“Ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.” – James Baldwin
“I resign.” Those were the words of Derek Gordon in a terse certified letter to the Grand Lodge of Arkansas. No long drawn out accusations, no reprimands, no recrimination, just “I resign.”Faced with what he felt was a rigged kangaroo court, Gordon saw he had little other options.
Why subject himself to the humiliation his Grand Lodge was about to heap upon him. He knew in his heart that he did no wrong and remained true to the real spirit of Freemasonry. If one way or the other he was going to go then it would be on his terms not the terms of a tyrannical closed society purging its membership of any dissenters or freethinkers.
The option Gordon took was one the Grand Lodge of Arkansas said was not available. You cannot resign, they told him, and since you are under charges we will not give you a demit. Such were the machinations of a power thirsty Grand Lodge with an Ahmadinejad prototype as Grand Master. This Grand Lodge, like a number of others in the United States, felt that it could rule arbitrarily and make up the laws, rules and regulations on the fly to thwart every challenge to their despotic ways. They pushed through a non electronic Masonic communication law on the spur of the moment in order to have an excuse on which to hang their phony charges against Gordon. They refused to reveal specifically what he had done wrong, telling him to come enter the “Lion’s Den” and then we will tell you all about how we are going to screw, blue and tattoo you.
The Grand Lodge of Arkansas rigged the rules so that once they had you under charges there was no way for you to escape, or so they said. This enabled them to rule by fear and keep anybody not toeing the party line on the outside looking in. If you were up on charges, which were often made up bogus violations, then the Grand Lodge gave you two choices, submit to a Masonic trial (predetermined outcome) or fill out a form to self expel yourself, in the process also self blackballing yourself from every other jurisdiction in the United States. It resembles the choice of death by a firing squad or death by the electric chair. Self expulsion is also akin to “tar and feathering” yourself and if you refuse to sign the form or attend your Masonic trial they will try you in absentia. In other words if you don’t tar and feather yourself we will do it for you. This process cannot be inspired by Masonic practice; rather it seems to have been borrowed from the KKK.
Gordon’s position was that he was a volunteer not a paid member of staff and therefore he had every right to resign, especially if he felt he was not being treated well. Even President Nixon was allowed to resign under fire.
Many a fellow Mason, responding to the case of Frank Haas and the Grand Lodge of West Virginia, Gate City Lodge and the Grand Lodge of Georgia and most recently Derek Gordon and the Grand Lodge of Arkansas, has repeatedly said that whatever a Grand Lodge decides and whatever it rules it is within its rights and taking the dispute outside of Freemasonry into the civil courts is wrong. These well intentioned Brothers tell us that Freemasonry is a private organization and rules itself as a power unto itself and that bringing the profane into adjudication is both Masonically illegal and immoral.
That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Most Grand Lodges today are public corporations. It would be very foolish in today’s world not to be. The limited liability and the tax advantages are just too great for a multimillion dollar organization like Freemasonry to pass up. But to attain these advantages a company or organization must sign onto the articles of incorporation and the corporate and nonprofit laws, – secular, civil rules that supersede any Masonic traditions or by-laws, rules and regulations of Grand Lodges. This was reported in an earlier Beehive column that seemed to generate little comment or attention.
Well let’s take the common practice of Grand Masters to rule and govern by edict when the Grand Lodge is not in Session. Most Grand Lodge by-laws stipulate that the Grand Master rules in absentia. This is a Masonic tradition and how most Grand Lodges have been governed for centuries. However, in most cases, depending on the state, this is not legally correct. Most state’s corporation rules state that the corporation is governed by a Board of Directors when the Grand Lodge is not in session. Corporate rules supersede any organization’s by-laws. This means that the Grand Master cannot decide matters at all, he must refer all business over to the Board.
Thus when a Grand Master sandbags a Brother by showing up at his Lodge under false pretenses and then expelling him by edict, that action may be blatantly illegal. Likewise, when a Grand Master visits a Lodge and promptly pulls its charter and closes it down, that too may be illegal. In other areas of corporate law it may also be illegal to file vague charges against a volunteer or employee without specifically informing the accused of exactly the offense that was violated and in what manner. Some Grand Masters pay little or no attention to the civil laws which they are required to adhere to. If more Masons knew of this situation perhaps they would call them on it.
So when a Grand Lodge becomes a corporation it agrees to abide by the rules and regulations of incorporation and the corporate and nonprofit civil laws that accompany them, first and foremost, over ruling any previously held positions when in conflict. Furthermore, one can no longer say that Freemasonry is a private organization or that it should not operate in the civil public domain. By becoming a public corporation and operating under the rules of a public corporation it has the same status as General Motors and under the present administration could be deemed too big to fail and therefore, if in trouble, could be taken over by the state. Lastly as a public corporation its membership and the entire public community has the right to look at its tax, revenues and payroll records as well as its charitable contributions as filed with the government.
THE BIGGEST THING FREEMASONS TODAY NEED TO FACE IS THAT FREEMASONRY IS NO LONGER A PRIVATE SOCIETY.
Let’s take a look at what Arkansas expects of its nonprofit and volunteer organizations.
The state of Arkansas has published guidelines for its nonprofit and volunteer organizations. Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe explains what his state has put in place.
