AA MINORITY REPORT 2017 (revised)

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Tuesday 31 December 2013

Virtual Religion Index



This site is designed to advance research in matters of religion. As a global forum that may be accessed instantaneously anywhere, the internet promises to surpass the impact of the printing press on the study of religion. Gutenberg made possible the family Bible. The WWW puts a global library of free information on the desk of anyone with a computer & internet access.

Efficient use of these resources, however, requires cataloging. Many religion-related web pages offer lists of links to sites of related interest. Some are extensive & a few annotated. Still, important tools & texts are often published & stashed in out of the way corners of the web, like here. To locate them one needs something deeper than a list of favorites, yet more circumspect than a search engine.

This Virtual Religion Index is a tool for students with little time. It analyzes & highlights important content of religion-related websites to speed research. Hyperlinks are provided not only to homepages but to major directories & documents within. Our purpose is not to circumvent tours of worthy sites, but to cut down the time spent on surfing & sorting of automated searches. After all if you know what source has information you can use, chances are you will visit it more often. We offer this free service in hope that you will come here again & again.”

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)


PS To use “comment” system simply click on “Comments” tab below this article and sign in. All comments go through a moderation stage

Monday 30 December 2013

Minority Religions: Contemplating the Past and Anticipating the Future


Inform Anniversary Conference
 
Minority Religions: Contemplating the Past and Anticipating the Future

New Academic Building, London School of Economics, London
Friday 31 January - Sunday 2 February 2014
 
Inform is celebrating over a quarter of a century of providing information that is as reliable and up-to-date as possible about minority religions with an Anniversary Conference to be held at the London School of Economics, UK

Cheerio

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

PS Our thanks to the AA member for drawing our attention to this

Sunday 29 December 2013

The Cult Education Institute


See here

An Internet archive of information about cults, destructive cults, controversial groups and movements. The Cult Education Institute (CEI), formerly known as the Ross Institute of New Jersey, is a nonprofit public resource with a vast archive that contains thousands of individual documents. CEI on-line files include news stories, research papers, reports, court documents, book excerpts, personal testimonies and hundreds of links to additional relevant resources. This Internet archive is well-organized for easy access and reference.”

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

PS To use “comment” system simply click on “Comments” tab below this article and sign in. All comments go through a moderation stage

Saturday 28 December 2013

Alcohol research


Conversion to the World View of Alcoholics Anonymous: A Refinement of Conversion Theory, Greil AL, and Rudy DR, Qualitative Sociology, Vol. 6(1), 5-28, 1983

PS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here

Friday 27 December 2013

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a Cult? (contd)


See here for original blog entry
Under Readers' comments. We quote:
cult like groups within AA

AA is not a cult, but there are certainly "cult like" groups within AA. A famous example from this past year would be the "Midtown Group" which has been operating around the Washington DC Area for a while. Plenty of well documented coverage can be found in Newsweek, USA Today, Washington Post, etc. An affiliate of that group operates out of Chatham, New Jersey and they are called the "Sponsorship Group" of AA. They all live in a compound in Summit, NJ. This "Sponsorship Group" actively recruits new members into their cult by infiltrating various rehabs, hospitals and other facilities in the greater NY and NJ area. Young people are lured in by this cult and given a place to live, a job and are bombarded with coercion, manipulation and mind control to conform group doctrine. If a new person has been taking any kind of prescribed medication, they are told to stop or else they are not sober. Young women who get involved with this group are led to believe that they should be sponsored by [explicit name reference removed by editor] and that having sex with him is all just part of the recovery process(!) Next, the newcomer is presented with an ultimatum, get the "SG" tattoo or leave the group. (The tattoo is a circle, surrounding a triangle and in the middle are the letters "SG"). Members of this group are not allowed to check out other AA meetings, unescorted. A member may only attend a different AA group, while being escorted by a more senior member of the "Sponsorship Group". Like the "Midtown Group" from the Washington DC area, the "Sponsorship Group" is part of the "Clancy I" empire of cult-like groups, …...”

