Re: Surrey St Sunday meeting (Croydon)

From our correspondent:

"Dear AA cultwatch,......

Two months ago some male members from the group began expressing concerns that during Sunday fellowship a group claiming to be 'Back to Basics' where using very assertive canvassing and recruitment techniques to get

men on their program. 

...... this group discuss, for example, that there is no need for a sponsor as it is not in the Big Book. All this of course occurred outside of an AA setting. Nevertheless I relayed my concerns, and those of the other men, to the all (apart from me) female committee. 

In the last week, things have progressed to the point that Back to Basics are now using the same room that AA have their meetings in to host post meeting group sessions. My phone calls to GSO confirm that Back to Basics is not endorsed by AA. B2B has crossed the line and is becoming increasingly clear that men are no longer returning to Surrey st meetings as they feel B2B is not 'in the spirit of AA'. 

B2B are subtle with their approach and never mention B2B when they share at either meeting. Please spread the word regarding Back to Basics and what is happening with AA in Croydon....." (edits to preserve anonymity)

Comment: Back to Basics has essentially been set up as Wally P's pension pot. It's a programme rip off that makes all sorts of claims to success rates (as yet unsubstantiated). It forms part of the Big Book recovery 'industry' where 'experts' of all shapes and sizes peddle their wares in the hope of making a few bucks (and massaging their already frail egos) on the side. But if you don't fancy the text based (overnight success 'guaranteed') approach then you can always opt to join the sponsor 'fetishists' (Road to Recovery, Joys of Recovery, Clancy I blah blah blah) club. Here you can happily dispense with the need to seek out a Higher Power .. one will be provided for you ... in the shape of yet another 'wise guy' (or gal .. let's not be sexist here!) who will happily organise your life for you .. No need to think for yourself or ask for God's guidance (if you're inclined that way). Just ring up your sponsor and they'll tell you ALL you need to know and do ... Or ...... you could just go along to a bog standard AA meeting, sit down, drink your beverage, munch on a biccie and listen to other people as they share their experience of getting and staying sober in the REAL world You might even chip in with a few thoughts yourself. And then you just go out and DO it! And guess what! That works as well! Who'd have thought it! It couldn't be that simple could it? Yep. It's just that simple....

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous .. and big fans of Keeping It Simple)

PS Thanks to our correspondent

Missing a moral 'compass'?

Have you ever encountered members who seem to have completely mislaid their ethical or moral 'compass' (if they ever had one in the first place)? You know the type ….. they'll happily lecture everyone else on how to practise the programme 'right' and then do the precise opposite themselves. People like David B (founder of the Joys of Recovery and its various offshoots - didn't have a sponsor but insisted everyone else had to have one!), David C (took over the reins after the welcome demise of David B - a grade A religious bigot and control freak – last seen down El Cerrito way spreading the 'disease'!), Wayne P (sponsored by Clancy – a serial philanderer – he seems to have a big problem keeping his trousers on), Clancy (Pacific Group - likes to play the big shot with a sideline in shaming others … in other words … a thug!), Wally P (a serial monogamist who runs Back to Basics – a nice little earner), Joe and Charlie (Primary Purpose – yet more control freaks who liked to bore AA members into recovery with their incessant lecturing), Mike Quinones (serial sexual predator who ran the Midtown Groups – also sponsored by Clancy) not to mention AA's innumerable (and growing) army of recovery 'experts' eagerly mimicking their efforts as they busily rush about organising AA (?) 'workshops', churning out yet more audio files on so-called 'fast track' recovery, each one desperately seeking the attention of anyone with a few bucks to spare, and the poor judgement to pass them in their direction...... You have! We thought so ….. And then you must have wondered what kind of guy would behave like that? What must possess them? Are they stupid? Or are they just sick.... or sicker than the rest of us? Well wonder no more …. all will be revealed – specifically Narcissistic Personality Disorder DSM-5 (pp. 9-10)

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

PS An update on our new campaign to be published shortly …. we've been very busy behind the scenes!

