I found it funny to find a flurry of blogs (here, here, and here too) making the proclamation that Congressman Bob Etheridge of North Carolina was a Freemason and somehow that was note-worthy in light of his recent outburst at the student journalist on the streets of Washington.
The references suggested that he was the present Grand Orator no less but I can’t seem to find any credible sources – the North Carolina Grand Lodge doesn’t list him as the G.O., so I think they were going on old info.
It does look like a Masonic membership reference was edited out of his Wikipedia page which still comes up in a Google search for Bob Etheridge Freemason.
If you haven’t seen the video, its been widely circulated. This is the unedited version.
I first heard about it through a Facebook post, and then as now I wanted to see the unedited linear video, (which is what I published above) but in the curt and past society of story telling news, the footage is all we can go by, nothing more, nothing less. It reminded me of a Hemingway story, all you have is the story itself that starts where it starts and ends where it ends giving no context to the events themselves.
The original video was posted by DCCameraGuy, so Fox News is reporting, and the footage was for a “project” as the blurred faces in the footage say to the enraged Congressman. You can almost hear the crack as he starts to snap.
Etheridge has since apologized and given his mea culpa for what led up to that moment caught on camera. I buy it, but is it enough? Do you think he just snapped, or was this another attempt at a ‘gotcha media’ moment? Should he face assault charges? Should he remain in Congress?
And, whether or not Representative Etheridge is a Freemason, or not, has nothing to do with what happened in this video.
The Congressman behaved boorishly, in a manner unfit for a member of Congress. I wholeheartedly support efforts to open an inquiry into his actions on the day in question. His “apology” smacks more of fallout control than it does of sincerity. Just another example of “do as I say, not as I do”. I’ve grown very tired of prominent politicians being given allowances not provided the general, electing, population and coverups initiated by their “friends” in high office and the media. Republican, Democrat or Independent, Masonic or uninitiated, the Constitution provides rights and protection (as well as responsibilties) for ALL, not a select few. Had I or any other citizen behaved in this manner, we would have been facing a judge in a criminal or civil court. I trust the “dishonorable” Mr Etheridge will do likewise.