(our edits)
Cheers
The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)
PS To use “comment” system simply click on “Comments” tab below this article and sign in. All comments go through a moderation stage

Thursday 26 December 2013

The answers to all of my problems


We quote: 

A while ago I was a passenger on an airliner traveling from New York to Los Angeles.

About an hour into the flight, the flight attendant clicked on the loudspeaker and announced that the pilot and co-pilot has suffered heart attacks and were both dead. She went on say that the plane was flying on automatic pilot, but they did not know what they would do when it came time to land. 

But, I knew what to do.

I reached into my carry-on bag and pulled out my copy of Alcoholics Anonymous - the hard copy version which I always carry with me. I opened the Big Book, and there they were, instructions on how to fly and land a commercial jet airliner.

I told the flight attendant that I knew what to do, and she escorted me to the flight deck, which was empty, the bodies of the flight crew having been removed.

I entered the flight deck, sat in the captain's seat, took out my copy of the Big Book and propped it up in front of me. Then I followed the instructions and was able to land the jet liner and save the lives of 300+ passengers and crew. 

All of this thanks for following the instructions as set forth in the Big Book.

The moral of my story is that the answers to all of life's problems are set forth in the Big Book.

All we have to do is follow the instructions as set forth in the Big Book.”

Cheerio

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

PS Our thanks to the wit who sent this story in

Wednesday 25 December 2013

If someone wishes you ........



Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

PS Our thanks to the member who sent us this message

It's the way we tell 'em!


A guy walks into a bar with a newt on his shoulder. "What do you call that?", asks the bartender. "I call him Tiny, because he's my newt!"

A mushroom walks into a bar and orders a drink. The bartender says, "I  can't serve you." The mushroom says, "Why not? I'm a fun-guy."

A neutron walks into a bar and orders a beer. The bartender sets the beer down and says, "For you, no charge!"

A penguin walks into a bar, goes to the counter, and asks the bartender, "Have you seen my brother?" The bartender asks, "I don't know, what does he look like?"

An amnesiac comes into a bar. He asks, "Do I come here often?"

Descartes walks into a bar, and the bartender asks "Would you like a beer?"
Descartes replies "I think not" and POOF! he vanishes.

Shakespeare walks into a bar and asks the bartender for a beer. "I can't serve you." says the bartender. "You're Bard!"

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

For newcomers or 'slipees'


FOR A NEWCOMER


Over the years, since becoming a member of AA, I have had the "pleasure" of being present at meetings where one of two classes of people were in attendance. I refer to:
            1.         A Newcomer; and/or
            2.         Someone returning to AA after a "slip."
After listening to the abuse, oops sorry, advice heaped upon them by the Poobahs, it came to me. Why not install a pillory or whipping post at the meeting.
            Then, when a Newbie or Slipper is there, they can be bound to the post or pillory, and everyone in attendance will be invited up to take a free punch at the person, or perhaps a lash or 2 with a whip.
            You see, I know realize that a physical beating like this would be much easier on these people, easier than all the things that are said by the Poohbahs.”

Comment: Ah! The true spirit of Christmas! Constant thought of others!

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

PS Our thanks to this particularly thoughtful (and inventive) member for their 'suggestion'!

Tuesday 24 December 2013

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a Cult? (contd)


See here for original blog entry
Under Readers' comments. We quote:
my experience with 2 yrs of AA