“London Calling”: AA (?) (or Rent-a-Gob) contd

Continuing with our “London Calling” saga you will observe from the following links the striking similarities between the London Calling “Gathering” promotional website and another AA (?) set-up (Gallup) located in New Mexico (with some of the same speakers appearing). These events serve primarily a 'missionary' function imparting what is claimed to be an esoteric knowledge which is the preserve (or so it seems) of only the chosen few. The rest of us unfortunates - blind as we are to the 'one true message' (or so it is implied) - are deemed to need this 'elect' to communicate their special insights into the programme in order that we heathens might benefit from their unique knowledge blah di blah di blah ….. Of course no such event would be complete without the presence of the UK's foremost 'rent-a-gob', no less a personage than Plymouth Road to Recovery (cult) group's Wayne P. Wayne, despite suffering from a chronic condition know as 'keg displacement' or 'falling down trouser' syndrome, bravely made his way from the south west to Wimbledon to impart his own incomparable vision of recovery. For those of you who have not come across this cult group's self-appointed guru before (and let's face it - you can number only a few!), and were unfortunate enough to miss this groundbreaking event, fear not! With only a couple of clicks you too can witness the pearls of wisdom as they slide oleaginously from Wayne's lips! It's rather unfortunate perhaps that their lustre has faded somewhat with the passage of time. As far as we can tell Wayne's progress along the Road of Happy Destiny seems to have got stuck somewhat in a 'retrogressive groove' – or to put it another way – he's coming out with the same old 'pony' (Cockney rhyming slang – pony and trap rhymes with ….!) as he was in the mid-eighties. His 'message' (if you can call it that) consists solely of 'get a sponsor' and 'do what your sponsor says' - that's it! No more! We're at a loss somewhat as to why precisely he was asked to 'do a turn' at the Wimbledon International Gathering. After all it was promoted as a Big Book event, and what Wayne knows about the Big Book can easily be put on the back of a postage stamp with room to spare. Still ours not to reason why! Who can doubt the veracity of such a sage's utterances, and especially with his pedigree – or rather that of his sponsors. Firstly there was David B, a man who displayed such stunning hypocrisy as to almost defy belief, who would ceaselessly exhort anyone who wasn't able to get away in time to 'get a sponsor' and 'do what your sponsor says' but somehow managed to do without one himself – and then lied about it! And then there was Clancy – but the less said about him the better! But it would seem neither of these have been able to help Wayne with his dreadful affliction, the aforementioned keg displacement. Still we live in hope! The age of miracles is not dead! In the meantime we're quite sure that Wayne's latest 'squeeze' (a newcomer) will console him after the departure of his previous partner (impregnated but now redundant), not forgetting, of course, his ex-wife. We know that we have in the past advised Wayne to 'go forth and multiply' but not for one moment did we think he'd take it literally!

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

See also:

Plymouth (cult) Intergroup corruption

For AA Minority Report 2013 click here

Dumb and dumberer!

Apparently the accumulated wisdom of Clancy can be summarised thus:

 

As communicated to his ever faithful 'mutt' Wayne (Plymouth Road to Recovery cult group)

We rather like this one as a metaphor:

 

It's difficult to work out which is the more stupid!

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous) 

PS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here 

PPS Plymouth Intergroup corruption

How the court mandated attendance ('chit') system works (?) in the US …...

Oh yeah! And Clancy was there too!

Our correspondent writes: 

“Hey fellas,

I was at the 80th anniversary AA International Convention this past weekend in Atlanta, Georgia. I attended several panels. One noteworthy one was on "Our Critics Become our Benefactors" which attempted to address the large volume of "bad press" we are receiving. Two of the speakers stayed on task but were pretty neutral when it came to causes and possible corrections. My personal opinion is that the cause is that we do not practice the Traditions and that results in many people attending the fellowship who do not meet the primary purpose. People who do not have a desire to stay sober will not be successful. Then they want to blame the AA program instead of the fact that they should have been in some other program or no program at all. When you have the internet at your disposal you have a worldwide soapbox for your views. If you are not a member of Alcoholics Anonymous you are under no obligation to practice the Traditions. This goes for attendees and for referral parties such as doctors, judges, treatment centers and others.

