Saturday, February 2, 2013

Mercedes-Benz Super Bowl Commercial Links Freemasonry to Satan



Tomorrow, during the fourth quarter of the television broadcast of the Super Bowl, Mercedes-Benz will officially unveil its commercial for the all-new CLA-class automobile. It’s a terrific commercial. Unfortunately, it also is a monumental libel upon Freemasonry.

You can see the commercial for yourself here. The commercial features the talented Willem Dafoe (shown above) in a great turn as Satan.

No, Dafoe’s character is never actually named Satan, but the soundtrack features the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil” (available here with lyrics in the notes). More to the point, Dafoe’s character presents the protagonist with a contract to sign, a contract which has already been executed under the seal of “the Master of Devils and Demons” (translating the Latin, seen below). No reasonable person could see the commercial and think that Dafoe’s character is anyone other than Satan or one of his minions.



Here’s the thing: Satan is depicted as wearing a Masonic ring—on his left ring finger, yet!—easily visible at several points in the commercial, some of which feature close-up shots of Satan’s hands (two shown below).

 


(The pointy fingernails, à la the Devil in the film Rosemary’s Baby, are an especially nice touch, don’t you think?)

The implication is clear: Mercedes-Benz links Freemasonry to Satan. (Yes, I know, this particular ring shows that the Devil hasn’t gotten very far in Masonry, but that’s not the point.)

There are, of course, those who would say we should just ignore this in the spirit of good fun. Except that it’s not good fun to have to answer to people who think that Freemasons are devil-worshipping Satanists.

Last Wednesday night, I attended the Special Communication of the American Lodge of Research, at Masonic Hall, in New York City. (Facebook page here.) Those in attendance heard a paper on the topic, “Freemasonry and the Holocaust,” by Brother C. Moran (which will appear later this year in the published Proceedings). During the presentation, I was struck by the parallels between the situation of the German Masons in the 1930’s, and our Masonic situation today.

To a surprisingly large extent, these Masons faced the same outrageous accusations that Masons today are faced with: that Masonry is an international conspiracy, and so forth. The Taxil hoax occurred only about forty years or so before the Nazis came to power, and many people throughout Europe believed that Masons worshipped Lucifer. Sound familiar? All of this helped to create a climate where thousands of thousands of German and other European Masons would be imprisoned in concentration camps—and many murdered—by the Nazis during the Holocaust.
 
There are three things you can do to make your displeasure known:
 

1. Tell Mercedes-Benz Your Thoughts


The Mercedes-Benz people, knowingly or not, are perpetuating a dangerous myth by linking Freemasonry with Satan. I think we should complain about this—in great numbers. The following is the text of the e-mail that I am sending to Mercedes-Benz through their online comment form and the Facebook pages for Mercedes-Benz and Mercedes-Benz USA. (The latter page, incidentally, allows you to comment specifically about the commercial.) Feel free to adapt it for your own comment, if you wish:

For the 2013 Super Bowl, Mercedes-Benz sponsored a television commercial, titled “Soul,” about the new CLA. It features a character portraying Satan, who clearly wears a Masonic ring in plain sight on his left ring finger.

This linking of Freemasonry to Satan is no joke. It was rumors like this that set the stage for the imprisonment and murders of thousands of Freemasons in Europe by Nazis during the Holocaust. The false rumor that Freemasons worship Satan is alive and well among millions of Americans today. Mercedes-Benz is adding fuel to the fire of that defamation with this television commercial.

Surely, to sell cars, Mercedes-Benz would not jokingly link Jews to Satanism (another popular rumor during the Nazi era). It would be good to not jokingly link Freemasons to Satanism either.

There are over a million Masons in the United States. Every single one of them is old enough to purchase and drive a car. None of them is pleased about this.

Sincerely,

Mark Koltko-Rivera
Master Mason
Winter Park Lodge #239 Free and Accepted Masons (Florida)
The American Lodge of Research (New York)

Incidentally, the Mercedes-Benz Twitter handle is @MercedesBenz . I just tweeted them this: "@MercedesBenz: Why did you go out of your way to defame the #Freemasons in your #SuperBowl ad? http://themasonicblog.blogspot.com/2013/02/mercedes-benz-super-bowl-commercial.html" Why not drop Mercedes-Benz a tweet yourself?

2. Tell the Advertising Agency Your Thoughts

 
The people who produced the ad (and made the decisions about what rings Willem Dafoe would be wearing) and who placed the ad in the Super Bowl, and who rung up big billings doing all of this, are the advertising agency, Omnicom Groups' Merkley + Partners.
 
As of late Saturday night, Merkley+Partners is not sounding especially contrite. This is how they responded to one person (Ms. Jacquie Carson) who took issue with the ad on their Facebook page:
 
"We always strive to create advertising that’s consistent with both our agency and client values, and we believe the 2013 Mercedes Superbowl commercial delivers on that promise. It is our position that this commercial is simply a fun, exciting and innovative piece of advertising with the core objective of promoting a vehicle, and has no intention of insulting or offending anyone."