I do not believe that AA is a cult, nor do I believe that it doesn't work for some people. I do, however, believe that the AA program has two major shortcomings. One major problem I see with AA is the way members of the program diagnose an "alcoholic." They pretty much assume that if you are there at a meeting, you have a hopeless "disease" in which you either work the progam or die an alcoholic death. If you are not working the program you are a "Dry Drunk." If you question whether or not you are an "alcoholic" you are most definitely in denial. I had members of AA tell me this after my first meeting without even knowing me personally or my drinking background. The second major problem is the program today is forced on people who have merely had isolated incidents in their lives and are not real alcoholics. Why are these major problems with the AA program? Consider this: Not everybody who is introduced into AA is a "true" alcoholic. Keep in mind that the founder of the program, Bill Wilson, was drinking two to three bottles of bathtub gin a day. These are the kinds of people who need AA, but today's AA is mostly void of these kinds of people. For example, my introduction to AA is much like many other people's introduction into today's AA program. I got a DWI (Driving while intoxicated) when I was 24. On the suggestion of my attorney, I attended several AA meetings voluntarily before my court date so that I could show the judge that I was taking positive steps to better my situation before showing up to court. In response, the court ordered me to 3 meetings a week for the duration of my probation which was 1 1/2 years. So, as you can see, I have been to several AA meetings involuntarily. I would say I have observed at least 1/2 of the people attending these meetings were also either court ordered or sent their involuntarily. AA has been good and bad for me. I had to drop most of my previous friends at the time of my arrest and became friends with mostly alcoholics in the program due to my extensive amount of time spent there. AA has some great people with good intentions. But the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I do not go to AA today by choice. It is very depressing and I find it hurts my outlook on life more than helps it. I was actually told by a member of AA that because he did not work the steps properly that "he wanted to put a gun in his mouth at 25 yrs sober." He was implying this would happen to me. I have never been suicidal in my life and if I were at 25 yrs sober I do not believe it would have anything to do with alcoholism. That was my final bout with AA. Today I am involved in the things that I enjoy in life. I make positive choices for myself. Mountain biking, rock climbing, volunteering, spending time with the people that I love in my life. I meet people through these positive activities instead of hanging out in bars and this has increased my standard of life dramatically. I attribute my experience to growing up and learning from my mistakes rather than "alcoholism." On the downside, nearly all of the people I have met over the 1 1/2 years of attending AA I no longer have friendships with. Why? Because I am a "dry drunk" to them and will most likely die an alcoholic death. This has been very disturbing and damaging to me and hard for me to swallow. I still see some friends that I met in AA upon occasion. But it is a weird and uncomfortable experience in which they act concerned about my well being and try to get me to come back to meetings. Honestly, I feel that I am better off meeting positive people outside of the AA program for this very reason. It seems that even some members with 20 plus years sobriety have extreme difficulty in moving on with their lives. I simply do not see how a behavior that they quit 20 yrs ago can still have such a big impact on their lives. Maybe someone like Bill Wilson who put themselves through the "alcoholic" ringer needs that kind of daily support. However, for at least for me that kind of thinking keeps me from moving on to bigger and better things.”

Comment: This demonstrates the inadvisability of 'diagnosing' other people to be alcoholic, and the questionable practice of 'enforced' (via DWI etc) attendance at AA meetings.
Cheers
The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)
PS To use “comment” system simply click on “Comments” tab below this article and sign in. All comments go through a moderation stage

Monday 23 December 2013

Alcohol research (contd)


The Cultural Framing of Addiction By Robin Room, 1996. In pdf-format here  
Alcohol and Drugs in a Public Health Context: Alcohol and Other Drugs By Robin Room, 1995. In pdf format here
Alcohol, Drugs and the Family: An Overview By Robin Room. In pdf format here
Moderate drinking and health: report of an international symposium Ashley MJ, Ferrence R, Room R, Rankin J, Single E 1994
Alcohol Policy and the Public Good Edwards G, Anderson P, Babor TF, Casswell S, Ferrence R, Giesbrecht N, Godfrey C, Holder HD,  Lemmens P, Mäkelä K, Midanik LT, Norström T, Ã–sterberg E, Romelsjö A, Room R, Simpura J, Skog O-J 1994 Published in English, German, French, Russian, Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish. The link is to the French version


Sunday 22 December 2013

Court mandated attendance (CMA) or 'chit' system (contd)


We quote:

I saw a flyer for a meeting at a local club. It said they were having a new attitude at three meetings in a neighboring town. They called pledged themselves to be primary purpose groups. I know you guys raise an eyebrow at groups named that due to a likelihood of them being cult like. But sometimes around here it is “code” for we follow the Traditions in regard to no drug addicts or drug shares and that everyone must have a desire to quit drinking. Some times they further morph and take a group conscience to not sign court slips. So I went to see what was the case here.