Then I attended another one, it was on "Cooperating with the Courts". This panel featured 2 judges, neither one is an alcoholic. One is a Sobriety/DWI/Drug court judge who took over the court from a judge who was an AA member (so much for his anonymity). Having an AA member who is a judge is the same scenario as occurred in Maryland in the late 1980's. There an AA member who was a judge flooded local meetings with mandated attendees. Fortunately for the Maryland Groups they revolted and had a Call for Unity. Please see attachment. [DWI's and Court Slips in AA Meetings, Maryland General Service, February 9, 1987]

This speaker went on and on praising her AA volunteer (Ralph) who shows up at court four times a week to provide assessments of how the probationers are performing, what meetings they should be attending, who their sponsors should be and even providing rides funded by the local groups. No affiliation there though!

The other judge is a Federal Judge and a Non Alcoholic Trustee on the GSO board (can you say "there goes our claim of non-affiliation?"). Please understand that here in the states a Federal Judge generally handles High Crimes that are more "white collar" with a high percentage of drug dealers who have gone to prison over their choice of vocation. Simply put, he would see more drug addicts than alcoholics. He was abetted in his court by some kind of "re-entry probation/parole department head". This assistant was not an AA member so he involved local AA members to discern who should be given the great opportunity to cut a few years off their sentence by going into his re-entry program. They were actually cackling when telling us how they coerced inmates into accepting a deal that was not always in their best interest. This coercion was clearly designed to get around the 22 higher court rulings that parolees could not be sentenced to AA because of its religious nature. Mr. Re-entry was proud that they found a way around the court rulings. He also bragged that he used the threat of more prison time to give them an offer they couldn't refuse. He justified this by saying it's okay to break the rules if you are doing it for someone's own good.

Again putting aside how hard it is to claim non affiliation when your board has a Judge as a Non Alcoholic Trustee, the whole thing reached the level of absurd on many other points. Chief among my personal issues with their process was how condescending their attitude was to the people they were trying "help". Talks of letting them sit up on the bench and fist bumps were the order of the day. The Lady DWI/Drug Court Judge admitted she was happy to report that while in her court they did not drink. With a wink and a nod she seemed to be implying that even she knew that most went right back to drinking once they were off probation.

Still she forged on, asking us to please seek out the sobriety courts in our towns and attempt to replicate what her and her dear "Ralph" had done. Volunteer 4 days a week and collect money from his groups so that the system could "keep on keeping on". She tried to close the deal by saying all her 4 main volunteers had indicated that they kept doing it because of the great feeling they got when lives were turned around. Since there was no question and answer session after the panel, I didn't get to ask the obvious question "if the sobriety court is so successful why don't the masses of success stories just come and volunteer??" It would seem with all the fist bumping, bench sitting and graduation robe wearing there would be a list of volunteers so large that you couldn't find your way to the front of the line! 

Mr. Re-entry specialist regaled us with stories how one convict had a gun charge and was thereby usually ineligible for the "great deal". However, his local AA advisor interviewed the soon to be paroled criminal and deemed him safe enough to be coerced into going to meetings. Mr. Re-Entry specialist said it was against his normal protocol but he went with the AA volunteer's call and it all worked out. It never seemed to cross his mind that had it not "all worked out" gun play could have occurred at an AA meeting.

One final note that I am sure you'll get a kick out of. The world famous Clancy was speaking practically next door at another recovery organization's meeting. Well on Saturday night they had the old timers panel in the Georgia Dome. This is a huge American football stadium and 60,000 AA members had gathered to hear a panel of 12 AA members with 50 years or more of sobriety speak. The twelve were chosen by pulling their names out of hat. Then they were each given 5 minutes to speak. This was very fun when one of the first old-timers to speak started his talk by saying, "All I know is that I'm up here and Clancy is out there!!!" And a large portion of the crowd howled. Seems the old timers still see through the nonsense of circuit speakers. I told one younger member who asked why the statement was made and about the response it generated, I explained that not every AA member agrees with the cult of personality that can be reached by the "anointed ones". I went on to say, most of us wouldn't cross the street if Clancy was speaking at a free cookout. Let alone pay $10 a head.

