C&B
I accept your view which is one that is formed from a position of ignorance (i.e lack of knowledge, no slur intended). Please will you accept from me that in my experience and the peer group around me i have not (and they haven't) ever used Masonry to gain any form of advantage. It does not happen. I know that there are various books out there ('The Brotherhood' springs to mind) which are full of sensationalist sh**e. There is nothing in that book that resembles anything i have ever encountered, but the reason it was full of sensationalist sh**e was to sell books, and it worked. It is now starting to hurt banging my head on the wall, i repeat, we help the poor, not ourselves. There may be other groups that naturally give advantage to each other, but apart from a bed for the night if a visiting mason is in the area we do not do that. I do not know how to make it any clearer.