“I am proud to introduce this new publication, ‘Legal Guide For Arkansas Nonprofit and Volunteer Organizations,’ a resource and guide for nonprofit and volunteer management organizations. It is the result of a collaborative effort between the UALR, Bowen School of Law, the Department of Human Services Division of Volunteerism, the Arkansas Service Commission, and Williams & Anderson PLC. Together, their efforts are a model for public-private partnerships. I am confident that this manual will become an indispensable tool for nonprofit and volunteer organizations as they work to improve the quality of life for all Arkansans.” – Governor Mike Beebe
You can read the entire text of this document here: http://www.law.ualr.edu/nonprofit-guide/legalguidearknonprofitbook.pdf
Legal Guide for Arkansas
Nonprofit and Volunteer
Organizations
Resignation of a Volunteer
Volunteers may, of course, resign at any time. Since
volunteers are vital to the functioning of most nonprofit
organizations, they should be asked to give notice of their
resignations as soon as possible. Job descriptions should include
information about how much notice the organization requests for
that particular job, depending on the needs of the organization.
Pg. 98
Discrimination
Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1991 prohibits
employers of fifteen (15) employees or more, whether for-profit
or nonprofit, from discriminating on the basis of race, color,
religion, sex, or national origin.37 The Age Discrimination in
Employment Act of 196738 and the Americans with Disabilities
Act of 199039 prohibit discrimination based on age and disability.
Although state civil rights laws vary, the Arkansas Civil
Rights Act of 1993 also prohibits discrimination and applies to
employers of nine (9) or more.40
Nevertheless, a nonprofit should implement
non-discriminatory practices and procedures even if it has
few “employees” who may sue for discrimination. The most
obvious reason is that it is the right thing to do; a more practical
consideration is that the organization may eventually grow into
civil rights law coverage.
One of the most effective ways to avoid discrimination
and the appearance of discrimination is to make sure that the
organization reflects the diversity of the community served.
Directors, officers, volunteers and employees should reflect
diversity of, for example, age, race, sex, religion, national origin
and disability. Many groups also feel the need for other types of
diversity, such as geographic and socio-economic.
Pgs 94-95
According to the 2000 census Arkansas’ population is 15.7% African American. How does the Grand Lodge of Arkansas reflect this diversity? Is 15.7 % of its membership African American?, 10%?, 5%?, 1%?, any at all? Does anyone know of at least one African American that belongs to the Grand Lodge of Arkansas?
Now let’s take a look at what the state of Arkansas demands of its nonprofit corporations.
“THE ARKANSAS NONPROFIT CORPORATION ACT OF 1993.”
AR LEGIS 1147 (1993)
SECTION 620. Resignation
(a) A member may resign at any time.
(b) The resignation of a member does not relieve the member from any
obligations the member may have to the corporation as a result of
obligations incurred or commitments made prior to resignation.SECTION 621. Termination, Expulsion And Suspension
(a) No member of a public benefit or mutual benefit corporation may be
expelled or suspended, and no membership or memberships in such
corporations may be terminated or suspended except pursuant to a procedure
that is fair and reasonable and is carried out in good faith.
(b) A procedure is fair and reasonable when either:
(1) the articles or bylaws set forth a procedure that provides:
(i) not less than fifteen days prior written notice of the expulsion,
suspension or termination and the reasons therefore; and
(ii) an opportunity for the member to be heard, orally or in writing, not
less than five days before the effective date of the expulsion, suspension
or termination by a person or persons authorized to decide that the
proposed expulsion, termination or suspension not take place; or
(2) it is fair and reasonable taking into consideration all of the relevant
facts and circumstances.
(c) Any written notice given by mail must be given by first-class or
certified mail sent to the last address of the member shown on the
corporation’s records.
(d) Any proceeding challenging an expulsion, suspension or termination,
including a proceeding in which defective notice is alleged, must be
commenced within one year after the effective date of the expulsion,
suspension or termination.
(e) A member who has been expelled or suspended may be liable to the
corporation for dues, assessments or fees as a result of obligations
incurred or commitments made prior to expulsion or suspension.
There is a catch to all this:
Arkansas Nonprofit Corporation Act
There are two versions of the Arkansas Nonprofit Corporation Act, (“ANPCA”), one passed in 1963, and one passed in 1993. Corporations created prior to 1993 are subject to the 1963 Act, unless they choose to subject themselves to the 1993 Act. Any organizations incorporated after 1993 are subject to the 1993 Act. – Arkansas Attorney General’s Office
So the Grand Lodge of Arkansas may be grandfathered out of many of these requirements as it was incorporated in 1846. Yet many Arkansas nonprofit corporations realizing that the post civil rights era of legislation has seen many changes drastically transforming society have signed onto the 1993 act voluntarily. Many also have done so because the new Act protects the interest of members and ensures against deception and mistreatment. For some it becomes not what you can get away with but rather what is the spirit of the times and how can I join in to be a part of it. Sadly it seems that the Grand Lodge of Arkansas would rather live in the Civil War era and operate under the rules of a bygone era. How Masonic is that?
We say that Freemasonry has its own law yet we admonish all within the Craft to uphold the civil government and obey the civil statutes. Does that mean that Freemasonry can knowingly try to operate with Masonic Law that is in direct conflict with Civil Law?