The way the flyer was worded I got my hopes up that it was the latter. Unfortunately when I got there it was certain that the group signed court slips. When the meeting started, there were 13 people in the room and 11 court slips. The chairwoman had to have another member sign her slip! This did not stop her from signing everyone else’s!

This meeting is listed as closed and is very convenient for those who have to take a blood alcohol test each morning. They just go do that at 8 AM and then head over to the AA meeting which is held at 9 AM...........”


We would be interested to hear from other AA members with regard to their own experience and/or observations of the CMA ('chit') system (good or bad). We can be contacted at our email address here. Confidentiality assured

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

PS Our thanks to this member for their contribution to the debate

PPS To use “comment” system simply click on “Comments” tab below this article and sign in. All comments go through a moderation stage

Saturday 21 December 2013

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a Cult? (contd)


See here for original blog entry
Under Readers' comments. We quote:
AA's Role in Addiction Treatment Needs Re-evaluation - - Mar 10th 2008
I am an alcoholic. I also have bi-polar disorder. I have also been a member of the Unification Church, known more widely as the "Moonies".

I think this triangulation of experience has given me some good insight into the dynamic interplay between mental health issues, medicine, and religion and cults as healing tools.

I first joined AA as a 15 year old in Northern California while I was at boarding school, because I knew the nature of my substance use was unhealthy and destructive. I did not believe in God at the time, but quickly adopted the mystical & ritualized attitude proscribed by AA because I was desperate to get well. I was also in rigorous therapy at the time with our school counselor, who I later discovered was actually also a member of the Indian eastern philosophy cult, SYDA Yoga.

Having undiagnosed bipolar disorder and under the supervision of a highly educated, but boundary blurring mystical therapist, I was particularly ripe for diving into "spiritualized" ways of interpreting reality. I also was being very well educated myself, so I learned early on in this process how to tolerate cognitive dissonance between what my critical thinking would tell me and what I thought God itself was communicating to me through the events around me. I tended to err on the God side, taking a cue from the old adage "God works in mysterious ways" ie. illogical, sometimes strange, ways. However, I did temper myself somewhat with my remaining intellectual powers.

Predictably this became quite an extensive routine of mental gymnastics split between a constant interpretation of signs and interconnections or synchronicities and attempts at rational analysis of a given situation.

I did stay sober and got that AA version of happy, which is sort of a subdued ecstasy, and unrelenting dedication through constant repetition of a set of behaviors and trigger terms. I seemed quite normal for a young artist, but then again, no one had x-ray glasses to view my logic process which, as I stated was split at best. Only my therapist and other AA's were somewhat in on it and that was the understood way of being in that community.

AA also practices the cultic technique of an insider doctrine and an outsider doctrine. While the steps are public knowledge, what is understood about their meaning and interpretation becomes secularized for outsiders and sacredly mystical for insiders.

That is one of the reasons it disturbs me that health professionals are willing to recommend people to AA after what can only be described as plainly superficial research on the organization. Word of mouth is not a scientific tool, and yet that seems to be enough to convince many doctors that this treatment is worthy of what often becomes a lifetime attempt at a cure.

In any case, I returned to LA to live with my family in Brentwood, just down the street from the central meeting location of Clancy Imusland's Pacific Group. Naturally, I went there, because of its proximity, I had never heard about it. I was pretty lonely at the time, being a sober teenager isn't easy, and was grateful for the swarms of people surrounding me, circling meetings in the list book for me and giving me guidance.