So, Merkley+Partners implies (however unintentionally) that misrepresenting Freemasonry as Satanic is consistent with their agency's and their client's values. Beyond that, it doesn't matter to them in the slightest that many Masons, their friends, and their families are insulted and offended by their ad: everything's fine, because they had "no intention of insulting or offending anyone."
 
What baloney. These guys deserve our greatest disdain, and they deserve to have that disdain made crystallinely clear. So let's do just that.
 
The advertising agency's Facebook page is here, and this is one way to reach them directly. Other ways include their postal address and telephone number: 
200 Varick Street, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10014
Tel. 212-805-7500

You can also contact specific individuals by e-mail:

Mr. Rob Moorman
Chief Marketing Officer
rmoorman@merkelyandpartners.com

Julia Zak
Assistant Media Planner
jzak@merkeleyandpartners.com

3. Tell the Advertising Industry Media Your Thoughts

The advertising business loves to hear about how the public perceives advertising. No ads get more attention, of course, than those on the Super Bowl.

As it happens, the industry paper Adweek has proclaimed the Mercedes-Benz ad one of the top ten ads of the Super Bowl. Adweek's website for this ad has a comment space, too. Why don't you tell them how you feel about the Mercedes-Benz ad?

- - -

UPDATES

(12:20 a.m. ET, Superbowl Sunday) There is now a petition on change.org, asking Mercedes-Benz to remove the Masonic ring from the ad. You may sign that petition here.

(11:49 p.m. ET Sat. 1/2) This topic has surely struck a nerve--1600+ pageviews of this post in eight hours!--but the real news worth sharing is that, as I had feared, the wild and wooly sector of the conspiracy community has latched on to the Mercedes-Benz ad as a legitimate communication from the Dark-Powers-That-Be, revealing their evil ways. Here is one good example, at "The Vigilant Citizen" blog--quite looney, but apparently somewhat popular.

Brethren, we need to step up to the plate for our Fraternity. Let's each take these three steps to do so.

- - -

I invite you to become a “follower” of this blog through the box in the upper-right-hand corner of this page, to be informed of future posts.

I discuss the basics of Freemasonry in my book, Freemasonry: An Introduction, published by Tarcher/Penguin. (Described here, available here.)



(Copyright 2013 Mark E. Koltko-Rivera. All Rights Reserved.)

125 comments:

  1. I am offended at the implications of this advertisement.

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    1. "Lucifer, the Light-bearer! Strange and mysterious name to give to the Spirit of Darkness! Lucifer, the Son of the Morning! Is it he who bears the Light, and with its splendors intolerable, blinds feeble, sensual, or selfish souls? Doubt it not!" [Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, p. 321, 19th Degree of Grand Pontiff .................Are these not the words of a 33rd degree mason by the name of albert pike ?

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    2. See my refutation of your apparent point in relation to your 1-minute-later comment.

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    3. Bill Schnoebelen.

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    4. Bill Schnobelen?

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  2. @Anonymous: And well you should be. So let's all let Mercedes-Benz know just _how badly_ offended we all are, through their contact page _and_ their Facebook page (links in the post.)

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    1. "Lucifer, the Light-bearer! Strange and mysterious name to give to the Spirit of Darkness! Lucifer, the Son of the Morning! Is it he who bears the Light, and with its splendors intolerable, blinds feeble, sensual, or selfish souls? Doubt it not!" [Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, p. 321, 19th Degree of Grand Pontiff

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    2. Anonymous: This particular shibboleth begs the response: "So what?" I would point out the following:

      -- Morals and Dogma is not some kind of "Masonic Bible," nor was Albert Pike some kind of "Masonic Pope." Pike was here making a statement of his own opinion, nothing more.

      -- The meaning of the passage--itself largely copied from Eliphas Levi's The History of Magic (1860/1913, p. 36)--is clearly explained by Arturo de Hoyos in his Annotated Edition of Albert Pike's Morals and Dogma (2011), which has become the de facto standard edition. I refer you to pp. 57-58.

      Essentially, Pike (quoting Levi) is simply saying two things:

      (1) The name of Lucifer, meaning "the Light Bearer," and his history as a Son of the Morning (KJV Isaiah 14:12), are each in sharp contrast with the current nature of the one we know as "the Prince of Darkness."

      (2) Lucifer, deceptively appearing as an angel of light, "blinds feeble, sensual, or selfish souls," a position entirely in harmony with biblical Christianity (see in the New Testament, 2 Corinthians 11:14).

      The fact that anti-Masons interpret a Christian-friendly, Bible-consistent passage as somehow being a reflection of Satanism shows just how weak the anti-Masonic case is.

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  3. Particularly egregious coming from a GERMAN company!

