Quote:
Originally Posted by ProPhetic1
How can U take away something that was purchased by the member themselves. I can see if U paid for it. But if it came out of their pockets how can U do that
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The official items of the organization always belong to the national headquarters because they represent the entity. The person chose to pay to become a member but revokes all rights, responsibilities and ownership when he or she chooses to disaffiliate. This is why we ask for people to return all of those official items (i.e. ritual, pins, membership booklets) to the national headquarters. Many people fail to do so which only makes them look simpleminded.
Paraphernalia purchased by the individual, such as tshirts and license plate covers, are more difficult to recover from the person but many chapters collect them from the person. Some chapters have had to "steal" them back from the person. So what a person paid $20 for a shirt? The letters and symbols always belong to the organization and not the person, which is why members are expected to adhere to certain protocol in displaying every item they purchase.
For some reason, many people want to denounce an organization but still want to be able to own a piece of the organization and claim the organization when they feel like it--usually to fit in with a certain crowd or say something negative. They have no real love or respect for the entity and sometimes want to do stupid stuff to disrespect the entity (i.e. sell certain items on ebay or give a nonmember symbols to wear).