I quickly got absorbed into the group's meeting routine, sponsorship techniques (as a sponsee), sexist practices, elitist attitude, weekends at Clancy's house, parties, dances, dinners on and on. It was my first introduction into the structured cult lifestyle. While much looser than many hard core cults, I have come to understand that the cultic phenomena is a well defined but broad spectrum of group behaviors rather than a single point a group arrives at in its practices. In my estimation AA in general falls on the lower end of that spectrum, but is definitely a major player as one of the largest thriving cultic groups that generally flies under the radar in terms of being identified as such. I would place the Pacific Group of AA in a more advanced category of behavioral control and thought reform.

Two years later I left for college in Westchester, NY where I met an old charismatic man in AA who seemed to understand God in the passionate and dedicated way that I did. He was interesting, very verbal, and creative. Against my better judgement I took him on as a sponsor, after all, he was old, and he was speaking my language. He actually actively worked on integrating me into his life for about a month before the sponsorship occurred. We entered into a cabal of two where over time secrecy became the rule. Ultimately he molested me sexually repeatedly and I became convinced that it was God's will.

It was then that I met a Moonie recruiter on Broadway in NYC who got me to take a survey on belief and guided me up to their offices. He was young and friendly and I was instantly drawn to the idea that there might be a young community of bright believers like me. I agreed to go on a seven day "youth leadership program", which was, of course, (although I didn't get it at the time) an invitation to a compound where they could test my responsiveness to a very seriously engineered thought reform environment.

Well I was primed for this experience on multiple levels and as the week passed there I learned that the Moonies forbid unwed sex of any kind and that pretty much sealed the deal for me. I was attracted by their fervor and dedication, their energy and intelligence, and I felt like I would finally find some protection from a sexual predator like the sponsor I had been involved with.

I won't go into my experience with the Moonies, you can read about it on the web by googling "Cathryn Mazer Unification Church". There was a lot written about it at one time because the Today Show covered my family's harrowing search for me once I disappeared into the cult.

I think it's more important to point out that I have tried AA a few times since leaving the Moonies and having become somewhat educated about the nature and variety of the cultic experience. Each time I try it again I find myself more and more uncomfortable with its practices.

While it doesn't require that one believes in a specific God, it does demand that one believes in a God, while simultaneously stating that it doesn't, by applying a kind of double-speak rhetoric, in the "as we understood Him" addendum. Double speak is one of AA's most frequently applied mind control techniques and I believe (at this time based more on experience than research) that it is the primary tool by which it retains members. For instance while it states that "the only requirement for AA membership is the desire to stop drinking", my experience has been that refusal to do the steps, get a sponsor, read the big book, and/or regularly attend meetings (usually depending on the community at least 3 times a week) clearly elicits vocal disapproval and often results in social ostracism. While the member is not banned outright he or she is shunned in various ways. The necessity, vital importance of doing all of these things, in order to physically survive alcoholism/addiction, is constantly asserted during sharing at all kinds of different meetings.

Veiled and not so veiled threats of terrible sickness and death if one leaves the group is a common feature of AA in general. Regardless of the fact that current research in no way bears this out, it is a common understanding in the program, and is a terrifying method of retaining membership.

Furthermore, sponsors are not qualified to be counselors and this is absolutely their expected role in AA. Having been in therapy and in and out of AA for over half of my life I can honestly say that my best sponsor was far less helpful to me than my worst counselor, and believe me, I have encountered some crackpots.

The internal sense of the steps and the overall behavioral program of AA is that it is a sacred science and that the only reason it wouldn't work well is because it is not being practiced rigorously enough or because of the personal shortcomings of the practitioner. It is never entertained that the system may have any fundamental flaws. To suggest so in a meeting will generally produce an arctic chill in the room and result in many fervent rebuttals, disdain, pity, patient explanation, social rejection etc.

Constant verbal repetition and loaded language which uses words in our english lexicon with new meanings ascribed to them becomes an insiders code and how well someone uses this code can help determine their status in the community. This also lends itself to double speak in that a sentence that may seem innocuous to an outsider could have coded meaning to a member. Members also learn how to reshape their perception in their minds of their drinking lives according to AA logic and language and are ritually trained by going to constant meetings how to verbally testify about their lives out of and then in AA. Any alternative view of the alcoholic life process is generally rejected, although usually with the caveat that, "it may work for them, but it doesn't work for me".