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  4. How sad. Imagine the outrage if he were wearing a Star of David?

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  5. Sent my letter to Mercedes

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  6. Knowing all the good that Freemasons do in communities, all over the world, I'm sadden in the use of Satan to help sell cars for Merecedes!

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  7. Mercedes seems to have forgotten that the Nazi's persecuted the Masons, at the same time supporting Mercedes by driving their vehicles.

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    1. Wouldn't that make an excellent counter commercial?!

      I'll bet a few creative folks could create a Mercedes ad with Nazis as the seller and customers.

      And some forward-looking slogan linking future Mercedes sales and supporting Nazis.

      "Mercedes: Superior transportation for Nazi's, since 1935."

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  8. heh, Don't think of it as promoting Satanism. Freemasons are so awesome even Satan is trying to become a mastermason!! I wonder if he could??? He his pretty tricky. Belief in a supreme being? Check. able to support himself? Check. I guess he wouldn't be into swearing on the VSL but knowing him he'd find a way to fake it!

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    1. But he wears an EA ring. Must be having a tough time getting thru the degrees.

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    2. EA's can't wear a Square & Comp. in California. Is it different elsewhere?

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    3. Not as far as I know. In West Virginia all lodges are AF&AM and nobody is allowed to wear a ring until you are raised.

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  9. I've been spreading the word on face book about this commercial and I urge you to do the same among your contacts
    I've a supporter of Mercedes efforts in motorsports but will no longer do that

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  10. I will spread the word as well.

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  11. Posted the following on the Mercedes-Benz Facebook page.

    I come from a long line of Freemasons, going back at least to the honorable statesman Henry Clay. My great grandfather, grandfather, and my husband are Masons, and have served in positions of responsibility. I assure you that Freemasons are among the most integrity-filled, self-sacrificing, honorable, God-loving men that I know. Your Superbowl ad that depicts Satan as a Freemason insults them all -- without any good reason. The ad is as distasteful as it is innacurate. What "genius" thought ir would be a good idea to insult 6 million members of the world's oldest fraternity, many of who can easily afford to purchase your automobiles??? Seriously???

    I would think that a German automaker would be aware that approximately 200,000 honorable, God-loving Freemasons were killed in German during the holocaust because of ignorant people in that day believed the lie about the Masons being affiliated with Satan. Mercedes-Benz has perpetuated that lie in front of one of the largest audiences in the world. What were you thinking?

    You do everyone a huge disservice perpetuating lies, and spreading prejudice and hate. Perhaps you should remind your ad agency that we live in a day when bigotry, prejudice, and hate are no longer tolerated. Moreover, if Freemasons are singled out today and are discriminated against, tomorrow, any other group could suffer the same fate..., due to their religion, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, or skin color. Your adis offensive on so many levels -- not just to Freemasons and their families, but people everywhere who could be among the next group that Mercedes-Benz decides to target.

    I assure you that I will never own a Mercedes-Benz, and I will tell every person I know who owns a Mercedes, or is considering purchasing a Mercedes, what your company has done. You should be ashamed.

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    1. I could not have said it any better. How sad that MB would even suggest this in their ad.

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  12. Brothers,

    I will spread the word of this blog.

    I agree that we should let Mercedes-Benz know that we find this distasteful. However, I wonder if we should not voice our distaste to Usher, Kate Upton and Willem Dafoe as well, for their participation in this tasteless ad depicting Masons as Satanists.

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  13. My thanks to all for your thoughts and efforts.

    I would suggest we all leave the actors alone: I doubt even Willem Dafoe knew what was going on here.

    However, the advertising agency that _created_ the ad is fully culpable. (If the ad costs $2 million to place, plus another pile to produce, you can bet that everything in that ad is carefully scrutinized.) The contact information for the ad agency is given in the body of the post above.

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  14. is Willem Dafoe a Freemason? even if he is not - he shuld be ashamed of himself

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  15. I'm sorry but I don't see any Masonic imagery in this ad. That is not a Masonic Ring!

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    1. What kind of ring is it, Jack?

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    2. I see no 4th part of a circle, so that is NOT a masonic ring. but with that said, I believe the intent was still there with the symbolism.

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  16. think it's great, think of how many idiots you can weed out of the recruitment demographic

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  17. @Anonymous: Again, I doubt that Willem Dafoe even knew what the wardrobe department was putting on his hand. The people to blame here are not the actors, but the advertising agency that produced the ad, and Mercedes-Benz itself, which you can be sure previewed and approved the ad. (Believe me, when the client is paying $2 million just to place the ad on the Super Bowl, the client checks every frame.)

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  18. @Jack Spencer: The ring is most certainly and without the slightest doubt Masonic. It looks slightly different from the Master Mason's ring common in the United States, but these sorts of rings are available from Masonic jewelers, and are worn especially in jurisdictions where the progress through the degrees proceeds more slowly than it does in most of the USA.

