There's money to be made from drunks!

Extracts from the aacultwatch forum (old)

“Hi …...,

I think you have it about right. It’s about money, power and prestige; a perverting of AA’s simple program in order to make lots of money, power and prestige. The leading lights of the Primary Purpose Group of AA Dallas, Chris Raymer, Myers Raymer and Cliff Bishop have their fingers in the big business pies of book binding and 12 step recovery treatment centers. (Cliff B. was sponsored by Joe McQ who got rich by amalgamating his Recovery Dynamics treatment program with AA with his big book sponsorship guide.) Then there’s Dick B. (a.k.a Richard G Burns J.D., Richard Gordon Burns J.D.) with his Christians In Recovery Coalition and training camp in Hawaii. There’s self appointed historian Mitchell K, who seems be a friend of Dick B and who also appears to have resentment against AA World Services for protecting AA copyrights. (GSO in Germany took legal action a while ago after someone distributed illicit copies of the big book. (Probably a mate of Mitchell and Myers the Dallas book binder) The courts ordered the books to be destroyed (rightly so, but Mitchell is a bit upset by it all, see a website called gsowatch). Then there’s the publishing arm of Hazelden treatment centers. There’s Wally P who’s on God’s mission to spread the word about his Back to Basics Beginners Classes. Wayne B's Step'nahead Last Mile Foundation. And now what appears to be an alarming number of smaller copy cat outfits that are set to cash in on AA; now they know the lid is off our traditions. Underlying in the literature they produce is a butchered AA history that makes no distinction between the Oxford Groups and Early AA groups. Some of the treatment centres are advertising a 12 step Oxford Group version of their program.  So, implicit within their message is an aggressive Oxford Group evangelical Christianity. Since the underlying message of these organisations appears to be the same, they combine to form what amounts to a coalition of a rabidly aggressive 12 step Christian/Oxford Group recovery cult. Because this is driven by outside business to make profit, (Unlike AA) this explains the pressure put on newcomers (unlike AA) to proliferate their "original" O.G. brand of “the message” and why these newcomers rabidly search out others to join their groups. Obviously, the more members the cult brings in, the more there is in book sales and resultant profit for the businesses people behind it all.

What is disturbing is the amount of power that they have gained in AA. AA has been judged to be a religion by courts in a number of USA states. This article by the rabid evangelist Dick B shows both his intent and his gloating of his success in achieving his aim. I think it is a massive public relations disaster for AA.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1896846/posts

There is a web exclusive article on AA Grapevine in the Twelve Traditions topic called “Is AA a Religion?” which mentions the court rulings.

http://www.aagrapevine.org/ (You have to subscribe to AA Grapevine to access the article)

Dick B’s ego appears to have finally inflated to the magnitude of God (as you understand it), for he now has a blog called “Dick B: THE “REAL” POWER BEHIND ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS” (Sadly at the moment, until the fellowship restores but one authority in AA, I think he might be right.) http://mauihistorian.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/richard-gordon-burns-jd-cdaac.html

This is a link to his mercenary training camp “Freedom Ranch” in Hawaii, where he is Executive Director under his title of Richard Gordon Burns J.D., http://freedomranchmaui.org/

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

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