There is also a wide misconception that there is a great variety of meetings in the world. I find this to be another form of double speak. While each meeting has its own flavor and community, in general the ritual and the content is always the same. There are a few content options - the speaker meeting with sharing, the large speaker meeting without sharing, the big book study meeting, the step & tradition meeting, and the meditation meeting. The steps are hung on scrolls on the wall, the meeting is opened with a reading from the big book, sometimes other AA literature, the form proceeds according to the content category, and it is closed with a prayer and chant ("keep coming back! It works if you work it, so work it you're worth it!" is one that comes to mind). Despite the wide variety of communities in which meetings take place, I have found that the unspoken yet intense pressure to use language and logic according to what I consider to be a rigid AA form is consistent across these communities. Window dressing may be added but I've found that is mainly superficial.

I have attended meetings in Northern California - San Francisco, Berkeley, Danville, Walnut Creek; Southern California - Los Angeles including Brentwood, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, North Hollywood, West LA, Venice as well as in communities south of LA; in Oregon briefly (forget the town's name); in New York - Westchester various towns including Bronxville, Yonkers, and Hastings, - New York City - West Village, East Village, Times Square, Madison Sq. Garden area, Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Williamsburg and Park Slope Brooklyn; in New Zealand - Wellington; at treatment centers and rehabs; etc.

Point being - my opinion is not based on a few meetings in a few communities.

Lastly, what I find most reprehensible in the mental health, medical, and judicial systems use of referrals to AA and its sister programs is that it has clearly become an easy dumping ground for them that requires little or no effort or investment on their part. It seems that it is so convenient that the necessity for a responsible vetting that would be required with almost any other treatment regimen is simply ignored. Even the academic discussion of AA's role in addiction treatment seems mainly based on anecdotal evidence. Why do the scientific, medical, theraputic, civic, and even cult awareness communities turn such a blind eye?

Usually a cult member will tell you that they're happier and safer than they've ever been in their lives, that the group is a force for good and helps thousands of people, regardless of what group they belong to. Rarely do current members of an active cult express misgivings about their organization, only some of the people in it who are bad apples that misrepresent the group as a whole. This kind of expression of total satisfaction can be a dead giveaway that the system is successfully utilizing thought reform techniques.

I recommend Robert J Lifton's "Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism" to anyone interested in learning about mind and behavioral control.”

Cheers
The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)
PS To use “comment” system simply click on “Comments” tab below this article and sign in. All comments go through a moderation stage

Friday 20 December 2013

The mysterious case of the missing conference question forum


You may not have noticed but the AA (GB) conference question forum has gone AWOL, it is no more, it has vanished, sucked mysteriously into some black hole which usually only GSO York can penetrate. But strange to say even this august body doesn't seem to be aware of its sad demise. According to the AA website (the only official website for AA in this country) the forum is still up and running:



Curiouser and curiouser! One enterprising member, however, had observed its parting and duly contacted the powers-that-be (but not a Higher Power!) to find out what had happened to the errant debating chamber. They received the following reply which they then passed on to us:

"Dear .......,

thank you for your support request.We decided not to run the Conference Forum this year for a few reasons:

1.    The Electronic Communications Sub-Committee is short on members who have the time to moderate the forum.

2.    The forum somewhat does not fit in with the Conference structure, where members views are heard at Group level, taken to Intergroup and then to Region for the Region's Delegates to bring to Conference in York. Discussion on an open forum is not part of that structure.

3.    The 2013 forum seemed to encourage the wrong type of debate and this does not encourage unity especially on a public facing site which  could bring AA into disrepute.

This decision was not taken lightly but the man hours of moderating for a very few members posting over the last few years does not seem a good use of ECSC time.

Regards,

…...... (ECSC)"

Comment: We'll let you reflect on the implications of this response.... Of course there'll be more to follow shortly!