Let’s review what we have learned from this event.
1) This is no longer your Grandfather’s Chevrolet …..er Grand Lodge. Freemasonry must stop living in the past as West Virginia and Arkansas are doing. Instead it needs to adapt to the mores of present day society.
2) Running a closed society that allows no freedom of expression and muzzles its members is antithetical to Freemasonry of the Enlightenment.
3) Operating a society with laws, rules and regulations that conflict with civil law and civil rights is not only not in the spirit of Freemasonry but also blatantly immoral.
4) An organization in this day and age, especially a nonprofit volunteer one, cannot realistically force a person against his will to remain a member. It should be the option of any Freemason to simply resign from any Grand Lodge.
5) Making up silly and vindictive rules such as prohibiting members from using the Internet or any electronic means to discuss Freemasonry is unbecoming and un-Masonic.
6) It’s been almost 50 years since Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights movement transformed America. It is past time that Grand Lodges reflected that change.
7) It is painfully evident that Grand Lodges can no longer operate as they have done in the past. This is the 21st century with new ways of looking at different lifestyles and morality. Grand Lodges are now in a public-private partnership yet they refuse to recognize their duty to civil law and their new commitments. Failure of Freemasonry to operate within the framework of present day moral, societal and political civil practice could be very costly to the Craft.
Finally let us dispense with the notion that holding Freemasonry accountable in civil court is against Masonic moral law. It is Grand Lodges who took themselves out of staying a purely private organization and into the civil world of corporate non-profits. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. And you can’t talk out of both sides of your mouth. If you want the benefits of a nonprofit corporation than abide by the civil laws that go with it and govern your Grand Lodge in the spirit of the law as it was intended.
The Beehive urges every Freemason in the U.S.A. to investigate the process its Grand Lodge is using and to educate himself on how it operates, to use the Freedom of Information Act when needed and to hold his Grand Lodge, a nonprofit corporation, accountable in civil court when necessary.
Derek Gordon is not going to self expel himself, nor is he going to attend his Masonic trial. Attempts by the Grand Lodge of Arkansas to redefine what he has done is futile. HE HAS RESIGNED – NOT SELF EXPELLED HIMSELF. To the Grand Lodge of Arkansas, accept the resignation of Derek Gordon and put an end to your foolishness.
This is not the Civil War era, this is the Information Age and we are all watching you.
It seems Martin Warren is not only a backwards bigot, but an illiterate idiot too. “I except your letter of self expulsion.” is to say it is not accepted. Our ritual work teaches the importance of precision in language, yet this idiot seems to have missed that lesson. Don’t worry Derek, they just refused your “letter of self expulsion.”
What an amazing story of ignorance, arrogance and intolerance. Shameful
Alex Harris, where are you????
Reading the GM’s response from 3 May,2010, he “EXCEPTS” his letter of “SELF Expulsion”???
It is remarkable that the teachings of such a positive institution can be so blindly ignored. How can a Grand Master come off as so uneducated and uncaring? Politics I suppose, regardless, I would still consider Derek a “worthy brother” if asked.
Great reporting Brother Fred! Your James Baldwin quote: “Ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.” pretty much sums up the powers to be at the Grand Lodge of Arkansas! All the Grand Lodges in America need to wake up and realize that they are in the 21st century now and that discrimination and hard-ball justice no longer has a place in this society!
What still hasn’t been talked about that precipitated the Derek Gordon issue was this Grand Masters’ overtly racist letter to the Craft in Arkansas “not to purchase the new Freemason license plate the State of Arkansas has issued.” Does this mean now that the Arkansas Grand Lodge Gestapo might start driving through Lodge parking lots on meeting nights writing down tag numbers and unjustly prosecuting offenders of this discriminatory edict? What a shameful and un-Masonic way for “Freemasons” to behave!
In closing, Congratulations to Brother Derek Gordon! Yes, I used the word “Brother” because he was the only person that acted like a Mason through this whole episode! By standing down his former Lodge can get its charter back and Brother Derek can move forward with his Masonic Career in a new Grand Lodge! Another important lesson should be learned here by everyone who reads this… never buy a perpetual membership anywhere! Once you give any group your membership money and you don’t abide by their petty rules they can throw you out and keep your money!
Well Fred that’s puzzling to me.
I want it known that I disagree with some of your points. Everyone on this website is not in full agreement with your article. When GLs are concerned that is an important point to make.
I will be honest, I just lost some respect for Derek. He took the easy way out. He should have gone to the trial. That is the procedure GLs must follow in this type of a he said he said argument. It’s called jurisprudence and following the constitution of the GL. Are you suggesting they make decisions in GL by circumventing their constitution?
And then to find out he resigned as a Mason using a registered letter but continued to present himself as a Mason?
And yes if you are faced with a trial and resign so you do not have to go to a trial dealing with your expulsion. That’s a self-expulsion. It may not be pretty and he might be a very nice guy, but it’s a self-expulsion. If you go asking for years of dues back then you are looking for more than a demit, you are looking for a refund from the whole experience.
A very sad day… I may have agreed with Derek on many of his points of defense but his way of dealing with the issue was wrong. He had to go to the trial.
