1.
It was started by the
Roman Catholic Church
2. It was started in an organized way (fill in a date here
before 1898 or 1930)
3. It has specific protocols that are universally and
internationally known and recognized.
4. There are "ancient" "Houses" which:
a. Have 'histories' going back to antiquity, back to the
medieval times, back to enlightenment, renaissance, or to the Victorian era
b. Sell slaves
c. Train people
d. Teach the one 'true' "way"
e. Is in any way associated with "Old Guard" trainings,
teachings, or history
f. Can prove they exist
g. Would consider recruiting on line if they did exist.
5. There is only one "true" or "real" way, path, method for
living the life, way of behaving for people that are "real" or "True".
6. All the people you meet who tell you they are Old(e) Guard
are Not telling you the truth (if they are not gay and older than 45
years old, they ain't what they say they are).
7. Not ALL the people
you meet with the title Grand Master or Grand Mistress are. It is very very
rare that a community bestows this on someone, and, generally they are the
elder and senior members of the local community.. ...not some wanna-be cyber
jockey. In fact, (at this point) we are unaware of any living person who has
this title as a legitimate honor (where they
did not toss it on their name
themselves as a means of self aggrandizement).
8. BDSM has anything to
do with the Knights Templar, the Crusades, or chivalry and the heraldic age in
general.
9. The
group known as the 'Old Guard' was uniform in how it was applied nationally
- and/or was similar coast to coast and state to state. They were not - and,
articles written about them reflect the author's experience and/or what they
were told - not 'what they all did'.
10. Third person speech is a "tradition" in any sense of the word.
Note: This is an ongoing list. If you have heard one that is
not above, please feel free to post it to the message section.
