Big Book fetishism

Every now and then we get an email from a so-called “hard core” Big Book fan. It's usually someone from the Primary Purpose gang (which makes claim to being conversant with this tome) although there are rumours going around that one of the Visions mob (and we mean mob!) actually read almost a whole sentence from the book last year! But you know what it's like in AA – there are rumours and then there are …. more rumours! …...
 
….....It might be useful to indicate here that although we lump them all together there are some differences between these two extremist/fundamentalist camps (although the similarities are much greater and getting worse all the time!). The Primary Purpose 'axis' (derived from the US) is not quite as obsessive as the Visions (our very own home grown freaks!) when it comes to sponsorship (ie. “do exactly what your sponsor tells you” etc) but they do glory in 'fast-tracking' newcomers through the programme (regardless of their aptitude, state of mind, physical well-being and other quite minor details). Both lay claim to the authentic programme of AA (usually by indulging in a 'revisionist' analysis of AA back in the pre-tradition era) and glorying in the days when only “real” alcoholics were allowed into meetings (after they had been properly screened and authenticated by the appropriate authorities ….. self-appointed of course!) In those halcyon times you had none of your treatment centre riff-raff or troublesome “addicts”, or even those annoying “depressives” and such like cluttering up the fellowship. Even the agnostics and atheists did as they were told and got down on their knees and prayed like they believed! No sirree! Only pure blood, 'real deal' alkies were admitted into our select society! Ah good times indeed …. when men were men and women were women and sheep roamed the green pastures quite unafraid! But now – well it's anarchy! They'll let ANYBODY in! No vetting, no bleeding deacon to cast his/her expert eye over the new prospect. Nope! Anyone and his brother can just wander into a meeting (maybe there's nothing on TV), plonk their backsides on a seat, drink a cup of tea, nibble on a biscuit (well at one of those fancy meetings at least!) and waffle on about their precious washing machine breaking down – but then they didn't pick up a drink! Who'd have thought it? Our exclusive fellowship being taken over by these ne'er do wells! Well something should be done! This cannot be allowed to go on........someone should ring up …..... York! (frothing at the mouth and eyes bulging wildly.....)........

Wow! That was SOME digression... anyway.... to get back to our main theme. So every now and then we get an EXPERT mailing us and putting us straight on some points of OUR PROGRAMME. Seems we got it all wrong! Well of course we got it wrong. But then everyone has the RIGHT to be WRONG haven't they? Or maybe that only works if you're a cult group? So we goes and extricates our copy of the aforementioned work (it is of course mostly employed in its traditional capacity – as a door STOP), dusts it off and pulls open the musty and mildewed cover. Turning to the apposite sections we duly send our response back to the EXPERT. Oh dear oh dear! Now we're told we've got it all out of CONTEXT!! (even if we quote an entire page and then the relevant chapter). Nope it seems that we've still got it wrong... So we turns again to another section and quote that (and including context this time because now we've learnt our lesson good and proper!). Nope that still doesn't do the trick. It turns out that we're TWISTING the words to suit our own agenda!! Well who would have thought it?? How could that EVER happen? But now our EXPERT is getting very hot under the collar and resorts at last to profanity! We refer immediately to our very own - almost disintegrating - volume and look for the part of the AA message which includes the use of foul language. Nope! Can't find anything there. Maybe it's in the Just for Today card.. “Talk low”...mmmm! So we hold a conscience meeting to debate this vexing question: Is swearing QUIETLY OK then?? Well who can say!

Talking of profanity whatever happened to Wayne's latest address to the R2R (cult group) Plymouth brethren? Not a bleep out of him for almost NINE months and then an audio file appears out of the ether only to disappear almost immediately. Mind you we did give it a bit of a mauling! Still one shouldn't be afraid of unfavourable reviews? It's all part of the 'growing in sobriety' process – ain't it? Anyhoo … that's about it on the Big Book (and Wayne of course). For our part we quite like the text because if the cult (Primary Purpose/Back to Basics/Visions etc) ever managed to read (and inwardly digest!) a copy it would very rapidly put paid to their own brand of dogma. But then we think that's pretty unlikely … don't you?

Cheerio

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

PS Oh yeah! What IS going on in WESSEX? And where is it anyway?