Cheerio

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

PS Our thanks to the AA member for their contribution

PPS To use “comment” system simply click on “Comments” tab below this article and sign in. All comments go through a moderation stage

Wednesday 18 December 2013

Court mandated attendance (CMA) or 'chit' system (contd)


We quote:

Fellas,

.......

I went to an AA meeting the other night. There was a “newcomer” in attendance. What passes for greeting of the newcomer these days is that we pass around a “Welcome Wallet” sometimes referred to as a “Beginners Packet”. These are little blue folders that are produced by New York and have a copy of “How it Works” and some other conference approved literature. Our local groups generally add a local meetings list. The back of the folder has a place for current members to place their name and phone number. The Newcomer is then advised to call if they are about to drink.

So far so good I guess. This particular night I took it upon myself to open the folder and see exactly what was in it. Right there on top, the first thing to greet the newcomer was a one page/two sided General Service Conference-approved piece of literature titled “A.A. at a Glance”.  http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org/pdf/products/f-1_AAataGlance.pdf

All of this seems pretty standard and even somewhat positive, right? Well it is until you consider that approximately 98% of our local “newcomers” are “Court Mandated Attendees”. In that case, the reading of the above referenced pamphlet takes on a new meaning. It is my opinion that at no time is a prospective new member more on guard for reasons to reject the program of AA than they are in their first meeting. I further believe that the easiest way to reject a group, a person or a concept is to find them to be untruthful or worse to have the untruthfulness take the form of hypocrisy.

The first section of “A.A.at a Glance” is titled “What is A.A.” The first line of that section is and I quote “Alcoholics Anonymous is a voluntary, worldwide fellowship of men and women from all walks of life who meet together to attain and maintain sobriety”. In the unlikely event that the “newcomer’s” mind is not slammed shut by this blatant lie, they might make it to the backside of the document where other inaccuracies such as:

1-That Closed Discussion groups are for alcoholics only. This is simply not true once a Closed Meeting Group makes the decision to sign court slips. I would say “have a group conscience to sign court slips” but few groups have bothered to follow that protocol.

2-Under “What A.A. Does Not Do” is the statement “That A.A. Does not solicit members” does not stand up to scrutiny when you read the New York GSO Guideline “Cooperating with the Court, DWI and  Similar Programs” http://www.aa.org/en_pdfs/mg-05_coopwithcourt.pdf with anything other than the most patronizing mind.

3-Also under “What A.A. Does Not Do” is the statement “keep attendance records” once again, the the newly Court Mandated Attendee with his soon to be grubby and wrinkled court sheet in his hand will be quick to call hogwash at this statement.

We proudly read “How it Works” and talk about the honesty of the Program and yet the newly forced attendee of our meetings is lied to, literally right from the start.

Once again, feel free to use at  your discretion,”


We would be interested to hear from other AA members with regard to their own experience and/or observations of the CMA ('chit') system (good or bad). We can be contacted at our email address here. Confidentiality assured

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

PS Our thanks to this member for their contribution to the debate

PPS To use “comment” system simply click on “Comments” tab below this article and sign in. All comments go through a moderation stage

Tuesday 17 December 2013

Oooh! Spider swallowing! ….... Nasty!


We quote:

Fellas

Thought I would draw your attention to the below article on the RTR website


In case that link doesn’t work, it is the article entitled ‘we don’t swallow spiders: the myth of aa cults’ to be found in the service articles section of the site.

Take a read of this article. It is actually quite offensive, and plays down the role of the cult in AA.

A few sections below really caught my eye:

A similar thing has happened in the last decade or so in Alcoholics Anonymous. The idea has begun circulating that AA contains groups that are actually harmful cults. This idea has spread rapidly for similar reasons to the spider-swallowing myth. It has a number of elements that appear to have some truth, and it is a highly dramatic claim. However, like the spider-swallowing meme, it is entirely erroneous and comes from a misunderstanding of what makes dangerous cults so dangerous

I wouldn’t call these claims erroneous. As the topic gets openly discussed more and more people are surfacing with the same negative, mostly horrible experiences that these ‘cult’ groups within AA inflict on people trying to understand about AA.