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    1. The Masonic symbol on the ring is that used commonly in a number of jurisdictions, including Peru.

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  19. The ad company has a facebook site. They even posted a rebuttle to one lady's comment on their ignorance. If anyone wants to direct comments to them, here is their site: https://www.facebook.com/MerkleyandPartners

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  20. I despised this misinformed advertising people!

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  21. I just posted the following on the facebook page of Mercedes-Benz's ad agency Merkley+Partners (M+P). I'm sure they would enjoy hearing from you also.

    Someone from M+P responded to a post from an individual who objected to Mercedes ad by saying that there were differences in opinion, and that the ad reflected the values of the ad agency and Mercedes-Benz. I posted the following in response to M+P's post and held their feet to the fire. If you desire, feel free to repost.

    It is good to know that the Mercedes-Benz Superbowl ad represents your ad agency’s values and that of your client. Really??? What specifically are these values based upon? Perhaps M+P and Mercedes-Benz are not aware that approximately 200,000 honorable, God-loving Freemasons were killed in Germany during the holocaust because ignorant people in that day believed the lie about the Masons being affiliated with Satan. And now, M+P and Mercedes-Benz have perpetuated that lie in front of one of the largest audiences in the world. Without question, the character playing Satan in the ad is wearing a Masonic ring. The camera even focuses on it to make sure that no one misses the point you are making. What are the values that support finding humor in the slaughter of innocent human beings? I’d like to understand.

    Moreover, perpetuating lies, and spreading prejudice and hate does a disservice to everyone. We live in a day when bigotry, prejudice, and hate are no longer tolerated – there is no humor found in discriminatory behavior. People today are saavy and understand that if Freemasons are singled out today and are discriminated against, tomorrow, any other group could suffer the same fate..., due to their religion, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, or skin color. Your ad is offensive to so many, on so many levels -- not just to Freemasons and their families, but people everywhere who could be among the next group that M+P or Mercedes-Benz decides to target. Let’s talk about those values you mentioned again.

    M+P’s perpetuation of ignorance, lies, and prejudice against the Masons is not a matter of opinion—your ad went out of its way to make sure everyone viewing the ad saw that Satan was wearing a Masonic ring. There is no difference in opinion. We get it. What is harder to understand is why M+P felt it necessary to include the Masonic reference because your ad would have been far more effective without it. However, suggesting that Satan was a Mason has insulted 6 million members of the world’s oldest fraternity, many of whom could easily afford to purchase a Mercedes-Benz.

    You may be aware that thousands of Freemasons are already talking about your ad on social media. Many are suggesting that people boycott Mercedes-Benz on a permanent basis. After the Superbowl, you can be assured that the disappointment and anger that is being voiced now will go viral. M+P and Mercedes-Benz would be far better served by not being defensive about the ad, or trying to put a positive spin on the tremendous error in judgment that it represents. Your suggestion that the ad is somehow an expression of positive values is a joke – and I won’t be the only one to call you on this.

    You might want to consider what a Mason would do if they realized that they had made a monumental error in judgment and had harmed others. Humbly admit that you were wrong, that you deeply regret that you harmed others, and make amends. You might even want to consider cutting the Masonic reference out of the ad, simply because it is the right thing to do.

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  22. Perhaps someone in the L.A. area, such as the 50 or more Masonic Lodges appear en mass at the LAPD Hollywood substation and insist Mr. Dafoe be cited for, and prosecuted with a misdemeanor for representing himself as a member of our fraternity. Freemasonry is one of the most honorable fraternities in world history. Yes, we've had some "bad seeds", but they usually expose themselves over time and are expelled for their misdeeds. Being a Past Master and long-time officer of my lodge, I am proud of the history of the fraternity, and happy that I am continuing the legacy of my grandfather. To be honest, I did have to re-run the spot in the ad several times before I caught the ring on Mr. Dafoe's hand. Regardless, I concur that Mercedes Benz should have their agency edit that portion of the ad out of the commercial at the expense of the agency.
    And who would think a prestigious automobile manufacturer would even give a pass to an advertisement that in no uncertain terms links themselves to Satanism? If the car is so great, why wouldn't they align themselves with something like goodness and kindness? To suggest that you have to make a deal with the devil to own a Mercedes Benz is just plain stupid.

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  23. @Anonymous: I get your frustration and irritation totally. However, I must reiterate: I do not think Mr. Dafoe had the slightest idea what was going on here. Mercedes-Benz did, and their ad agency, Merkley+Partners, certainly did, and it is _their_ feet we should be holding to the fire, not the actors'.

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    1. Perhaps he did not but he should be told about our feelings. On the other hand, complaining to the ad agency doesn't make much sense either. If Mercedes approved it, they are the culprits. Could very well be it was their idea and not the ad agencies.