Let me close by saying there was plenty of good fellowship to be had attending an event where there are 60,000 like minded people. Not only was there was great fellowship, there was much inspiration to be gained. Even the odd events I have detailed above were worth the trip. I would rather have an idea what was going astray than to live like an ostrich and stick my head in the sand.

Many say our program is self-correcting. Myself, I believe it will self correct if we follow the Traditions and keep our collective egos in check.........

As usual, please feel free to use any part of this missive in any manner you find fit.

Sincerely, 

….....”

(edits to preserve anonymity)

Comment: None other than to point out the date of the Maryland report: 1987! And we still haven't learnt from our mistakes! We just keep on repeating and repeating and …..... What's that called? Ah yeah! Plain insanity!

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

PS Our thanks to the US member for their correspondence. We're always interested in such contributions

PPS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here 

PPPS Plymouth Intergroup corruption

Portrait of a 'schmuck'

What a word is 'schmuck'! How much meaning is so mellifluously even onomatopoeically conveyed in that one (or is it two?) short syllable ….. ssschhhmmuuck! How evocative is the collision of the softened sibilant with the staccato conclusion intimating a confluence of sheer stupidity with utter contempt.

But we must abandon our aural appreciation here and turn to a more mundane but no less important consideration of its meaning, and even manifestation.

Schmuck - a stupid, contemptible person. An oaf. A Yiddish word meaning 'penis'. In this context: a 'prick'. A dull, stupid, fatuous person. An ass, fool, idiot, imbecile, jackass, mooncalf, moron, nincompoop, ninny, nitwit, simple, simpleton, softhead, tomfool...... (pause for breath) …... cretin, ding-dong, dip, goof, jerk, nerd, schmo, turkey.

See 'schmuck'

By now we're certain you must be quite intrigued as to what these creatures might look like? Surely theirs must be a degraded existence, their vacuity expressed in every moral lineament? For your instruction if not edification, and as an introduction, we present merely the precursory stages tending towards this awful affliction. To go further we fear would endanger your very souls, a venture we would not even dare to contemplate!

Firstly: our mystery, trainee 'schmuck' (1^st Dan)

In this instance you will observe the narcissistic traits nearly fully expressed: a 'selfie' layered with the Vatican Flag (a hint of grandiosity perhaps)! Not quite an imbecile but well on the way!

A third Dan 'schmuck' (but cut off in his prime):

David B (on the right) with our mystery, trainee 'schmuck'

Here you will note the 'happy, joyous and free' rictus grins which mimic smiles but are merely overlays presented to the world to obscure a near complete moral bankruptcy

A fifth Dan 'schmuck' (on the phone). A very VERY VERY IMPORTANT SCHMUCK!:

Clancy (on the left) accompanied again by our very own grinning moron!

A hopeless case well beyond any possibility of redemption! But you'll note that our trainee 'schmuck' has been working hard on his smile. And if he had a tail he'd be wagging that too! Bless! You almost feel sorry for the poor.....schmuck! …... Nah! Not really!

Down boy! Down!

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous …...)

PS What do you call a collection of 'schmucks'? A 'gaggle', a 'bellowing' or even a 'murder' (sometimes feels like it!)? No..... the correct denomination for a collection of 'schmucks' is a “Road to Recovery'.

PPS Anyone guessing the identity of our mystery 'schmuck' send in your answer and you'll receive from us a great big …... SMILE!

PPPS Plymouth Intergroup corruption

Plymouth (cult) Intergroup – fraud allegations (update)

We understand that not only has it been alleged that £14,000 was embezzled from the Plymouth (cult) Intergroup account but also that local group contributions sent to the intergroup have been diverted to other parts of the country to help pay the costs of bringing an “American 'Globe Trotting' AA Personality to the UK”. Our guess is that this would be Clancy (although there are plenty of other such parasites 'free-loading' off AA. Such payments are contrary to AA guidelines).

