Originally posted by Revolution-2012
Actually that's a crock. They will not tell you to leave. All you need is a bag of M&Ms and say you purchased from their store. Receipt isn't needed either, I've been bothered at multiple stores loitering, and I supplied the fact I had purchased something from them, or not.

I think you're allowed to loiter for up to an hour after purchasing something from a store.

Also... Nice job partner. Heh, I'd of wen't with you with a camera and stayed for the cop to come.

The definition of loitering is when you stand outside someones own property and have no business being there. Buying something from Walmart and standing outside is NOT loitering, which is not what the OP is. Buying nothing and standing outside of Walmart IS loitering, which is correct parallel examples of what the OP did do. In this case there is nothing buy, but unless he has business in the lodge hanging around the gate is loitering.

Yeah, going up and using a camera to prove those evil masons are out to get you is really going to work It would have been funny. I'd take out a camera and film the guy with the camera.

[edit on 16-1-2009 by LowLevelMason]

man did you show those evil masons,,,,you made them leave their whiskey sours to come outside...


we need more people like this to stand up to them

i'm mad at myself for not thinking of this first


i'm thinking of maybe getting a "free books suck" shirt made and going into the library with my own book ,sitting down and reading

Laugh all you want...I had a very bad experience with one of the old mason guards. I had car trouble on the city loop by the big masons hall, and when I started to walk up towards the hall, this old very unfriendly man came rushing towards me and said get the hell off this property. I explained I was having car trouble, and he said so? They are really very. very nice when you finally get to know them I'm sure.

Here's a challenge:

Organize a photo of yourself in a Masonic Lodge sitting on a goat.

I can just imagine the topics that would arise here an ATS using the photo as "proof" of something!

Haha!

I would love to have that picture as my avatar!

I gave you a star for the pic...

Originally posted by TH3ON3
I commend you on having the nads. Many police are masons, and they don't care about your rights. You did the right thing to get away fast, or possibly it was a short stay, er or long, in the local clink with the mason jail guards torturing you.

TH3ON3 is right you should watch your step around the masons. There are many powerful people who are masons. Business leaders, Prominent Politicians, Military leaders. They all help each other to be more successful and keep unbelievers out of thier business. They won't think twice about sqaushing you like a bug.

Masonic Lodges are private property. you have no reason to loiter around the lodge if you have no business with the lodge. why didn't you ask him questions about freemasonry and the lodge instead of making a fool of yourself? Me personally if i saw a guy outside the lodge i would of course go see what he was doing, AND if he started to ask me questions about Freemasonry and the lodge etc... i would have invited him to show him the lodge and answered his questions.

We have no secrets except modes of recognition which you can mostly find on the internetz along with (some) books that have been written and so forth. i don't understand why you think its a dangerous place either. i don't understand what makes a masonic lodge/hall a dangerous place? pelase enlighten me....was there a lava-filled mote around the lodge or what?

Look, if I saw someone sitting in ATS gear in front of my lodge, I would laugh and go over and ask them what was up. If they said, in a defensive and argumentative tone, that they were just "exercising their civil rights" then I would guffaw and invite them in for a tour of our building. I might even invite them to join my lodge for our dinner as my guest. But I know ATS and know most (but not all) of the people on here are reasonably harmless.

If I didn't know ATS, I might think such a person was likely to become a nuisance and tell them to clear out.

This kind of thing may seem funny at first, but most Freemasons have a deep appreciation for the history of their fraternity and are well aware that there are many crackpots out there who object to the fraternity and wish harm to its members. History is filled with examples -- from Hitler, to Stalin, to military juntas in South America -- that persecuted Freemasons.

And every member has probably run into someone who made them uncomfortable with a crazy rant about Freemasons and some conspiracy theory. You know, some conspiracy nuts are -- well, just nuts.

Go loiter outside a synagogue with a t-shirt promoting the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and see how long it is before someone asks you to leave. It isn't an exact analogy, I admit -- but there is a certain distasteful flavor to this kind of behavior.

As a young man, I lived in the South and it was there that I learned the best word to describe how I see this behavior: it was tacky.

Next time, take your photos and when the guy comes out and asks what you are doing, introduce yourself and say you are just taking some photos outside the building because you belong to a website where Freemasonry is discussed. Ask if they ever give tours of the building. Make it clear you don't want to be in the way or cause any harm to the property or people. Smile. Be friendly. Don't be defensive and get all up on high horse about your civil rights -- that just makes people figure you're out to be a troublemaker in any context.

Heck, you might get a free dinner out of the deal. And at *my* Lodge last month, if I recall correctly, that was roast beef with all the trimmings and sides. And good conversation, too.

If you come to my Masonic lodge I will invite you in, show you around, share a cup of coffee and talk about anything you want.

If you come and sit outside like some sort of dorky protester, then yes I will call the police.

Masons are people, and masonic lodges are property. What did you expect?

since i am at school. the most dangerous position for me is to be at the top floor at the school during interval when the supervisors teacher and rarely the principle, are searching for you while ur hiding. make a mistake and they suspend ya(as in get caught, even showing your face) so having ur whole class with you is one way to get busted, splitting up and hiding in plain site is the worst way. the best way is go onto the roof and stay if they see you from far away. thats the most dangerous place for me...