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    2. Letting the ad agency know what they have done, and of our displeasure, will get their attention. They took money, a lot of money, to spread the oldest and most persistent lie about the craft. Dafoe was not just wearing a Masonic ring, the cameraman focused on the right to be sure everyone understood the point that was being made. The ad agency knew exactly what they were doing, thinking it would sell cars. If the ad agency's feet are held to the fir, perhaps they will be more resonsible in the furture. From a social justice perspctive, what M+K has done is reprehensible. Shame on Mercedes for going along with what the ad agency suggested.

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  24. the ring belongs to a 1st degree mason..

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  25. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  26. you touched on the Nazi persecution of Mason, not only the did the Nazis murder our Brothers, in Spain a certain Facist Dictator by the name of Franco had our brothers line up a shot in cold blood for being members of Freemasonary

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  27. Mercedez Bend USA's Facebook page has removed all posts regarding this controversy. Apparently, they aren't interested in having any sort of dialogue about it. How very cowardly of them.

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  28. Utterly disappointed.

    I have made my opinions known through all of the available sources.

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  29. It's not unlawful to impersonate a mason.

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  30. Who gives a shit? Are we so daily offended when told by somebody else how upset we should be? I don't care at all and 99% of people watching won't even notice or put this ad through the scrutiny you did.

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    1. We "give a shit.". It is unlawful to misrepresent membership in organizations which you do not belong! We will press Mercedes Benz, the ad agency running this commercial and which created it and William Dafoe to the full extent of the allowable prosecution according to US and international laws.

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    2. Agreed their attack on us has just began let it go once it will be always maybe we should make sure all the football players beating women should be brought to the light afterall THEY ALLOWED IT AS DID THE CBS NETWORK so they supported it to

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  31. Brothers please sign my petition to stop this http://www.change.org/petitions/mercedes-benz-remove-the-super-bowl-commercial-titled-soul?utm_campaign=share_button_mobile&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition

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  32. M+P- such a disgrace. You obviously know nothing about masons. Did you know that Shriners are also Freemasons? And look at all of the amazing things this organization has done for charities and sick children. What does M+P do for charity? For sick kids? As far as I can see you are more interested in capitalizing off the ignorance of others by defaming a very commendable organization and targeting their families. My husband is a Shriner and the Lord Jesus Christ is our Savior! Sadly this ad will further perpetuate the ignorance surrounding masons. Shame on you!

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  33. How would MB feel if a group such as "Protect our Children" used their vehicle in an ad where a pedophile is offering candy to a little child? I think they'd have plenty to say and we wouldn't see that ad on TV.

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  34. This is awful. I have sent messages on both Mercedes facebook page and their website and i messaged the ad company on their website and their facebook page. To be honest, i dont believe anything will change, but i did it all the same.

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  35. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  36. We MUST do something to either stop this advertisement from being aired or seek reparations from the damage this will cause and from the insult it is to the Masonic community. It is not lost upon me, the PERSECUTION that the Jews, homosexuals and Freemasons endured during the Nazi regime, and what company was instrumental in manufacturing war machines and assisting the German war effort? Mercedes Benz, and here they are decades later once again perpetuating dangerous lies for profit.

    Gentlemen in addition to the actions already being taken by other Masons in this thread, I call for a full boycott of all products the ad agency running this commercial represents, Mercedes Benz and any affiliate companies as well as William Dafoe, his films or other projects. I would like to see civil or criminal charges levied against the ad agency, Mercedes Benz and William Dafoe for slanderous speech and defamation respectively, as well as impersonation of a fraternal body which he does not belong!

    Brothers we do not have to take this and like it we will go to the media if we must and to the courthouse we will certainly go!

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  37. a disgusting slight on a charity that helps so many people regardless of their colour , creed or religious back round .I should have thought that Mercedes Benz should have known better and I shall certainly be making my feelings felt

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  38. Looks like the Freemasons need a baby bottle and a pacifier to go with this thread. Grow up and get a life to go with that.

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  39. I'm a PM and sitting Tyler in CO and really don't see this as a big deal. 99% of people won't even notice the ring and crowing about it will only draw attention to it. Further, stoic dignity will serve us better than a lot of complaints. I'm personally laughing it off and THANKING M-B for the MILLIONS in free publicity they've given us. For whatever they say, all they are doing is getting more people to see what we are REALLY about.

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  40. You fellow travelers sound like a bunch of cry baby libtards. Oh how I'm offend, blah blah blah. Were you also offended by Madonna and The Who's use of Masonic imagery?

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  41. think of it this way: there is no "G"... a fitting symbol for a godless person
    ~PM

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    1. The G is conspicuously absent in European and some Asian jurisdictions and has been since the (re)introduction of The Craft in the 18th C. It is mainly an American construct. The letter G was inserted by American Freemasonry around 1849 during one of the Grand Masters Conferences. Prior to that, we used it similar as does English freemasonry, just the S&C. You will note early colonial pieces such as jewerly and aprons and paintings without the letter G. In paintings, aprons and some very early engravings the letter G would be suspended in most cases by a ribbon from an arch. Please do your research, Brother.

