Hats in the Lodge More a Problem Than Smoking? Readers Disagree
Editor’s note: Last issue, we published a letter from Ohio member Emerson Brady, who noted that he’s a smoker but that “it doesn’t bother me to go to nonsmoking activities; I can do without, or go to a smoking area away from nonsmokers, (or) I can go outside.” But, he said, “my complaint is the wearing of headwear in Lodges,” and that increasing tolerance of this practice has caused him to be less active and drop his Moose Legion membership. Two readers respond:
> I could not help but chuckle, out loud. Brother Brady, no one has ever died from wearing a hat! Throughout history, hats have played an important role in men’s clothing. On the other hand, the nicotine in tobacco is one of the most addictive substances known to mankind; study after study shows that secondhand smoke can harm us just as much as inhaling the real thing.
When Helena, MT prohibited smoking in public buildings, local hearts got a breather from secondhand smoke; heart-attack rates dropped by about 60%. Since the ban was lifted, heart-attack rates in Helena have risen again. Secondhand smoke raises heart-attack risk by rupturing plaque in artery walls, promoting blood clots and prompting irregular heart rhythm. How many of our Moose brothers get sick or even die because of what their fraternal brothers subject them to?
Now you choose: is it a hat or secondhand smoke?
Gerald A. Rudoff
Lieutenant (Ret.), Miami-Dade Police Department
Florida
Hats Offend That Much?
> I Reading the letter from Brother Brady of Ohio, I must admit to being more than a bit disappointed. To hear that he relinquished his Moose Legion membership, is no longer an officer, and only visits his Lodge when a good band is playing—all because of the wearing of hats—is disconcerting. It is difficult enough to find good people who want to become Moose officers and dedicate their efforts to the betterment of the Lodge, without losing them over an issue as trivial as headwear.
If Brother Brady is serious about the headwear issue, then he needs to voice his concerns at the next general Lodge meeting. The Lodge policies certainly won’t change if he stays at home. And, for the record, respect for the flag, and gentlemanliness, aren’t measured in hat sizes. Michael
B. Pulliam
California
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Send correspondence to LETTERS, Moose Magazine, Mooseheart, IL 60539-1174, or to kwehrmeister @mooseintl. org. Letters must be signed, and may be edited for brevity and clarity.
“Brother, no one has ever died from wearing a hat!” |
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May/June/July 2004
