Thursday, December 08, 2005

Masonic Website Massacre

Freemasonry on the Web took a terrible hit this week with the loss of several prominent sites.

Freemasonry for the Next Generation, along with several other sites created by Brother Tim Bryce, was closed down by the Grand Lodge of Florida. On face value, this appears to be an act of censorship. If this is the case, then there is something seriously "rotten in Denmark." Freemasonry has always attracted free-thinkers that have made great contributions to the world. With our government already curtailing some of our civil rights, censorship from a Grand Lodge is hard slap in the face. So far, there has been no explanation forthcoming from the Grand Lodge of Florida (that I am aware of) and I really feel that it is owed to Brother Bryce and the site's regulars. We will have to wait & see.

We also lost thelodgeroom.com, which I had plugged some time ago. This site was closed down by its creator, Brother Stephen Defoe. Brother Defoe had created a fantastic forum for the discussion of Freemasonry and it received a large amount of traffic. Unfortunately, the ugly side of many came through on more & more postings as time went on. It seems that many brothers (to be fair, I am not sure all were brothers) felt that it was a good place to post their bigoted remarks. Derogatory comments about others' political views, religion and race contributed to its demise. Those people that are the guilty parties should be ashamed of their behavior & un-Masonic conduct and should "reflect on the amiable character of he whom they have slain." There is no place anywhere for that sort of thinking, especially in Freemasonry.

I would like to thank Brothers Bryce & Defoe for their contributions and wish them luck in their future endeavors (which I hope they have).