AA MINORITY REPORT 2017 (revised)

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Monday, 12 May 2014

A whole new slant on AA raffles!


We quote:

Hi there,

I wanted to contact you in regard to the Vauxhall GPS meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous.
...

[Vauxhall New Beginnings GPS: Thursday
Ashmole Community Hall, 2 Meadow Rd SW8 1QB
Start time: 20.00]

Points of alarm:

[Apparently attendees are issued with raffle tickets after they have satisfied the secretary as to their alcoholic credentials. This - or so it would seem - then entitles them to share at the meeting if their number is called??]

2. The meeting began with something along the lines of 'can all gentlemen please remove their hats as a sign of respect?' - something along those lines.

3. It was a speaker meeting and they had an actual PULPIT.

4. As the secretary read out the script from the pulpit, then passed on to the next person to do the preamble, reading or whatever, everyone would clap and they would shake hands as they exchanged places at the pulpit.

5. Newcomers were told to stand and 'introduce themselves by the nature of their illness' - humiliating and cringeworthy for anyone new to the fellowship.

6. The speaker's chair was typical of the 'Joys' style of recovery - sweeping statements, and no real feelings!

I was extremely disturbed by what I found at this meeting........ If I had been a newcomer, and found myself at this meeting, it would have confirmed my belief that AA is an outdated cult, with no real relevance …...... in 2014.

I've never heard of the GPS meetings and wondered if you had any insight?

.....”

(edited to preserve anonymity)

Comment: We would echo our correspondent's enquiry. Apart from the general weirdness of what sounds like a religious ceremony (pulpits etc) what the hell is a GPS meeting? Answers on a postcard to ….. And since when has ANY alcoholic been required to identify themselves as such to another member in order to speak at an AA meeting? When people introduce themselves as “My name is … and I'm an alcoholic” that is their choice and nobody elses!

Cheerio

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

PS Our thanks to our correspondent

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