Source: AA Conference 2010 – report (p. 60)

It is also alleged that the Intergroup Treasurer has admitted forging the Chairman's signature on cheques. The latter should also have been 'signing off' financial statements presented to Intergroup by the Treasurer after first checking them against bank statements. They did not. Clearly financial mismanagement is another issue to be confronted by this 'rogue' intergroup.

Our correspondent also indicates that the Vice Chair of the Plymouth Intergroup, “being independent of the Intergroup Bank Account, should have reported the fraud to the police as soon as he was made aware of it, but as he is also a member of the RTR [Plymouth Road to Recovery cult group] he would have been instructed [allegedly] to involve himself in the dishonest cover up.”

Moreover, we are informed “there is no evidence to support the claim that the treasurer has a gambling problem”.

Finally the observation is made (with which we entirely concur) that: “Any criminal offences committed in AA by AA members should be reported to the police”. For our part we would strongly urge any members who have any information relating to the above to contact the police via 101 (non-emergency number) immediately. We should also point out that failure to report a crime may in some instances lead (where the defendant is found guilty) to a charge of “accessory after the fact”.

We have not yet reported the matter ourselves to the police in Plymouth in order to give South West Region, the General Service Office in York (who have been informed of these events by us), and even Plymouth Intergroup, the opportunity to comply with the law and report the alleged crime. However we will be contacting the authorities shortly with this information. We will also inform them that all three service bodies are already aware (or have been made aware) of the alleged fraud.

As we have said before … the clock is ticking.....

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

PS Thanks to our correspondents

The voice of experience....

“Hallo chaps

Thanks for all you do

I write this in a fit of writing pique on reading a piece in The [F]Ix and wondered whether it may be of any use or relevance to the AA cult watch site?

Regards and fellowship ….... _____________________________

I got sober in 1985 and used to frequent meetings around Pont Street [popular with the cult back then] etc.

I was crazy coming in but I still retained some type of innate smarts about the peeps I was meeting in AA. I wanted AA to be full of angels and after going on 30 years continuous sobriety I realise exactly what AA is, which for me is very helpful

Around that time I met the very creepy David B, possibly around 1986 or 1987 I think. He asked me if I had a sponsor and I blanked him. I remember going to meets where I felt very creeped out by the goody-goody vibes and the automaton responses to various dodgy guys, including the celebrated David B. I think there was a portly American there called Frank [now a Clancy acolyte], who was also hero worshipped and generally revered. There was a type of collective orgasm every time this guy shared and he sounded like he self worshipped his pronouncements as well, a happy family of yes men in recovery. All lapping up the same robotic responses.

It's funny but where I live now, I know a guy that sponsored David B before he got "famous" in AA as a Joys promoter and thus elevated himself to a much higher ground than the average AA goer.

I did not know back then I was dealing with bonkers "Joy boys" as we subsequently  called them but soon found out and continued to get sober well away from this arrant nonsense.

One of the things I have noticed strongly in AAs ( both male and female) is that as soon as they get a bit of sober time, is the overarching need to control everything around them.

The Big Book speaks of this phenom (??) I believe in the Chapter 5 [pp. 60-62] segmen [sic]

........begin quote.....
Most people try to live by self-propulsion. Each person is like an actor who wants to run the whole show; is forever trying to arrange the lights, the ballet, the scenery and the rest of the players in his arrangements would only stay put, if only people would do as he wished, the show would be great. Everybody, including himself, would be pleased. Life would be wonderful. In trying to make these arrangements our actor may sometimes be quite virtuous. He may be kind, considerate, patient, generous; even modest and self-sacrificing. On the other hand, he may be mean, egotistical, selfish and dishonest. But, as with most humans, he is more likely to have varied traits.......end quote.....

This rigidity and control is a defining and common factor that I became aware of pretty early on. The self proclaimed experts in AA deciding what course people's meds should take for example, the would be doctors in AA with a few years ( if that) early recovery. All of this coming from people usually not gifted with great intellect and in many cases seemingly downright thick.