And on some of your other points… I’m not sure Derek would have qualified as a volunteer. He was a paying member of a society. Not as clear cut as you are potraying…
That’s my two cents, subject to reconsideration at anytime with proper reasoning.
Dean if the Gestapo is calling you in for questioning is it fight or flight time?
Your view, which you are entitled to and for which I will fight to the death to see that you have it, assumes that there is a level playing field and that both parties involved are honest, sincere and above-board. If that were the case I would be in agreement with you.
But it isn’t. One side, the side with all the power, is corrupt, despotic and tyrannical. There is no reason that a human being should subject themselves to a mockery of fairness and be humiliated by slander and lies followed by banishment when none of it is true.
To say that you agree with Derek’s position but now have lost respect for him because he will not stay and fight is not to have a firm grasp on reality.
Thousands of people have walked away from their homelands to flee despotic, tyrannical rule. They have come from boats and rafts from Cuba, from Vietnam from any means possible, from Russia, China and elsewhere. They have come to the U.S.A. and Canada because we operate under the rule of law – at least we try to. Are all these people also unworthy of your respect?
Derek Gordon has not stopped fighting. He has withdrawn from a battle he cannot win, to survive and fight another day in another way from a different standpoint. I think he ought to be applauded!
Well done good and faithful servant.
What’s that rule about arguing on teh internetz? Something about the first person who mentions Hitler loses, right? I’d call the Gestapo close enough.
Let’s make something clear. The Masons are not the Mafia; you can leave at any time. Also, to compare GLs with dictatorial governments is a bit of a stretch; the GL policies might not be something we all agree on, but nobody forces you to become a Mason, nor does anyone force you to remain in the fraternity. You life or livelihood do not depend upon it.
That said, I do have to agree with Dean — after Derek took his case public so that he could get a trial when he was back in the US, he should have manned up and seen it through. If he knew in his heart he had done no wrong, then the outcome would have been the same, one way or the other.
Further, if you’re going to insist that the GL play by the rules, then you need to hold Derek to the same standard. By choosing to “resign” (and this is not the correct term), then he forfeited those lifetime dues. And most states will only grant a demit when one is current in their finances, and not under some Masonic sentence (suspension or expulsion).
Note that nobody is saying that Derek was wrong ethically for posting what he did (well, most people, anyway). If, indeed, that is what precipitated his troubles, then that is reprehensible on the part of the GL. But in your zeal for some kind of justice, you may be going a bit overboard with your invective.
Reading the eloquent letter by Derek and the misspelling-riddled response from GL tells me all I need to know about this situation. How do you “except” something in that context? How can it be “affective”?
Ah but you see the GL is not playing by the rules. The GL has stacked the deck. The outcome is known before the trial starts. Do you think that just because Derek has a good case and because he is right that he will win? Think again. Nobody has ever won a Masonic trial held before the Grand Lodge of Arkansas. But at least one Mason who lost and was expelled has won in civil court.
For the life of me I do not see why anybody would stay and submit themselves to a Masonic trial when they knew they were going to lose no matter how good their case was. Is an expelled Mason somehow morally superior to one who just walks away?
Derek will man up by living to fight another battle from a position of strength rather than one who has been ostracized. JUSTICE IS NOT SERVED BY MEEKLY SUBMITTING TO INJUSTICE.
Okay, Fred, now we’ve got both the GL *and* Derek not playing by the rules. We don’t know what the outcome would have been had he done so; he might have been expelled, but he might have been suspended. If it were the latter, then he’d have been able to make a case later on, or if not, then he would at least have had the opportunity to change things from within. Having walked away, he now has nothing. I don’t know what kind of “fight” you think he’s going to have in the future. Certainly, by resigning, he’s given up any moral reason to take it to civil court.
Expelled or “resigned”, the outcome is still the same, so it makes sense (to me) to at least have seen it through. Hell, if nothing else, then it would have given you fodder for another post on how ridiculous the trial was.
Thank you Tom. You saved me from typing.
Tis a sad day when Freemasons have to resort to legal battles to resolve differences of opinion. I do not agree with the GL of Arkansas view of the license plates. I think that was a prejudiced decision based on the point that the Prince Hall had beaten them to the punch and that some of the money for the license plates would go to support PHLs.
Derek was right to publish the Grand Masters edict on those license plates to the website, and if other websites has published the same information as Derek with out reprisal then that part of the GL argument is null and void. More and more of us are turning to the computers for our information.
I am however, in agreement with Dean and Tom in that Derek should has gone to stand trial. Resigning is the same as admitting that one was guilty, no matter how the cards were stacked against him. Being brought up on charges means that an accusation has been filed and to not answer to that charge is to admit guilt. In the end the just will reign and the unjust will perish.
But the horror of it all, is it is being hashed out in the public domain. Have we forgotten the injunction of the charges laid upon us at each or our three degrees? (Applies to both sides)
I pray that there are some lodges across the United States and the world that have the common sense to teach the lessons of masonry so strong that when many lodges go dark over this and other public controversy that there will be enough lodges rooted in the true masonry that will survive.
(Check out the lodges that went dark over the Morgan Affair, and it was not even a reality.)
