(A.A. Grapevine August 2007 Vol. 64 No. 3)
"AA speaker cds and tapes can offer considerable
support to Loners, Homers, Internationalists, military members, shift workers,
and others who find it difficult to get to AA meetings. Others like to listen to
these recordings to enhance their sobriety. Without recordings, we wouldn't know
what our co-founders and other early AAs sounded like. However, certain aspects
of the recording of AA speakers can compromise the spirit and letter of our
anonymity Traditions, thus making it worthwhile to take a look at some practices
that have grown up around this issue.
Some speakers are recorded without their knowledge or
permission. For instance, one friend of mine, a gay schoolteacher, was horrified
to discover that his AA talk had been recorded and sold without his knowledge.
Since part of his story included a description of how his recovery from
alcoholism helped him accept his sexual orientation, he was concerned that his
professional standing would be jeopardized if the recording wound up in the
wrong hands. Of course, the whole situation could have been avoided if the taper
simply had asked his permission to record the talk.
Another AA member I know, a clergyman, delivered a
rather earthy talk at an AA convention. Someone sent the recording to his
bishop, landing the clergyman in hot water. Certainly, the tattletale was a
large part of the problem here. But if there's one place where we shouldn't have
to worry about the repercussions of our sharing, it's an AA meeting. So, what
does "anonymous" mean to members during these times of ever-present audio
recorders?
I've also talked to several women--AA speakers--who
have shared that they tone down certain parts of their stories when they are
being recorded; they don't want the audio recordings to wind up in the hands of
their children. Of course, they may be missing the point of sharing "in a
general way what we used to be like, what happened, and what we are like now,"
as our Big Book suggests. But even so, if whether or not a talk is recorded is a
factor when sharing at AA meetings, haven't we got the tail wagging the
dog?
One time, I walked into an AA convention where I was
speaking and was surprised to see the taper set up with dozens of pre-made
labels with my full name emblazoned on them. I told him to blot out my last
name. He begrudgingly complied. No one on the committee had mentioned that they
intended to record and sell my talk.
Another time, I was seated on the dais as a banquet
speaker during another AA convention. The tapers bustled about, setting up their
recording system. Finally, I said, "Is anyone going to ask me if it's all right
to record my talk?" They were perplexed by the question.
From time to time, I receive a telephone call from a
convention program committee member asking me to submit a recording of my talk
so they can review it before possibly inviting me to speak at their event. I
always decline, politely explaining that I don't audition to speak at Alcoholics
Anonymous meetings.
Similarly, if we have to agree to be recorded before
being invited to tell our AA stories, then Alcoholics Anonymous has lost its
way. If I don't want my talk recorded, then that should be the end of
it.
These days, I often see tapes and CDs displayed on the
internet, at AA conventions, and in recovery stores that describe the speakers
by category: Big Book Story, Celebrity, History, Old-Timer, Humorous, Great
Talk, name of rock group, nom de plume, political position, name of
television/movie character, etc. This is a perversion of the spirit of
anonymity. Evidently, many audio recording businesses aren't familiar with the
last page of the "A.A. Guidelines on Conferences, Conventions and Roundups"
(available at www.aa.org), which makes suggestions about recording AA speakers,
including, "The strength of our anonymity Traditions is reinforced by speakers
who do not use their last names and by taping companies or tapers whose labels
and catalogs do not identify speakers by last names, titles, service jobs or
descriptions."
Some tapers act as "booking agents" for AA meetings,
conventions, round-ups, and conferences. They're business people, and they
recommend, as speakers, those whose recordings sell lots of copies: the
polished, the sensational, the humorous, and the well-known. Generally, tapers
won't recommend speakers who won't allow their talks to be recorded, because
it's a bad business decision for them. Sadly, this means that we are not exposed
to the full range of speakers in AA. I know many excellent speakers who have
been passed over, even though they carry a tremendous message of recovery,
unity, and service, because they prefer that their talks not be
recorded.
I'd like to see AA wean itself from its dependence on
tapers. I don't think audio recording should be totally eliminated, but I do
think it should receive more oversight from Tradition-minded convention
committees and steering committees. Speakers should be respectfully asked about
recording at the same time the speaking invitation is extended. It should be
clear that the speaking invitation is not contingent on agreeing to allow the
talk to be recorded. It's awkward for speakers to decline to be recorded when
they're asked ten minutes before the meeting starts and the taping equipment is
already set up. I've done it, but neither the speaker nor the taper should be
placed in that position. As far as I'm concerned, the only identifying
information needed on a CD is the speaker's first name and last
initial.
Moving away from the usual crowd of convention speakers
is a good idea, too. I want to hear more people who don't want their talks to be
recorded, who have absolutely no ambition to get on the AA speakers' circuit,
who hem and haw, who get stuck in their drunkalogs for forty-five minutes, who
speak from the heart and wander through the littered landscape of their lives in
search of a point. I don't want to walk away from the AA meeting with a
brand-new CD. I want to walk away from the AA meeting with an empty hand, a full
heart, and a new twist on an old message that gives the recipient a big
spiritual dividend--while no one realizes a dime in profit.
Anonymous”
Comment: Cult members seem to have a particular
fondness for recording their offerings for posterity – we have no idea why? Who
needs another worthless sound byte!
See the aacultwatch
forum for more!!
Cheerio
The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics
Anonymous)