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  42. When one offends Muslims, it is called freedom of speech, but Freemasons it is a different story. Right?

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  43. The big question of the day is did Mercedes edit the commercial because of all the complaints or did the "short form" version already not show the ring?

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  44. Any updates? Did they air the unedited ad? I work overnights over the weekend and slept through the game.

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  45. well, at least you folks aren't taking it too seriously.

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  46. I didn't see the ring shot in the ad last night.

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  47. Just checked out the Mercedes Facebook page. It's interesting to note that the only people who are even aware of the ring's depiction are Masons. No one would even notice or care if they weren't drawing attention to it. It's also interesting to note that for all the upset of a split second shot of the ring, none of the Brothers seem upset about the continued habitual objectification of women in the ad.

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  48. it looks like they did not show the ring during the MB commercial last night. they must have edited it already.

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  49. Beware the Streissand Effect. While the commercial's inappropriate use of our symbolism was an unfortunate blunder, the majority of people watching the commercial will not take notice of it. Commercials live and die in a short period. By churning up so much attention, we only make more aware of it and perhaps perpetuate the lie ourselves (via other's lack of research to show them the truth).

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  50. Mercedes USA Facebook page apparently indicates the commercial has been edited. An apology would be nice, but I doubt that will happen.

    Mike Poole, PM
    Urbana #157
    AF&AM of IL

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  51. Yeah, tell your damage control crap to Albert Pike. Deceivers? yeah...Yahweh's Ruach ha Kodesh condemns and convicts you for your volition.

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  52. I am 100% positive Mercedes knows exactly who satan is, what the ring means, and what god the mason's serve. Everybody who is upset with them acknowledging the mason's god as satan is just in denial that they worhip and serve him.

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  53. While people are complaining about the ring's depiction, perhaps we can remember what it actually represents? Something about keeping passions within due bounds?

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  54. Putting my extreme disappointment aside--and turning to humor--as a Freemason I'd like to know who sponsored him!

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  55. I must concur with the Brethren above who observe that the ad moves so quickly very few would ever pay attention to the rings adorning the phalanges. (Without re-viewing do you recall the emblem on the other piece of jewelry depicted in the ad? Or where it was worn?) My comment is this: With all due respect to the Brethren - it is my view that ring in question is not a masonic ring at all. The true emblem consists of the the letter G surrounded by the square and compass. The ring in the ad has no square nor G. It appears to me to be two compasses. Could that be the symbol of some fraternity or society that may have a legitimate concern with the ill will and slanderous damage this ad may cause? As for our Brotherhood . . .the less said the better.

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    1. Not true at all. The USA added the "G" sometime after the civil war. And the UGLE still doesn't use it.

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    2. The ring next to the ring with the square and compass was a skull. The finger on his other hand looks to be gold with a round piece of pearl or opal in the center.

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  56. Years ago an Englishman said to me:

    "The Msaons are different in two ways -- they're damn hard to get into, and whenever anyone says anything about them, they don't respond at all."

    That's old school, kids. Speculation has its place --- after all, we do desire "more light" and seek wisdom -- that would be Lucifer and Prometheus, right? Plus Satan certainly believes in a Supreme Being -- he's just not going with the program.

    Any publicitiy is good publicity -- better to be controversial than unknown and irrelevant to today's world, "paragons of mediocrity" as was forewarned by a Grand Master of Washington in the 80s.

    Incidentally, I am a Past Master of Lafayette, a Mason since 1984, and member of five lodges (two Washington, two Tokyo, one New York), life member of York Rite, four Scottish Rite Valleys, a Senior Demolay (Master Councilor 1968), and a Shriner. The only Masonic organizations I don't belong to are Eastern Star, Job's Daughters, and Rainbow.

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  57. Im not w mason and didnt notice the ring. but maybe because they didnt show it last night.

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  58. That is not even a Masonic ring. Any Mason should know this, and no Mason would ever wear that ring. We wear rings not to advertise, but to remind us to "square" our actions. I don't see anything "square" about that ring. Come on brothers, let's not take this too serious.

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  59. Update - Mercedes Benz USA is now scrubbing their facebook page and removing all Masonic related comments.

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  60. I added a couple of cents' worth to the ad's FB page.

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  61. Isn't it somewhere written that a mason should never involve himself in defending freemasonry lest he be found guilty of being the same as his persecutors?

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  62. In CO we say, "Don't let your zeal for the institution pull you into argument with those who, through their ignorance, would ridicule it."

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  63. The ring does have meaning... but also denotes that the wearer is NOT a 3rd Degree Master Mason. (Examine it closely.) Therefore, given the context, it is quite humorous! Look closely. ;-)

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  64. this commecial is unfounded and in my opinion b.s.