However - as an aid to identifying cults, lists of common elements are often put together. This can be helpful. But it is not these common elements that are the danger. The main danger is that such cults isolate members from mainstream society and from their family, or cause physical damage. It is a fallacy to say that because a group has some of the elements helpful in identification, that it is a dangerous cult. It’s like saying that because somebody is hot and coughs after a jog that they must have bird flu.

There are several examples that I know of where people do become separated from their family on some level and indeed physical (and mental and emotional) damage is caused as a result of this, and the unlucky persons involvement with cult-like dogma. The last part of this paragraph is nothing more than pseudo-intellectual tripe that has no relevance whatsoever. A common theme from start to finish with the article.

There is repeated reference to these groups not being cults as they don’t inflict ‘physical damage’ which is a tad misleading, as most of the damage they cause is on a spiritual, emotional and mental level, which for me is where the epicentre of our illness resides.

The author even throws down the gauntlet in the final paragraphs challenging readers to attend a cult group and find someone who has ‘recovered’ and not much closer to their family than before, as well as reading their stories, listening to their shares. OR you could just attend mainstream AA, get on the programme and get a well-balanced experience of the 12 step programme of AA and peoples experience strength and hope!”

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

PS  Our thanks to this member for their contribution to the debate

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Monday 16 December 2013

Conference Questions (2013) forum discussion (contd)



Question 2:

Would Conference consider what response can be given to Groups who refuse to accept the group conscience of Intergroup/Region?

[See also: The Traditions, Preamble and Concepts]

I think if groups which refuse to accept the group conscience of the intergroup / region are affiliated directly or indirectly to any of the following outside enterprises or their literature, then they do not qualify to be AA groups. They ought not be listed as AA groups, nationally or locally. Dick B (International Christian Recovery Coalition Inc; Freedom Ranch Maui Inc.) Joe McQ (Founder, Serenity Park Treatment Center, Recovery Dynamics); The Primary Purpose Group of Alcoholics Anonymous Dallas, Texas (Myers R., Origins Recovery Centres Alumini Services Department; Chris R. Origins Recovery centres Alumini Services Department and Director of Alumini Services La Hacienda Treatment Centres) Wally P. (aabacktobasics, Faith with Works Publishing Inc.) Father Joseph C. Martin® (Father Martins Ashley Treatment Center, Ashley Inc.) Wayne B (The Last Mile Foundation Inc.) Hazeldon publications. The watered down programs of these self-appointed AA teachers and historians, their outside publications, and the material their organisations put on the internet are not AA. ”


Cheerio

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)


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Saturday 14 December 2013

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a Cult? (contd)


See here for original blog entry
Under Readers' comments

Dr Dombeck do you recommend AA to clients or others? What are your feelings about AA?

Dr. Dombeck's Note: I used to be very positively biased towards AA. In the wake of this essay and many conversations I've had since then with earnest people who have had bad experiences within AA I am more ambivalent. I continue to hear very positive stories about AA from some people, and I have become aware of what seems to be abusive practices that occur and some fair degree of intolerance and dangerous ignorance that can be present in the rooms (which is particularly acute with regard to dually diagnosed people who may be counseled to not follow doctor's treatment recommendations in the name of sobriety). These days, my advice is to ask a client what they would like to do. I strongly would urge them to seek out some sort of peer support group in addition to formal treatment but I do not think that AA is the only or even the best form that such peer support can take. Rather, it depends upon the individual; his or her personality, experiences and resources as to whether AA will be a good fit or not. I'm biased towards scientifically derived and tested programs whenever they are available, and so like some of the AA alternatives based on such techniques. I also recognize that techniques, while important, generally pale in the face of social support and peer pressure as a means of motivating people to stick with something as difficult as maintaining sobriety after addiction has occurred. My counsel would be learn about all the programs and then access more than one of them and stay with the program that you have the best experience with.“


Comment: Some intelligent advice
Cheers
The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)
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