A Letter to the Shriners

Sent to the officers of the ALCAZAR SHRINE:

Dear Officers of the Alcazar Shriners:

I was recently informed via an email circulated to the members
of the Alabama League of the South, of which I am a member,
that our organisation was not welcome at the Alacazar Shrine in
Montgomery, which the League had previously reserved for our
annual meeting in October, and that the League would be denied
the use of the facilities.

I am very disappointed, for two reasons. Firstly, I was looking
forward to seeing the Alcazar Shrine building, and perhaps
meeting some Shriners. I am not a member of the Shriners or a
Mason, but recent study has lead me to an interest in
Freemasonry, I have been trying to learn more about both
groups.

Secondly, I was disappointed because I expected the Shriners, of
all groups, not to take seriously the smears that certain
organisations (notably the Southern Poverty Law Center) have
made against the League, accusing it of being a racist “hate
group.” The Freemasons and Shriners have long been the
subject of innumerable wild allegations and conspiracy theories,
so I would hope that you would not take such charges at face
value. I note that on your internet homepage
(http://www.webruler.com/shriners/alcazar.htm), there is a
picture of a pin for past Potentate Sir Horace J. Russell which
features a Confederate Battle Flag. Some people would call that
a sign that the Shriners are also harbouring secret “hate,” but of
course any reasonable person would realise that such a leap of
logic is spurious and unjustified. The main criteria for being
designated a “hate group” by the SPLC seems to be that THEY
hate YOU.

The members of the League are good, upstanding people who
love their state and only want to make it better. Contrary to
what some people might have you believe, no LS members I
know wear sheets, burn crosses, or spend their time obsessing
over racial issues.

I ask that you please reconsider your decision and re-invite the
League to hold its state meeting at the Alcazar Shrine. You will
be hosting a group of fine people, and you might attract interest
in your organisation from potential new members, as well as
demonstrating that you will not be mislead or bullied into
following a tyrannical PC agenda which is quickly tending
towards making any display of Confederate symbols a “hate
crime.”

Sincerely,
Daniel V. Bowden, J.D.
past chairman, Tuscaloosa League of the South (2002-2004)