Benton
Premium Member
That's not a bad thing.
It is if the committee is so eager for new members that they don't thoroughly investigate a new candidate.
That's not a bad thing.
Our committees are usually made up of inactive members that the WM is attempting to get involved. Not a good idea.
Not very surprising, Brother. The rules regarding this in Texas are not even understood by most Texas Masons. You can see in this thread alone that there are significantly divergent opinions on how this should be done, most offered by well-meaning brothers who think they have the best interests of Masonry in mind.I have problems in understanding your ways.
It is a typical emotion, that, after entering an elitist groups, one is eager to lift the standards, even higher than oneself would fulfill. That way, you can make yourself better.Brothers,
It's a little ironic that the Fraternity that opened its door (West Gate) to you and to me should now be more guarded against whom we let in and whom we don't.
In my jurisdiction, we solved that problem in a different way. A candidate is only refused completely, if more than 3 black balls are thrown. 1-3 black balls have to be argumented and explained. That means, the brother, who threw the black ball has 3 days time, to explain himself to the WM (not in front of the brotherhood). Otherwise, the black ball is considered an error and negated. But, even if the brothers explain themselves, it is up to the WM to take their arguments into consideration or not. He may refuse the petitioner, he may postpone him for 1 year, or he may declare the ballot in favor and continue. Only with 4 black balls and up, this procedure is no longer used.The three balls were changed because one disgruntled member could essentially kill a Lodge just because of difference in opinion on a separate issue or by mistakenly picking up an incorrect cube.
...I personally have witnessed a Past Master and his cronies vote against a candidate just because of a personally vendetta against the Worshipful Master...
...The laws protect this behavior with the secret ballot...
a guy walk in off the street, ask for a petition, and several guys in the lodge scramble to write their name on his petition
We sacrifice our integrity in deference to the idea that we need quantity to survive
Our entire investigation, recommendation, and voting process, in my opinion, is broken.