I saw someone write this quote from the FAQ:
Q: Aren't the Dollars colorless? Why are people trying to be public about us?
A: "In short - We, As a community, have come to the conclusion that if you want to do a public Dollars event, then you are free to do what you want. We are not a secret society like the Illuminati or Freemasons."

I'm not sure where in the FAQ this is, but I'm insulted by the insinuation that the Freemasons are anything like the Illuminati. I'm in a branch called Job's Daughters, and while there may be secret work, it's not important to the overall way things are run. Most girls are annoyed at even having to bother learning it. Masons are pretty open and non-secret; most of our affairs are posted on the internet for all to see.
Here is some of the ritual of Job's Daughters: http://www.stichtingargus.nl/vrijmetselarij/iojd_r.html
We wear chaste, long white robes, walk around and sing. Often, we volunteer, serve luncheons, and raise thousands for charities each year.
Here is some from another group, DeMolay's ritual:
http://www.stichtingargus.nl/vrijmetselarij/demolay_r2.html
They donate tons of money to charity, also volunteer, and also donate to charities.

Compare this to the Illuminati. I don't know much about them, but I've heard that they are a secret society bent on world domination, and are at the root of all conspiracy theories. I apologize if there is someone here in the Illuminati who disagrees with this, but the way I've seen it, "Illuminati" is synonymous with "Satanist cult".
I know this might not be the most relevant, but I'm not sure where else to bring this up. Masons really aren't that different from Dollars. We just want to make the world a better place.

Well, from what I can see, they were only alike in that the Freemasons do in fact participate in things that are secret to all but their members. Though not entirely secretive, it is still a somewhat secretive society.

The Dollars, at least this particular website, doesn't even have that. Absolutely everything is right here, on this site, and access is two Google searches away. (One to find the site, the other to find the password) And that's if someone were looking to gain entry without prior knowledge from anime, or friends.

By no means do I believe that the Freemasons were meant to be insulted, it was more than likely just a single likeness observed by the author of that Q&A.



-Sidenote-

I believe that the Illuminati, like any other large group, has many different goals due to the large number of members. Extremists may be bent on world domination, but I'm sure many members simply seek knowledge, and to enlighten others. Though not Satanic, I do believe they are a cult, though. However, I am not a member, so I have no idea what rituals they may go through, or what orders in the society might exist for what purposes.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on your post, OP. I dunno if it makes any difference in your thoughts on the Q&A or the Illuminati, but it's something consider.

The Illuminati are basically the same thing as ad the Freemasons...

By calling upon the bad storybook/Hollywood version of the Illuminati, you are propagating the same insinuation YOU were insulted by. In fact, many modern and historical 'Illuminati' organization are based directly on, or founded as a direct descendant of Freemasonry.

They are the same thing, with slightly differing ideology, or even sometimes, the exact same ideology.

The Freemasons have come out of the whole "secrecy" business some time ago. They even have public forums and such for anyone to become a part of and join, really.

And about the whole "the Dollars are the same as the freemasons"
Not really. Last I checked we didn't require anyone to hold a belief of God, which the masons did, last I checked. We also don't have nearly a history as they do, and are generally much more open, considering how easy it is to get access to this site.
From a moral aspect though, they're similar in some ways I suppose.

And furthermore saying that the Illuminati is a "satanist cult" without any reference other than Hollywood exaggeration seems extremely biased. While not much is known about them other than wild theories, I highly doubt that anyone not in the group can call them such without a sturdy basis.

Still, I highly doubt anyone meant offense in the way you interpreted it, OP. It was merely an example, from what I can tell, not an attack on a group.

Oh its another one of THESE threads again...

How many fucking times are we going to have conversations about secret societies, the illuminati, freemasons, conspiracy theories, etc. etc.....?

o_O my name; you have my name!._.

Lyn(n)'s a pretty common name. You really shouldn't be surprised.

Freemasons are secret, but if anyone decides to disclose their membership nobody will be punished. Besides, different branches tend to have slightly different rules.

Sorry, but this thread blows.

Guys, it was a valid point and it received valid responses and counterargumets. There's no sense in flaming OP just because they were wrong - honestly, this stuff isn't particularly common knowledge to begin with. Hell, I learned something from the discussion.

Unlike previous threads relating the dollars to these kinds of groups (or not), it was more well-informed rather than a casual observation.

>>9

Also, this thread was about the comparison between the Masons and the Illuminati, with really no relation to the Dollars, so, any hostility here is doubly misplaced... :l

Unless you're Illuminati.

I think you guys missed the point (aside from Umbra). The Freemasons and Illuminati both have secrets. Say whatever you will about how less secretive they are, they still have their secrets, which. The FAQ uses these groups as a reference just to say that we don't have any secrets, and that's it.

Now, will people stop acting butthurt and let this thread die?

We have these threads almost weekly. They accomplish nothing

>>12 The threads in question are more along the lines of direct comparisons between the Dollars and the Illuminati or the Freemasons, or some other autonomous collective - stuff we've been over time and time again. But rarely do we have an actual discussion about the group(s) alone, which is what this thread served to do.

I know there's a large number of useless or redundant threads, especially on the main board, but if you give it the benefit of the doubt, once in a while a thread that appears irrelevant will surpass that expectation. At some point, the grey area of "not sure if bad thread" became unquestionably "THIS THREAD IS BAD," and that's just as bad practice as allowing any thread to pass.

But I guess all that needed to be said has been said, anyway.

Bump (:

no one cares
sage/

>>15 Yeah sage.

Shut it, People might care

>>1
The thing is, we are colorless, but we aren't non-existent. The colorlessness of the Dollars comes how clear, transparent objects blend in with their surroundings. We aren't trying to non-existent, but at the same time we are trying to now stand out to the point at which we appear to have a color. It's like how transparent glass is hard to notice, but still exists. To see it, one must really focus on the clues that reveal that the glass is there, as opposed to a colorful poster, which attracts attention and stands out. We the Dollars are like that glass, our good deeds (and bad but hopefully more good) are the clues that show that our group exists, but our individual members' identities remain unknown (or are supposed to be at least, which is why I use the alias, "Shade", instead of my real name). In that sense we are similar to the Illuminati in only one aspect: we "try" to change to world from the "shadows". However, the intent of the Dollars and the Illuminati are very different (we just wanna do good,not take over the world, not start a conspiracy).

Colorless just kinda means no one knows that an individual person is a member of the Dollars. Doesn't mean the group as a whole can't stick out.

I've always liked that fact about the Dollars. It has been an interesting idea to me ever since I got into Durarara. I'm upset I never thought about this when I was younger, but it is cool to be apart of it now!

>>1 Lyn, you made the same generation that you're complaining abour. Just because you have bothered to do the research about satanic cult doesn't mean that they are secretive, you can find almost all information about them even if you are not part of the cult.

PS I know what you meant/intended the most convey. My grandfather was a 32nd degree mason.

Some historians believe that over time, as the Illuminati became more normal and less secretive the became the Free Masons. I don't know if that's true though. Although the Illuminati has an extremely interesting origin story so if you're bored you shoupd look it up.