templar of masonry are not directly linked to the actual, historical KT. The cross in the crown isn’t burning, it’s just red. > > 2. The Shrine is a more recent development. It’s a social club, the fun side of the masons. It’s the only one of these orgs that serves alcohol. Even though it started in the US and has no link to Islam, the Ancient Accepted Order of the Mystic Shrine has a fancy sounding legend to go with it, with pyramids, scimitars, sphinx heads and such. > > I’ve probably bored you with more than you wanted to know. The Masons aren’t scary. If you want to know more, ask a mason. If you want to join, you **must ask** a Mason. They’re not allowed to recruit. Thanks, you’ve actually been really helpful. What kind of benefits do you get for being a Mason? In this day and age, is it simply a club for guys to hang out and drink? If its not too secret, what do you guys discuss in your meetings and stuff? You said you were a former Mason. Why’d you leave? Did you violate some rule and get kicked out or did you leave by yourself? What kind of qualifications do you have to have in order to become a Mason? ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-this-guy-i-was-following/495360/26 "2009-05-12T17:24:43Z")
It’s funny because the first thing I thought when I read about the strange symbols was, “Goddamn Freemasons…” ---
**Author:** ![ethelbert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/958977/32.png) [@ethelbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ethelbert)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-this-guy-i-was-following/495360/27 "2009-05-12T20:07:41Z")
My father once bought a used car with some of these symbols on it (it was a Lincoln Town car). Three times in the first month people greeted him asking him “What Temple?” or some such, then got huffy when he told them it was a used car and he was not a member. He popped them off soon after. ---
**Author:** ![DagNation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@DagNation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DagNation)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-this-guy-i-was-following/495360/28 "2009-05-12T21:08:26Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > Wow. They used to be the “Rainbow Girls.” The rainbow girls and the Jobs daughters are both girls’ groups associated with the Masons. My grandmother has told me that they have different rules - one requires Masonic affiliation, the other does not allow non-mason parents to participate - so, in one small town she was in, they had rainbow girls because more girls could join, but some of their parents could not go to award ceremonies and other such things. This is second hand from grandma about rules from 40-60 years ago… so I may have mixed it up a little, and it may have changed. Dag ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-this-guy-i-was-following/495360/29 "2009-05-13T19:47:08Z")
Is all one needs to do to join is just go up to a Mason and say, “I want to join?” and then bibbity-bobbity-boo you’re a mason? ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-this-guy-i-was-following/495360/30 "2009-05-13T20:03:59Z")
I have a friend who is a Mason, and he mentions it often enough. If I went up to him and asked I’m fairly sure I’d get an invite. If a complete stranger asked him I’m guessing it would probably not be as welcomed. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-this-guy-i-was-following/495360/31 "2009-05-13T20:08:39Z")
> [@ethelbert](#): > > car with some of these symbols on it (it was a Lincoln Town car). No need to be redundant. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-this-guy-i-was-following/495360/32 "2009-05-13T20:18:02Z")
> [@Tahssa](#): > > Is all one needs to do to join is just go up to a Mason and say, “I want to join?” and then bibbity-bobbity-boo you’re a mason? Nah. First of all, you have to be a man. Second of all, you have to believe in some kind of deity. Third of all, they have to agree you aren’t a douchebag. Fourth of all, there are degrees - there’s a bunch of stuff to memorize and ceremonies to go through for all three degrees. Only then do you get to cover your car in bling. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-was-this-guy-i-was-following/495360.md?page=1)