Freemasonry is first and foremost an educational institution. It is incumbent on all of us to learn the lessons taught. But alas, I feel that Masonry has become more social then educational and the problems of a social society are upon us. One of the brothers on the Masonic Brothers forum said it best.. We are watching “Children playing is a sandbox”
Regards
ole Blake
I’m sorry Tom! It was me who mentioned the word “Gestapo” first! I guess that is why I got the little swastika symbol next to my name! And Brother Blake I think its time we started building a bigger sandbox!
I don’t think playing by the rules means you must submit to an inquisition. You can say we don’t know what the outcome would be in a trial but you can’t say it with a straight face. If you can’t see the steps of the Masonic license plate posting, making a hasty ridiculous law aimed directly at a webmaster, the closing down of entire Lodge, the preferment of charges that could not wait until Derek got back from Peru, the vagueness of the charge, the refusal to return phone calls, the Grand Lodge refusing to explain specifically what was violated, to the answering comments which were traced to Grand Lodge members (who were using electronic media to discuss Freemasonry), to “Wilson Curtis” comments than I can’t explain it anymore.
One thing I will explain is the Honorable Cleveland Wilson is presiding Grand Master of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Arkansas and Honorable Wilbert Curtis is presiding Grand Master of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Texas.
Ralph…I’m still around and every now and then a little gem like this one is forwarded on to me. Fight them…by any means necessary. They stay in power because those that disagree fight honorably. Take the gloves off.
I would remind everyone of two quotes from Thomas Jefferson.
“We are not to expect to be translated from despotism to liberty in a featherbed.”
“I hold it, that a little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing, and as necessary…as storms…”
And in a more modern vein…to paraphrase a popular movie, “This Fraternity needs an enema!”
Bro. Derek Gordon,
I salute you with the Grand Honors!
Beehive said:
to the answering comments which were traced to Grand Lodge members (who were using electronic media to discuss Freemasonry), to “Wilson Curtis” comments than I can’t explain it anymore.
WRONG! I would like to make it VERY Clear I am not a member of the GL. Not now, nor in tne past nor will I be in the future? WHY ARE YOU MAKING UP LIES?? YES LIES! You have never traced me to the GL of AR or to any of it’s members!
I do know Bro. Derek has been very selective about what he shares. Beehive has Bro. Derek shared everything with you or is he playing you too? Why did he not go to trial? Was it because he got a letter that set his new trial and outlined his charges that he keeps saying he never got? That’s what I heard through the grapevine. When he was told about the charges against him he wanted out without a trial.
Wow! Brothers I thought we were on the Level, white gloves to cover dirty nails of farmers, doctors equal to laborers, educated equal to uneducated but not here. What happen to on the Level? A common man could never be a Grand Master because our leaders are only the highly educated because we don’t really believe in being on the LEVEL!
Shameful! It should have never came down to this young man feeling that he had no other option than to leave Freemasonry behind him and move on. It’s a sad state of affairs when a Grand Lodge takes so harsh measures over something as silly as this was initially, and blew it all out of proportion. Shameful!
Brothers –
The discussion herein makes one wonder if the Grand Lodge system has outlived its usefulness; that it no longer supports the basic tenants of Freemasonry. Instead, it is prone to corruption, political intrigue, and power madness. This is not what we joined the fraternity for. It sounds like we need a new administrative model as opposed to the Monarchy model we’ve been using since 1717.
It is a sad day for Masonry when a brother resigns because of the arrogance of leadership. Every GL should revoke recognition of Arkansas because of its lack of Masonic character.
I find it interesting that someone above (Curtis) posted a nice piece about some grapevine saying that Bro. Derek received his new trial date and an explanation of charges BECAUSE he continued to say he is not part of Arkansas and implies he has no contacts to Arkansas. Yet he accuses as if he was right in the thicket.
I have connections in Arkansas as they expelled me. I called a few people and they told me that there was nothing new issues and that there wasn’t going to be anything until the Masonic world forgot about it. Arkansas was biding its time so it could expel this Mason esaier.
Food for thought.
Wrong on both counts Bro. Dudley. My friends in AR tell me that Bro. Derek did get a letter he has not posted that outlines his charges. Bro. Derek you have self expel your self so why not share your charges with the group! Why did he not fight the charges? Because he knew he could not defend hisself. The letter will also blow a hole in the “I’m in trouble because I put up something about PHM plates. Other lodges did that and they are not up for Masonic Trial. Wake up people. You are letting these guys pull your strings and you are dancing to their tune. Bro. Derek, Beehive or Bro. Jaye I challenge you to post the letter! He would not man up for the trial “will” he man up here?????
Note after my post no more talk from Beehive or Jaye? Food for thought!
Bro. Curtis I would challenge you to obtain a copy of the certified mail signature receipt and post it showing that he signed for that particular piece of mail. He has shared everything. You are trying your damndest to incriminate hatred for a man who was on the right side of the argument because the proof of reality has harmed your friends mode of operation.
So there is a challenge for you. You continue to speak hatred and disdain toward someone who has shared the good and the bad because it needed to be out there. Now that there is an obvious manipulation of words on the part of your grapevine chaps, you need to quickly find a way to rectify your thesaurus to say that expulsion means resignation and vice versa. Maybe you can call Webster’s Dictionary to help get that through. But it has to be done quickly or the basis of your ignorance will be well established.