The "joys" people have generally dwindled in the area of the UK (Sussex) where I live. Their obnoxious antics at Intergroup and time wasting drivel has produced nothing locally, except rancour and tedious boredom.

Another individual called Dennis from Ealing, London popped up in Sussex a couple/few years back and was laughably and totally insane.

He did his "hopping for Joy" routine which made my skin crawl at this ludicrously oblivious tosser who is obviously suffering with borderline ( or more pronounced) mental health issues.

What is alarming, is the potential effect of this junk on newcomers to the rooms; a supposed haven for the broken and the needy.

I have stayed sober in AA in spite of certain things .......joy boys, control freaks, sociopaths, rude individuals who think they can take the mick, abusive cross sharing and over the years I have seen loads of that. Passive aggression dressed up as cross talk in AA rooms.

I have also benefitted from good AA friends (very few though) an initial good non-control freak sponsor and my own inability to KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid and other abuse laden crap doled out by you guessed it - the truly stupid).

AA is a potentially great fellowship, marred by many inner (cultic?) forces attempting to impose their own agendas, I hope it survives and I am sure it should and will.

However; if God forbid it did get riven and broken from within, I believe my recovery could continue and stay and develop without it as it is not my Higher Power.

I'm not perfect and have a hopefully healthy view of AA unvarnished by sentiment or over optimism. I am also glad I came in pre- treatment centre era too.

Anyway here's to some good days ahead for one and all.”

Comment: None needed really but all very familiar! And the above section on control freaks in Chapter Five should be made compulsory reading for our cult friends!

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

PS Thanks to our contributor

Cults and A.A. Conventions

An A.A. member’s escape from the clutches of a cult… 


“The Recovery Alliance Inc. (RAI), bills itself as a self-help organization dedicated to the advancement of recovery for what the group refers to as “obsessive-compulsive” persons, such as alcoholics, compulsive eaters, and compulsive gamblers. RAI practices the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), but claims to do it in a way that is more “pure” than AA and other “Anonymous” fellowships. RAI believes that the 12-step programs have been watered down over the years and no longer practice the true program of recovery as it was intended by its founders.

RAI is structured as a non-profit organization, with a board of directors and an organizational charter. Although the board elects a chairman, all the members’ activities, beliefs, and direction evolve from the founding member, Donald Gilroy. Gilroy teaches that the “illness” that members are recovering from is centered in selfishness and self-centeredness. To recover, members must commit their lives to selfless self-sacrifice. They are subjected to, among other things, rigorous and tiresome fund-raising, schedules, public humiliation, rigidly controlled diets, and other abusive conduct.

I wrote the following letter to RAI members two years after leaving the group.

March 7, 1992

Hi!

This week has marked two years since I left the Recovery Alliance, Inc. (RAI). I am writing this letter just to let you know what it’s like on this side. I have so much to say that I could go on for pages, but I will try to keep this as brief as possible.

I have seen you guys several times – fund-raising, of course. I saw you selling T-shirts in Seattle and raffle tickets at the Durham Fair. I have seen you at car shows, department stores, and at the fireworks. My first reaction when I see you is repulsion, but it is quickly followed by sorrow. I know what it is like for you, since you are all victims (yes victims do exist), just as I was.

It is interesting what I am able to see now that I couldn’t see then. For as long as I was there I knew that I was unhappy, but I was told that the problem was with my recovery, not my environment.

I remember making the decision to leave. It was like all of a sudden being struck with a bolt of sanity. I’m sure you all think it was because I had a boyfriend. Well, I made my decision a couple of months before I met him. After having been placed on probation, I remember standing in my room and thinking, “I can’t do this anymore. I want to leave.” It was not the first time I had ever had that thought, but this time it was different. This time it was followed by another thought, which was “I don’t care what the consequences will be.” As you observed, I made no attempt to meet the terms of my probation.

When I first left, I was quite confused. Fortunately, I quickly got help from some professionals who have experience with working with former members of RAI and other similarly destructive groups. They helped me see the insanity of the situation. The loss of freethinking. The emotional, sexual, and spiritual abuse we were all suffering. The psychopathology of Donald. I was helped by some books – Combatting Cult Mind Control by Steve Hassan and People of the Lie by Scot Peck.

