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

See here for original blog entry

Under Readers' comments. We quote:

“An outsider looking in - david - Jul 1st 2009

A response to: a solution (from June 29): AA is careful to avoids claims of exclusivity by saying that it offers a solution and not "the" solution. The AA Big Book is careful to emphasize this important point: however, in the smaller meetings between a few people, in sponsor to sponsee conversations, in the gatherings at Starbucks or Panera after a meeting, and over the phone in private conversations, the principle is set aside. In these moments, away from the larger meetings, my clients were told (and I heard when I was invited to these small gatherings) that if they quit their Lithium or Depakote, if they stopped their Lexapro, Abilify or Resperidone, and worked harder by attending more meetings and working more steps, their problems would subside, The result of this advice was higher relapse rates for my clients, and increased hospitalizations.

Seeking help from outside sources is encouraged and is common. Again, another principal occasionally voiced within meetings but disregarded outside the meeting. In numerous meetings I attended and those attended by my clients-- the medical community, therapy, and other forms of “rehab” such as Smart Recovery, were quickly dispensed with in one or two sentences as the group would reemphasize the primacy of AA as the solution for a “spiritual disease”.

You can't be kicked out of AA for blasphemy or heresy - or, for that matter, for not doing the steps or not having a sponsor. Outspoken atheists are tolerated and welcomed. The operative term here is “tolerated” which would indicate that one is put up with, endured, stomached and suffered through. In meetings, members who were atheists, those who did not have a sponsor, and those who were repeat relapsers, were allowed, frequently welcomed and oftentimes tolerated: outside of meetings, many were shunned, ostracized and the repeat relapser was frequently overlooked. In one meeting for example, a woman who had relapsed several times, was not allowed to speak as the group went around- she was openly told to sit down and listen. She sat in the back quietly crying the entire hour. After the meeting, she remained seated for another 15-20 minutes as the group slowly dispersed: no one attempted to comfort or offer support. She walked away quietly once the room was fairly empty, went outside and waited for support from her “AA family,” of many years—none came. She got in her car and went home alone.

This is the main difference between AA and cults and religions. The general criticsims of AA would apply to any other support group. It would be naive to think LifeRing, or any other group with often vulnerable and unstable populations - are safe havens free to a much greater degrees of predators. This is a red herring statement--- a diversion from the issue at hand, which is the unequivocal contrast between what is promoted and what is daily practice in AA. In addition, comparing AA to another group to give explanation for its actions does not release AA from how it behaves as a group. It is also known as irrelevant conclusion or irrelevant thesis in that while the argument “might” be valid, it does not address the issues raised here.

Overall, this defense of AA is a reminder of George Orwell’s book, Nineteen Eighty-Four, where shades of meaning were removed and a new language, termed Newspeak, (e.g., that’s stinkin thinking; the farther you are from your last drink, the closer you are to your next one; don't drink, don't think and go to meetings; A. A. is the last stop on the train; I came, I came, I came to believe; if you leave you’ll surely die; surrender to become victorious) was created as a way to reinforce the dominance of the group over self regulation, self assessment, self reliance and self empowerment. Thoughts, language that did not fit Newspeak, the spotting of dichotomies between AA “doctrine” and reality, and other deviations in speech and thought, were quickly removed from the vocabulary of the people. Eventually, what remained was a staccato rhythm or very short syllables (i.e., sayings and phrases) designed to reduce the need for deep thought or analysis. Thinking outside of Newspeak became a “thought crime or “crime think” and anyone engaged in thought-crime was viewed as Dead (Your best thinking got you here; Don’t think, just feel; Don’t question those with greater sobriety).

In this Orwellian world, there was a Ministry of Truth and Thought Police, and those who spoke in Old Speak and thought in Old Speak……………..”

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

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