I don’t think I was played at all.  The title of the thread alone makes it pretty clear he’s no Freemason in disguise, and the first couple of posts seal the deal.  He’s shown little evidence otherwise.

REYoung - 13 July 2011 01:18 PM

For some reason, I missed this thread when it first started and have just now read it through from the beginning. I think this gives me an advantage in seeing it for what I believe it is; viz., an elaborate leg-pull on the part of our Luciferian correspondent. I perceive that his wierd vocabulary and grammar at the beginning gradually evolves and that he is, in his later posts, quite capable of rational thought, proper grammatical expression, and correct spelling. Moreover, I think it is even possible that he is a genuine freemason. I’m not sure what his motivation may be, probably to challenge us; if that’s it, he has certainly done an outstanding job.

You think this unlikely? There are plenty of precedents in literature. The first that comes to my mind is Samuel L. Clemens, no stranger to the English language, taking on the personality of Huck Finn and writing a classic novel in the words and outlook of an uneducated boy. The purpose of that novel was to challenge the perceptions of mid-19th century Americans, particularly southerners. This is not to say that Lucifer should be classed with Mark Twain, but you get the idea.

I am amazed at the patience and persistence of Dan Madore and several other contributors. But it appears that they have been played by Lucifer in their zeal. No shame to them; they are to be commended for their devotion to masonry. One may even commend Lucifer for the way he has managed this farce, and if he gets a good laugh from it, he’s entitled to it. It has accomplished something of value, and there are a number of good insights in the whole exchange. Bob Heruska was right to allow this thread to go on, but by now Lucifer’s disguise is wearing thin and I’m not sure if there is much more to be said, so maybe now is the time to end it. I doubt that there is a lot in it of value to the non-Mason who comes here sincerely seeking information about Masonry; indeed, much of this thread would be incomprehensible to such a one. But I extend my congratulations to all concerned and will keep watching.

I don’t think we were played either.  Did he make us look back upon our own experiences from the degrees, absolutely.  His line of questioning makes me look to a portion of the EA proficiency here in NY regarding how one knows oneself to be a Mason.  I was truly expecting a few other topics to come up.  If the thread stays open they may still so….

Well, Dan and PDH, you are certainly entitled to your opinions, but I have to point out that it’s much easier to play dumb than it is to play smart.

So hello all

I’ve been attending a conference today and watching this crazy thread unfold on my blackberry. As most of you know, we try to keep threads open unless things get truly offensive. And as we have said many times, HOW we answer a hard question says as much about who we are as Freemasons as WHAT we answer.

But I have been wondering myself about this one.

Brother Young brings up an interesting point. Though I actually don’t think it is the case in this thread—it certainly could be in a future one. As the AskAFreemason Site has become more popular and moved into a more National light, there certainly could be someone who is a Mason who might be a bit jealous of our success and who decides to have some fun at our expense. I would say it would be a bit unmasonic, but jealousy is not unheard of in our organization. Nor is fun. I wonder if I wanted to do the same thing how I would attempt it….

My guess though, from the screen name and some of the veiled references, is that what we have here is some type of religious/antimasonic sideswipe. Whether he’s playing dumb or playing smart I don’t know. We’ve seen these before. Just never from a Mason.

I do appreciate everyone’s comments and serious attempts to enlighten this individual.

So, how about this. I’m going to close the thread and see if our original poster, should he truly be a Mason, reveal himself with his name and Lodge affiliation. Then we can all have a good laugh and move back to our appointed tasks.

And should he actually have a real question about Freemasonry—or at least become intrigued enough to want to learn more—we can give him another chance on another thread.

But we won’t go down this road again. At least this far.

And if nothing else, we now know we should certainly keep ourselves forewarned for the future.

Bob Heruska
Forum Administrator