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  65. I doubt seriously if Mercedes-Benz could withstand as much scrutiny as Freemasonry.

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  66. If MB appreciates satan so be it

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  67. Don't forget, the devil is a trickster. He may be wearing the ring as a token of his being honorable and trustworthy, trying to fool the protagonist.

    Also, the association of the elite nature of the car with that of the fraternity.

    Present a problem, get the desired reaction, offer the predetermined solution.

    Masons might bring any further damage to themselves by creating more attention to this.
    Let Kate Upton take the controversial limelight.

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  68. Peter Harries (Ph.D) AustraliaFebruary 5, 2013 at 11:22 PM

    Peter Harries (Ph.D) Australia

    Freemasonry is not a religion; exists for the good of humanity; acknowledges a greater force for good than Man in the Universe and probably has had as many other misfits as any other body of any kind, including every version of all so-called 'religious'organisations!

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  69. Possibly the higher-ups in Masonry decided to do this? I'd beg any of you to actually read Albert Pikes writings. I'll quote here, ""That which we must say to the crowd is - we worship a God, but it is the God that one adores without superstition. To you, Sovereign Grand Inspectors General (of the 33rd degree), we say this, that you may repeat it to the brethren of the 32nd , 31st and 30th degrees - The Masonic Religion should be, by all of us initiates of the high degrees, maintained in the purity of the Luciferian doctrine."

    Masons refer to the Christian God as, "Adonay" and site Him as a cruel and hateful God, and that Lucifer, the light bringer, is one who wishes to bring light to humanity.

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  70. Link to Profile Image to boycott Mercedes Benz and Merkley Facebook/ Twitter Image. http://bit.ly/BoycottMercedes

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  71. Maybe it had something to do with the popemobile contract.
    quid pro quo..
    http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/transport/article3628099.ece

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  72. Not sure what happened to the comment I placed up here earlier. Hopefully it was not deleted. Let me reiterate that there are indeed Brethren who are Satanists. As Freemasons we are to accept them as Brothers and not discriminate. Let's all please remember this when stating opinions about a Worthy Brother's beliefs.

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    1. Also, not all Satanists are violent, hateful, animal-sacrificing, black magicians who want to kill you and your families. Study up, Fellows. Be Masons and learn before you judge your Brothers for anything. Read, talk, listen and know. Anything else is out of The Light and fumbling in the darkness.

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    2. Indeed we neither ask nor judge the manner or form of a brother's belief in a Supreme Being, however the Faustian form of this commercial, combined with the relatively recent history of Germany's systematic persecution and murder of Freemasons partially due to canards such as this one, are what makes this ad a major problem.

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  73. I knew FreeMasons were a bunch of Satanists. Just like Siboleth and Tubalcane and MaHaBone

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  74. UPDATE:
    The following statement was posted on Mercedes-Benz USA's Facebook page in the comment section under the commercial's preview post:

    Mercedes-Benz USA To all concerned:

    We apologize to anyone offended by the use of the ring worn in our commercial, 'Soul,' that ran during the Super Bowl.

    It was not our intention to make any association with the Freemasons or any organization. In fact, neither we nor our advertising agency were aware that the ring could be associated with the Freemasons. To avoid any confusion going forward, we will modify the commercial prior to any future television airings.

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    1. Unaware that the ring was associated with Freemasons? Really? To not know the compass and square as the universal symbol of one of the oldest and best known faternal organizations on the planet is complete crap. Someone, I'm guess costume design has watched one to many badly produced movies, that blame Mason's from everything from black magic to 911. All the while ignoring the millions of dollars and countless years of civic work, like the Shriner's Children Hospital. Or even giving the respect to an organization whose members cultivated the ideas of the freedoms granted to us by the Constitution. A simple appology on a website, that what 10 people may see vs the largest television audience of the year. That is like the a newspaper printing a retraction to a front page story on page 11. I suggest you find a good PR firm for yourself and your client. We Mason's circle the globe, tend to be higher networth individuals, you know the market for your client, and we do not take a slap in the face lightly. I would imagine you just lost several potential clients.

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    2. I have looked for a Press Release from Mercedes-Benz and the New York ad agency who created "Soul" Merkley and Partners and could not find it.. So therefore the above remarks are not an Official Statement, not to mention was deleted off the MBusa Facebook page and was only placed in the comments under 100 others. They have not apologized!

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  75. @elias is there a link? I can't seem to find the page where it says that. There's a lot of Mercedes Benz USA pages

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  76. EA Berry: I am apparently in the minority of Freemasons who really don't care about this. The only reason anyone knows about it is that a Mason tagged the 2 visible frames in the commercial. When shown at full speed, you can't see a thing. In fact, I have asked people who watched the game if they saw the commercial and what they remembered of it. No one even know he was wearin *any* hand jewelry. While I get the *offended* sentiment, there are real communities in the world who actively portray Freemasons as Satanists. If anyone wants to spend time protecting our reputation, they would be better rewarded going after them.

