Secret societies ... good, bad, both?

[63dot]

We have all heard of them, whether they meet at the local Carpenter's Union Hall on Thursday nights, or it's a fraternity that is more focused on networking instead of partying, some Alumni groups, or even some Boards of Directors.

When I was in undergrad, my particular school had a deep networking system in and after school which in the Bay Area was dubbed "The Mafia". This was mostly due to fellow grads hiring each other in very large numbers. Most corporations here in the Bay Area either have a Chairman, CEO, CFO, or CIO from the mafia. I never found this to my taste, so I stayed out.

[EricNau]

Originally Posted by 63dot

We have all heard of them. . .

Guess they're not very good secrets then.

[Eanair]

Originally Posted by EricNau

Guess they're not very good secrets then.

Hehehe, that was my thought too.

If they're really secret, we wouldn't know about them.

I'm not sure I have a strong opinion about them.

[Surely]

Good if you're in........ bad if you're not.

[63dot]

Originally Posted by EricNau

Guess they're not very good secrets then.

Free Masons, Knights Templar, Skull and Bones, Trilateral Commission, and others which are known entities but only known fully by its members, and maybe not even them. Some are groups said to be somewhat secret like the Federal Reserve and the Bilderbergs and may or may not be secret per se.

Near my town is this old club made originally from the wealthy sea merchants, farmers, and gold prospectors of Old California. To my knowledge, the members are their descendants. It's right in the heart of downtown but is full of rumors and gossip from those on the outside.

I was once on a board of a rich non-profit and even though it was not in the central power source region here like Santa Clara County or SF, there were enough politics to make me sick. At times, things just didn't appear as they were written or said. After being chairman, and then stepping down to board member, I eventually resigned.

[EricNau]

Originally Posted by 63dot

Near my town is this old club made originally from the wealthy sea merchants, farmers, and gold prospectors of Old California. To my knowledge, the members are their descendants. It's right in the heart of downtown but is full of rumors and gossip from those on the outside.

By chance, are you referring to the Bohemian Club?

If you are (or even if you're not), I highly recommend you read or listen to:

Skeptoid Episode #131: The Bohemian Club Conspiracy

As it turns out, private societies don't usually live up to the hype.

[63dot]

Originally Posted by EricNau

By chance, are you referring to the Bohemian Club?

If you are (or even if you're not), I highly recommend you read or listen to:

Skeptoid Episode #131: The Bohemian Club Conspiracy

As it turns out, private societies don't usually live up to the hype.

My theory is that private clubs with rich and powerful people NEVER live up to the hype. But crime, possibly white collar crime, can happen among the rich and famous. Sometimes it's those rich who are easy targets. Think Bernie Madoff. I am sure his story also does not live up to the hype but his actions in secret eventually took him down.

[Sun Baked]

Networking in school is a hell of a lot easier then than later, though the high brow schools tend to have a lot better opportunities than Bob's Discount Diploma Mill.

Might as well take advantage of them if you shell out the bucks, getting a foot in the door is much nicer than having your ass tossed out that same door.

However, the prostitutes at the high end clubs at the rich men's clubs tend to be a lot better than those at the Plumber's Union Hall.

[skunk]

My lips are sealed.

[djellison]

Originally Posted by 63dot

We have all heard of them

Not very secret then, are they.


Everything you might want to know about the Masons is out there if you care to look. Nothing sinister about it whatsoever. I don't agree with that they're about (here in the UK, a mix of excessive nationalism and christianity) but there's nothing wrong with them, and they generate a huge amount for charity.

[WinterMute]

Originally Posted by FadeToBlack

I'm pretty confident that we're all good and things will turn around. Obama may not end the War On Drugs, but at least he's sane.

Well, being as Obama is a paid up member of the Socialist Secret-muslims for World Supremacy Organisation, whose goal is the enslavement of all children via narcotics, you've got a long wait.

I know Freemasons, I know a couple of stone masons for that matter, and my grandfather was the chair of the Farmers Union is the South of England for many years, these societies are usually about furthering the aims of their members and families so that they can make more money, some have charitable elements.

The ones you have to watch for are the ones you haven't heard of, the Illuminati are unlikely to be a threat, but that group of ultra-rich financial types that have been infiltrating the governments of the west for a couple of decades and influencing policy for their own ends bears some scrutiny.

[arkitect]

Well since I do not want to have my body severed in twain, my bowels taken thence, and with my body burned to ashes, and the ashes thereof scattered to the four winds of Heaven, that there might remain neither track, trace nor remembrance, I'll just check the "No Opinion" box.

[Gelfin]

Originally Posted by WinterMute

Well, being as Obama is a paid up member of the Socialist Secret-muslims for World Supremacy Organisation, whose goal is the enslavement of all children via narcotics, you've got a long wait.

That's the Socialist League for International Muslim Extremism (or S.L.I.M.E.) if you please. Now where is that daring and handsome secret agent (any of them, really) when you need him?

[EricNau]

Originally Posted by FadeToBlack

If I'm proven wrong and the stuff that they are saying happens, then I will let someone slap me in the face.

That won't be necessary. One should never be hesitant to deny a phenomenon without the proper evidence.

I would much rather be wrong and in accordance with the evidence, than be right with an absence of proof.