Well, the consequences of my leaving were nothing like I expected. What am I like today? I’m basically a happy person. I have a good job in my field with a Fortune 500 company. I have a nice apartment (yes, with off-street parking) and a decent car. I have a handful of close friends and many acquaintances. Most of my friends are in 12-step programs, but some aren’t. I have good relationships with my family.

Most of all I have freedom. I probably average three AA meetings a week – sometimes more, sometimes less. If I’m tired or just don’t feel like going to a meeting, I stay home. Or I go somewhere else. I keep busy, but make time for myself too. I clean my apartment every week. I just finished reading a 1,000 page novel. On weekends I frequently get together with friends and go dancing, hiking, or on day trips. I have dated several guys in the last two years, and have had a couple of steady relationship, too.

How’s my relationship with God? Fine. I worship the god of my own understanding.

I am not overweight, nor am I underweight. I eat two or three meals a day, and sometimes, if I feel like it, I have a snack in between.

I am able to express whatever is on my mind, and I don’t have to follow any formula. I attend fairs and festivals as a participant, not as a vendor. I attend AA conventions as an AA member, not as a vendor – and not as a person with superior knowledge.

Not a Friday has gone by when I haven’t come home from a long work week and said to myself, “Thank God I don’t have to go to that awful meeting.”

I feel sorry for other former members who haven’t received the help they need. Many of them end up with tremendous guilt as a result of RAI’s teachings. Some have joined other destructive groups. One has died. Fortunately, however, most of us have been helped by the proper professionals and have been able to live happy lives.

I wish you all the best, and hope that you will soon realize the amount of control and deception taking place in your surroundings.

Sincerely,

Holly”

(Extract from “Captive Hearts, Captive Minds –Freedom and Recovery from Cults and Abusive Relationships” (Hunter House, 1994) pp. 8-10 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captive_Hearts,_Captive_Minds 

Comment: A book by one of the world's leading cult experts, J. Lalich, Professor of Sociology at California State University. Forward by M. Langone, Executive Director of the International Cul;tic Studies Association (ICSA)  http://www.icsahome.com/home  So, read all about it, cults have been targeting A.A. for some time.  Like the Primary Purpose cult, Back to Basics mob, Clancy I and the Pacific Group, RAI replays the same record, albeit stuck in a groove… “RAI practices the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), but claims to do it in a way that is more “pure” than AA and other “Anonymous” fellowships. RAI believes that the 12-step programs have been watered down over the years and no longer practice the true program of recovery as it was intended by its founders...” … Blah, blah, blah…

Watch out for those T-shirt vendors and lecturers at A.A. conventions - they may be victims in need of specialist counselling!

Cheerio, 

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

GSO (GB) Leads Members Away from Traditions - Again!

See GSO website “Event Calendar” November 2014  
http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/Members/Event-Calendar 

Costa Del Sol Intergroup “Back to Basics” Convention

http://aaconventionspain.org.uk/ 

Starring (take your pick!)

Clancy I

And by “popular demand”…

Bob D (Las Vegas) & Mary P (Los Angeles) – aka. Mary Poppins?

“A Fun night out with local AA’s enjoying their recovery.” (According to Costa Del Sol Intergroup “Back to Basics” Convention) (Winter)

http://aaconventionspain.org.uk/entertainment/ 

Comment: Why would gullible alcoholics spend their cash to travel to the Costa del Sol in a cold, wet November, when sane people go to Costa del Sol for hot beaches and tourist entertainment in summer? And why would GSO (GB) use its website to promote an event which abandons the principle of Tradition Twelve?

http://www.aa.org/twelveandtwelve/en_tableofcnt.cfm

To find the answers to these intriguing questions see Clancy I’s comment in the Washington Post, 22/07/2007 “Midtown AA Group Leads Members Away from Traditions” by Marc Fisher 

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/rawfisher/2007/07/midtown_group_aa_group_leads_m.html 

