Is it wrong of me as a liberal to think that the Shriners are weird?

[eyesroll]

My SO and kiddo are at the Tripoli Shrine Circus right now, so I took a look at the Web site. Most of it just sounded like standard fraternal-organization stuff (we're all men, we have rituals, we believe in God, we do charity work). But I found this bit of info:

"Each Shrine Temple offers a wide range of special-interest groups where a man may fulfill a dream to be a clown, a Keystone cop, an Oriental bandsman, a Scottish Highlander, almost anything he desires."

:wtf:


Never mind the little cars and the fezzes (if that's even how you make "fez" plural)...but tell me how does a middle-aged white man from Milwaukee become a Scottish Highlander or an Oriental bandsman? :shrug:

[Taverner]

1. As a Mason, I think Shriners are a little goofy

But goofy in a good way :)

[progmom]

9. you're a mason?

i thought masons were all secretive and shit. you can actually say you're a mason?

[BikeWriter]

17. They wear rings, don't they? It's their rites that are secret.

[progmom]

18. see - i am talking out of my ass again

i have to stop doing that. ;)

[Magrittes Pipe]

23. Ever seen this bumper sticker?

The driver of that car was a Mason. ;)

[Misunderestimator]

24. Wow... How does one drive that?

Looks like a button to me.

:bounce:

[Taverner]

25. Yup

The rituals are secret, but the symbolism isn't. Kinda strange.

[Magrittes Pipe]

26. What's so secret about drinking wine from a virgin's skull?

:shrug:

[Taverner]

36. Ahhh that's Skull and Bones at Yale

We Masons just talk in turn of the century English :)

[no name no slogan]

40. ...and play poker, drink beer and smoke stogies in your underwear, right?

[JVS]

38. Now he has to kill us all!

:scared:

[Magrittes Pipe]

2. Everybody loves a clown.

[eyesroll]

3. Why do you think I'm not AT the circus?

:scared:

[Magrittes Pipe]

7. Because you don't want to see manacled elephants...

...abused until all they remember how to do is walk in a tragic circle?

[eyesroll]

14. There's an act called the "Gaucho Latino Family."

And another called "Judit and Juergen Nerger Tigers."

:scared:

[Magrittes Pipe]

15. Do Judit and Juergen taste as good as Roy Horn?

If so, there may be some entertainment after all.


Of course, the "Gaucho Latino Family" is probably just a bunch of beer-swilling, sausage-stuffed Cudahyans who "wanted to be" a Gaucho Latino Family.

[XNASA]

6. Is that Brian Dennehy? Or is it the real deal?

[Magrittes Pipe]

8. 6 of one....

The only difference between the two is that Gacy got caught.

[XNASA]

11. I guess that role wasn't much of a stretch.

[redqueen]

22. What'd I miss?

Are you guys just joking, or is there something about Dennehy I've not read/heard about yet?

[Sequoia]

30. Everybody loves a clown, so why don't you?

Everybody laughs at the things that I say and do.
They all laugh when they say me coming,
But you don't laugh; you just go home running.
Everybody loves a clown, so why can't you?
A clown has feelings too.

I joke around at a party when you are there.
But you don't laugh, you don't look; you just don't care.
If you wondered why this clown is crying, look a little closer; inside I'm dying.
It's not easy to be in love, you see
When you're a clown like me'

I don't know how to say that I love you,
'cause you would smile and say “tell a joke or two.”
Yes, I'm a clown, but I don't want to be.
Why can't you see the other side of me?
Guess I'll be the guy who plays the part
Of a clown with a broken heart.

Dreaming of your love, and not knowing where to start.
Dreaming of your love, and not knowing where to start.
Dreaming of your love, and not knowing where to start.
Dreaming of your love, and not knowing where to start.


Gary Lewis And The Playboys :

[Beware the Beast Man]

4. I've always wanted to be a Keystone Cop. Maybe I should sign up!

[BikeWriter]

5. IMO, their Burns Institutes compensate for any eccentricities...

they may have.

[eyesroll]

12. No argument there -- and when I say weird, I mean innocuously so

Still.

[terrya]

10. They're the ones that ride around in the funny little cars...

in parades, right? Wearing those goofy looking fezzes?

No...there's nothing weird about that. :eyes:

[Oeditpus Rex]

13. Since the Shriners run hospitals that treat kids

with bone and spinal defects/injuries and burns at no cost, they can pretend they're Magilla Gorilla in an SS uniform, a tutu and bowling shoes as far as I'm concerned.

[eyesroll]

16. But good doesn't negate weird.

They're not mutually exclusive.

[Oeditpus Rex]

20. Your premise is that weird is bad

I necessarily disagree. :P



"Weirdness seeks its own level." ~ Oeditpus Rex

[AllegroRondo]

31. They may be odd, but they do the world a lot of good

hooray for them.

[petronius]

19. It's not wrong to think someone is weird

The question is will you recognize and defend their right to be weird (or different or offensive or asinine or anything else)? If yes, then you are living your liberal values...

[redqueen]

21. Nope!

Weirdness, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

:hi:

[patcox2]

27. Yes. You are never to offend anyone, ever.

You must never say a word or think a thought that makes anyone ever feel uncomfortable. And you must feel guilty.

[Bridget Burke]

28. This Liberal does not get upset over "weird" behavior.

I'm from Houston--home of the original Art Car Parade. The Rodeo starts soon, so today is "Go Texan Day"--which means that lots of "normal" people are wearing some version of Western wear to work. Ever been to a Gay Pride Parade? Ever gone to a RenFest?

Why the HECK shouldn't middle-aged white guys from Milwaukee have a little fun & fantasy in their lives? Especially when they're raising money to supply free medical care to children.

[Sequoia]

29. They wear those turned up toe shoes

I'd sure like a pair.

[jane_pippin]

32. Hahaha. Good for them.

:rofl:

And you aren't wrong--it's weird. But weird is often fun so don't worry too much about it. (Not that I think you are). :hi:

[Oeditpus Rex]

33. For *genuine* weirdness, y'gotta go with E Clampus Vitus

:thumbsup:

http://www.answers.com/topic/e-clampus-vitus

http://www.ecvgazette.com/

[spinbaby]

34. I found myself at a Shriners convention once

At Disney World no less. They struck me as incredibly bland, boring suburbanites dressed up in funny hats.

[RumpusCat]

35. My uncle is in the Scottish Rite

Shiners/Masons just seem like grown-up Boy Scouts, the sorts of guys who like to join groups and clubs. I think they're strange too, but in a cute way. They do good charity work and don't actually have any interesting secret rituals worth repeating. I kind of giggle when I hear people talk about Masons in the context of the Illuminati and imagine my straight-laced uncle plotting to take over the world.

[BikeWriter]

39. They do aid each other in the business world, and...

I was told once they had recognition signals to get help, if they were stranded beside the road or something.

[JVS]

41. And along with Colonel Sanders they control the world

Sanders isn't dead, he just wants us to believe he is.

[BikeWriter]

42. It's a conspiracy, I tell you!

[JVS]

37. Why shouldn't you think that they are weird, they're fucking strange!