Please your holiness, get the great lords of Arkansas to give all of this other information that has not been shared. You have yet to offer constructive evidence.
The Beehive has done a great job offering constructive evidence to every assertion. Until you can do that, you will continue to be weak. Of course, you will have to work fast because again the clock is ticking for you all to fabricate some more crap. Come on AR let us see what you can come up with next.
LOL!!! Wow you are really ANGRY!!! LOL!!! What is really funny is that the GL does not follow these websites or comment on them and you think they do. But alot of expelled Masons do. Some with issues!
HOW COULD I obtain a copy of the certified mail signature receipt LOL!!!! I am not in the grand line or Little Rock.
I guess Derek and you are not as close friends as you thought if he has not shared his letter with you! What bad has Derek shared? Why is he the only one on trial for posting about PHM plates????? At least 3 or 4 other lodges did this too. Derek even posted them to show us. BECAUSE that is not what he is charged with and he knows it!Do you know that?
Jaye said:
Now that there is an obvious manipulation of words on the part of your grapevine chaps, you need to quickly find a way to rectify your thesaurus to say that expulsion means resignation and vice versa. Maybe you can call Webster’s Dictionary to help get that through. But it has to be done quickly or the basis of your ignorance will be well established.
I guess others are showing their ignorance too? I happen to beleive the same way these same good Brothers do!
Dean said:
He took the easy way out. He should have gone to the trial. That is the procedure GLs must follow in this type of a he said he said argument. It’s called jurisprudence and following the constitution of the GL. Are you suggesting they make decisions in GL by circumventing their constitution?
And then to find out he resigned as a Mason using a registered letter but continued to present himself as a Mason?
And yes if you are faced with a trial and resign so you do not have to go to a trial dealing with your expulsion. That’s a self-expulsion. It may not be pretty and he might be a very nice guy, but it’s a self-expulsion
Tom Said:
I do have to agree with Dean — after Derek took his case public so that he could get a trial when he was back in the US, he should have manned up and seen it through. If he knew in his heart he had done no wrong, then the outcome would have been the same, one way or the other.
Further, if you’re going to insist that the GL play by the rules, then you need to hold Derek to the same standard. By choosing to “resign” (and this is not the correct term), then he forfeited those lifetime dues. And most states will only grant a demit when one is current in their finances, and not under some Masonic sentence (suspension or expulsion).
ole Blake says:
I am however, in agreement with Dean and Tom in that Derek should has gone to stand trial. Resigning is the same as admitting that one was guilty, no matter how the cards were stacked against him. Being brought up on charges means that an accusation has been filed and to not answer to that charge is to admit guilt. In the end the just will reign and the unjust will perish.
Who are the just? Only the one who stands with truth!
The will and pleasure of the Grand Master nor Worshipful Master is not absolute. The 24 Land Marks however are. Freemasonry of today is considered Speculative and supposiedly and progressive mental science. Whereby each member is thought (if educated properly) to excel and advance himself in the attainment of knowledge which would hopefully in the end bring him closer to that which was lost. (Meaning his connecion with GOD!) During the Renisance period men were not allowed to think freely, but were subjected to the Rulers concepts of reality of the day. If you dared to think outside of the box there would have been detrimental ramifications. So a merger by circumstance began with the intermingling of both Operative and Spectulative Gentlmen.
It appears that what has transpired based on the information disemenated we have a member of the Inner Circle; which more than likely has over extented his stay. We have also a young Lion that may have realized such and refused to follow an out dated Leader or Leadership and made a concsious decision to formally Demit. Hand the Brother been financial Locally and with the Grand Lodge he should have been allowed to without recourse. Wether or not the Brother would have subjected himself to a Masonic trial to so call fight the good fight his outcome would have been predetermined and nothing favorable would have become him. My opinion is based on my personally attending such a formallity as well as past accounts of inproprieties communicated to me from both sides where the civil courts were involved.
I would pounder and spectulate that the Grand Master has been in the postion for some time, has a seasoned conservative mindset and is surrounded by like minded supporters. Therefore, any member not supportive of stagment mentalities would be a threat to the status quo and not one of growth, enlightenedment, nor embrass 21ST Centuries ideals. These individuals are drunk on power and assume that they Freemasonry within themselves, their jurisdictions and their ancient conceptions thereof could not exsist or continue without them. They first learned to follow before they learned to lead, but have forgotten that some times you must go back and follow in order to learn to lead in todays times. We sometimes over extend our times in positions and become less effective in its growth and become burdens, pests, leches, problems and not solutions to what the Craft is truly about. But because we have the yes men, spindless and egotistical men in our inner circles it’s like the blind leading the blind and they have not a clue.
We as Brothers are thought early on in our advancment to have a faithful breast, attentive ear and an intructive tongue. If we have an issue with a Brother we’re thought to first communicate directly with him. That doesn’t mean calling him out. Our morales should be exemplary for all to see; every second, minute, day, hour and in any given situation. We should be beyond meadocor behavior in any context, yet be exemplory in all our laudable undertakings.