    I actually think the ring is pretty cool and would likely buy one if I could find it. I would hum a Rolling Stone's song each and every time I wore the ring.

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    1. You may be in the minority but you're not alone.

      It's not "libel," it's just a lame joke...and that's all anybody will interpret it as.

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    2. I would contend that you are the majority. Masonry at it's most basic has taught me that we should be above this. It seems a bit silly to defend a craft of secrets to individuals who are not privy to them. As an organization we have survived much worse. Lighten up brothers.

      A.F.&A.M

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  77. here is no apology unless it is an Official Press Release..... End of story. Need to be a press release so other may quote and run the story

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  78. I had a bad feeling when I seen this commercial during the Super Bowl, and today I come to find that the actor portraying Satan is wearing a Masonic EA ring. I am extremely appalled at the blatant disgracing of our beloved fraternity and would like anyone within our community to boycott Mercedes! I am tired of explaining myself to idiots that cannot seen to understand that we are not satanists! Legal actions need to be taken against Mercedes for defaming the integrity of our brethren.

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  79. If a donation web page can generate $750,000 for a senior bus monitor who is taunted and bullied by children, maybe one could solicit donations from the brethren to a legal fund to finance a libel suit. A few million freemasons each contributing a small amount would produce millions of dollars and be able to teach a lesson in integrity to those who would otherwise feel free to associate Satan with any group of people that suits them.

    If enough of the brethren are seriously offended by this then maybe enough could be raised to buy Merkley+Partners so we could fire the entire Board of Directors and every executive who had a hand in the production of this advertising abortion.

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  80. The email address rmoorman@merkelyandpartners.com at this page must be rmoorman@merkleyandpartners.com.

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  81. A "monumental libel?" Please.

    It's only libelous if people believe it. Nobody could possibly think this is evidence that our fraternity is Satanic. Even the most deranged conspiracy nut will see this for what it is: an attempt at humor (not a very good one at that) by people who obviously have nothing to do with Freemasonry.

    This is a silly thing to worry about and complain about. Ignore it.

    Dave
    Garden City Lodge AF & AM, Newtonville, MA

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  82. Brother Masons, if you go to this posting on the Facebook Mercedes Benz Page:

    https://www.facebook.com/mercedesbenzusa, go to the February 3rd posting about the commercial, and then in the comments, open up "see previous comments", and scroll to the date of February 6 at 4:01pm you will see this:

    "Mercedes-Benz USA To all concerned:

    We apologize to anyone offended by the use of the ring worn in our commercial, 'Soul,' that ran during the Super Bowl.

    It was not our intention to make any association with the Freemasons or any organization. In fact, neither we nor our advertising agency were aware that the ring could be associated with the Freemasons. To avoid any confusion going forward, we will modify the commercial prior to any future television airings.
    February 6 at 4:01pm

    It appears they heard our voices!!!

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  83. Great job everybody. Hope that they would stop this sort of commercial since it is pretty embarrassing.

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  84. Brothers, I saw this commercial before the Academy Awards, and the ring now appears as having a blank red surface. Much better.

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  85. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  86. Given that 'The Devil' is a composite character made up by medieval Catholics out of unrelated entities like Leviathan the Chaos Serpent, the zealous advocate of God Shaitan, Nahushtun the winged serpent, and a host of unrelated crypto-Roman and Persian figures - who cares? Christians made up their own Ahriman, and the more they bitch about him the better they make him sound (because their religion - or their version of the religion - is deliberately anti-intellectual and anti-world).

    I certainly wouldn't mind if I were associated with the Devil (or with Freemasonry), what would be really offensive is being associated with these 14-IQ Flyover Christians who don't know theology from a pig's arse.

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  87. Great work Brothers. Satan is a EA---cant get his obligation down without starting on fire.

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  88. I'm pleased to see Mercedes perceptive advertisement. Perhaps now it's time to purchase on of their lovely automobiles!

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  89. Yes the ring has been modified in the commercial.
    It is now a blank ring.
    See it here:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu8aT6bcjFY

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  90. The ring on the devil's finger is not a masonic ring. The square is elevated above the compas. No mason wears such a ring.

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  91. As A Mason I would like to point out that that is not a Masonic Symbol The Square and Compasses do not look like that A square is an angle of 90 Degrees there is no 90 Degree angles on the ring except on the corners of the stone set in the ring the emblem itself although similar is not A square and Compasses
    Ed Sisk
    Blackhawk Lodge #11

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  92. Bro. Sisk,

    I get where you are coming from. However, for the purposes of my post, it is important to note that even a badly drawn Masonic symbol is still a reference to Freemasonry--in this case, a particularly malicious reference to Freemasonry.

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