Dang the arguments and disention; get back to basicis. Forget the quanity of membership enrollments and concentrate on the quality of men you attract, bring in your lodges and hold your leaders accountable. The Lodges and more importantly the Grand Lodges belong to the members not its elected or appointed Officers. Excercise you collective voices through your Ballots and Votes. Establish anonymous Investigation Committees not just for your Prospects, but for your elected Officials as well who will only answer to the Members in written form communicated by the Secretaries or Recorders. Make your Grand Lodge Officers accountable to the Board of Directors and make sure they aren’t part of the Inner Circles, but are part of the best of the Craft.
I firmly believe that the Lord will punish those who continue to speak ill of someone who has been entirely open regarding a situation. You can continue to smear him all you want, but I know that he has not done anything out of line. To think that you know this man so well without ever meeting him or conserving with him.
Please do share with every person who you heard of these letters? Explain your grapevine and how it somehow would have access to a trial committee and their plans? That is a hole I do not follow.
You can assume that hes done with it. You continue to have assumed that. But they have surprised everyone by finding avenues to keep showing the holes. I assumed that as well. But there is a bigger picture that people are overlooking and that should worry some.
So until that time you will continue to spread filth and lies regarding this man. You will claim that some Grand Lodge is righteous because they fell into the trap of calling something what it wasn’t. You will continue to claim that he has done wrong with a website even after the GL approved the website. And you will continue to assume he does not have records of this. People will continue to say he took the easy way out, but in the end I do see where it is going and I do see the greater good that will be forced to come of this.
And until this childish ranting stops, I am at a loss because there is no hope of anyone bringing those in the dark to the light.
Brotherly love, Relief and Truth… Hmmmm?
In my opinion [and having experienced a rigged masonic trial myself concerning a different person], I’d have written a letter that just said ”SUCK IT” with a nice little illustration so they could understand what.
Jaye I ask you again.
What bad has Derek shared? Why is he the only one on trial for posting about PHM plates????? At least 3 or 4 other lodges did this too. Derek even posted them to show us. BECAUSE that is not what he is charged with and he knows it!Do you know that?
Murray I concur with that opinion and have suggested it for a good while. But I didnt use the same lingo that you did. 🙂
Curtis go read everything posted on the subject. I know that your point has been covered where the good brother talks about all of the issues from the license plates to the website information that the Grand Lodge tried to use as a ghost reason.
Please refer also to the phone logs showing that the brother contacted and tried to resolve the issue but was ignored time and again by your leadership, or the leadership you somehow have an amazing grapevine to.
It is very amusing that you are going on harping about other causes and that he is hiding them when he has laid it all out plainly before in other articles and postings that arent related to license plates but an all or nothing accusation overview.
But I guess a young brother deserves to be punished when the Grand Secretary and Grand Master agreed to the websites content. Its fine for them to change their minds later and use it against him isnt it? It certainly is okay because these men are actually what outsiders would call cultist gods. AND that will continue to be a haunting issue for the fraternity.
If and until you can convey something that isnt a statement of disdain and a flagerant attempt to manipulate the situation and accuse someone of hiding information that you will not even share because it does not exist, then please take a step back and bend over, and let it up the rear a bit further form your leadership.
While my credibility obviously is not worth crap here, I will say that the brother has contacted the USPS and there are no pending letters needing to be picked up. Nothing has arrived at his proper address that the Grand Lodge used to send materials to up until the time of their accusations. Somehow they started mailing the documents to another address which required a treasurer from another Arkansas lodge to forward the mail to the good brother. That is not unMasonic though is it? It is quite allright to suddenly have the same Grand Secretary use different addresses that are not associated with the brother.
I again point that your arguments are just weakening your whole attempt to save the holiness tyrants in Little Rock. Attacking and claiming to have information that has been established to not exist in the confines of the brother is ludicrous. I doubt that other brethren, the ones watching from without at the actions within, give two —-s about someones point when it is constantly full of rambling claims.
Let’s just assume that Bro. Derek is guilty of some Masonic offense. The offense obviously isn’t criminal, so what could be so terrible as to justify expulsion?
Brothers need to think long and hard before allowing another to be expelled over some petty offense to any Grand Lodge. The Grand Master of West Virginia and Bro. Derek are not the first, nor will they be the last, to be expelled for “reasons” that defy logic and common sense.
This is just another in a long line of offenses against the brotherhood of Freemasons. Where will it end?
Bottom line Jaye, is that Derek is out.
ole Blake says:
Expelled or “resigned”, the outcome is still the same
He is off the books and no longer a Mason. His letter has been received and placed in his file (along with his “CHARGES”) and it is done.
Well, I agree with Dean on this one. He took the easy way out and should have gone to trial. Brothers should NOT take Bros. or any GL to any public profane court of law. Thats WRONG period. If you want to see changes, do them from the inside, slowly, with the consent of the brethren in your state and GL. This nonsense of forcing the fraternity to be like the mainstream outside world is wrong & will turn us into nothing more than the Lions Club or some other organization. If you want to make Freemasonry better and more popular again, put fraternity back into it. I see very few acts of fraternalism in this organization today, which it was so famous for.
I would not be so sure that he is out. Arkansas has always miscalculated its abilities amongst the world. But what do I know?
How you doing PGM George Franks Jr? Feel good to be out of the ole Arkansas?
Justin says:
How you doing PGM George Franks Jr? Feel good to be out of the ole Arkansas?
Are you saying that I am Franks? WRONG AGAIN!!! LOL!!! Who is Bro Franks?
Maybe I should say He is nolonger an AR Mason.
If he does try another state will he lie on his app. or explain why he is no longer an AR mason?
A new player, I guess Jaye is having finials or maybe the weather has him down.
Right finals are keeping me away. No its more or less pointless to point out various pieces of information because accusations continue to be furnished without evidence. Please prove me to be in the process of finals or whatever.
I am intrigued by this claim that another trial date was established and the claim that information was finally sent to the brother. I cannot for the life of me figure out how you all would know that if you are not privy to insider information. It also strikes me as odd that the Brother in question sought and confirmed no such letter sent and delivered or waiting for pickup with the U.S.P.S.
So please get your friends to give you copies of the information and the signature block showing it was received. Then you will have proven a friend to be a liar. Until that point, you are furnishing what must be a falsehood.
You will make some point about how that brother is wrong and lying as you always do. But just like the other times, you will not provide proof. And when you make some wild connection, it will be proven again as false.
So far you have claimed he writes articles that national columnists write, that he could not have been in Peru, that he photoshopped images, that he is just a weekend warrior so could never be in true service of his country, and many other points that are just plain wrong.
So, as far as I am concerned, this is the end of it because everything you say lacks proof.
Wow, substitute Al Quaeda and Taliban for GL and others and watch what happens. Any fatwas declared yet?
Why would the USPS send a letter not on letter head? Never got one like that!
In response to the charge that Derek Gordon received a second letter from the Grand Lodge of Arkansas with a new trial date, Gordon filed a seartch inquiry with the United States Post Office. Here is the response from the Post Office.
From: eCustomerCare National
Sent: Friday, May 14, 2010 10:46 AM
To: Derek Gordon
Subject: Response to your recent inquiry (Case ID 102049641) (KMM2654054I15977L0KM)
Dear Derek Gordon
I have searched the facility for any item for your address that requires a signature. I have found nothing.
If you can provide any type of special service number, certified mail, registered mail, insured mail, delivery confirmation or signature confirmation I will be happy to assist further.
Your carrier reports that your mail is delivered without any issue at your apartment box. He does not specifically recall having anything requiring a signature recently.
If I can be of further assistance please feel free to contact this office at 405-946-8493.
Thank you for choosing the United States Postal Service.
XXXXXX XXXXXXX
Manager, Customer Service
You are wasting your time by pointing out the obvious Beehive. These goons will operate on a mode to destroy and defame any good man’s character for standing up for what is right.
I rather enjoyed some audio tapes I heard of Arkansas’ leadership the other night. A brother on kidney dialysis was denied a restroom by ARGL during another secret “trial.” Oh how about another brother who had a heart attack during a similar “trial” and the GM denied him nitroglycerin tablets or an ambulance for some time.
I have encouraged that they be deposited online. So many Mainstream supporters and protectors seem to not even realize what they are covering up for. Or they are in it for some behind the scene scheme.
I was sure that “John” or “Curtis” would have responded with more illogical accusations and lies by now. They tend to be good are repeating the ARGL standard when proven wrong. That is to say, ARGL has a wonder with manipulation and accusations to try and destroy someones character so that they can paint with their wide brush any stroke that is desired.
I remember the day I was sent to the gallows. What did I do? I tried to bring the Grand Master up on charges of un-Masonic conduct. He broke the bylaws with which he took the position after the true Grand Master died. Then, he found himself fired for some sort of sexual harassment with the AR State Police. When a large group of us filed charges, we were all suspended indefinitely (because suspensions aren’t appealable) for a variety of reasons.
Oh Arkansas is a lovely organization. And I love watching people protect what they don’t know about OR what they are somehow connected to.
Justin I have been checking back off and on for the past few weeks waiting to see if the brilliant klan members would respond to your comment. Since they have not I want to say that I am sorry that what happened to you did happen.
To be expelled because you held a GM accountable for his actions when he broke your bylaws is just pathetic. I say expelled because indefinite suspension is just that no matter how these cronies use the wide brush to paint with.
The Grand Lodge of Arkansas is a strong reason why Masonry will end up dying with the younger men around the country especially the south.
Quitting is NOT an American trait much less that of a Freemason. I’ve read the Arkansas GL By-Laws and there are a number of remedies for any rank & file Mason to avail himself of, including legislation at a GL session. I have no idea whether Bro. Gordon committed a Masonic offense but by AR GL By-Laws he has the remedies of a Masonic Trial plus the GL in session can disapprove the actions of a GM. (bearing in mind ANY GL in session is largely rank & file Masons representing subordinate Lodges. If the various delegates choose to ignore a wrong, shame on them but unless one follows the procedures, which were agreed to during the Degree oaths, one cannot complain). The remarks by “Beehive” are inflamatory and apparently not based on hard facts because neither actual documents nor attributable quotes are used. I take no side on this because frankly neither I nor the other commentators are privy to the facts. Our oaths presecribe we are to circumspect whether our role is as a newly made Mason or a PGM. Shame on anyone who is not. Was the GM tolerant & objective? I do not know but neither was this article.
Father & son of Sr. DeMolays & Masons; Mosaic #125 AF&AM @ Dubuque, IA