Clancy I in “The Dark Legacy of a Rehab Cult” by J.D. Dickey, The Fix, 05/09/12

http://www.thefix.com/content/aa-cults-synanon-legacy0009?page=all 

Clancy I in “AA Cults I Have Known” by Benjamin Aldo, The Fix, 07/25/13
http://www.thefix.com/content/cult-aa-Atlantic-Group-Clancy-Pacific-Group-London-Joys2092 

“The Pacific Group of Clancy I.” Orange Papers 

http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-clancy_i.html 

“The Cult within AA – The Pacific Group” Shelley’s Blog 

http://qtpi1969.net/?s=pacific+group+of+AA 

Clancy Imislund , Managing Director, The Midnight Mission http://www.midnightmission.org/staff/clancy-imislund-2/ 

The Midnight Mission Leadership and Staff 

http://www.midnightmission.org/about/leadership-staff/ 

The Midnight Mission Financial Information 

http://www.midnightmission.org/about/midnight-mission-financial-information/ 

“Alcoholics and narcotics anonymous: A radical movement under threat”  Zafiridis P and Lainas S., 2012 (Department of Psychology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) Addiction Research and Theory, 20( 2) 93-104 http://www.researchgate.net/publication/232038226_Alcoholics_and_narcotics_anonymous_A_radical_movement_under_threat (Free download)

The Cult That Spawned the Tough-Love Teen Industry” by Maia Szalavitz 

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2007/08/cult-spawned-tough-love-teen-industry 

“Aftermath – the Synanon Legacy" by Paul Morantz 

http://www.paulmorantz.com/the_synanon_story/aftermath-the-synanon-legacy/ 

“Coercive Persuasion and Attitude Change” Richard J Ofshe Encyclopedia of Sociology Vol. 1 

http://attachments.wetpaintserv.us/wh2Cjr4E38HgFqqmUdfXng==99651 

“Extreme Influence – Thought Reform, High Control Groups, Interrogation and Recovered Memory Psychotherapy” Richard J Ofshe, Encyclopedia of Sociology, Vol. 2,  2001 

http://find.galegroup.com/gic/infomark.do?&source=gale&idigest=fb720fd31d9036c1ed2d1f3a0500fcc2&prodId=GIC&userGroupName=itsbtrial&tabID=T001&docId=CX3404400125&type=retrieve&contentSet=EBKS&version=1.0 

"Whatever Happened to Twelve-Step Programs?" Kurtz E (1999)
http://www.williamwhitepapers.com/pr/Dr.%20Ernie%20Kurtz%20on%20Twelve-Step%20Programs%2C%201996.pdf 

“The use of confrontation in addiction treatment: History, science and time for change.” White, W. & Miller, W., 2007,Counselor, 8(4), 12-30) http://www.williamwhitepapers.com/pr/2007ConfrontationinAddictionTreatment.pdf 

Trick or Treat? A Century of American Responses to Heroin Addiction’ White, W. L. (2002) 

http://www.williamwhitepapers.com/pr/2002HistoryofHeroinAddictionTreatment.pdf 

“Walk the Line” by Harry Shapiro and Carolyn Oubridrge, Druglink July/August 2012. 

http://www.drugscope.org.uk/Resources/Drugscope/Documents/PDF/Publications/WalktheLine.pdf 

“Professional Service and Recovery Advocacy in England An Interview with Mark Gilman, MA Strategic Recovery Lead National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse” White, W. L. (2011) 

http://www.williamwhitepapers.com/pr/2011%20England,%20Mark%20Gilman%20Interview.pdf 

David Deitch, Ph.D. and George De Leon, Ph.D. on Recovery Management and the Future of the Therapeutic Community; William L. White, M.A; Counselor, 11(5), 38-49. 

http://www.williamwhitepapers.com/pr/2010%20Dr.%20David%20Deitch%20%26%20Dr.%20George%20De%20Leon.pdf 

“Conversation with David Deitch,” Addiction, 1999, 94(6), 791-800 Wiley online Library

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1080/09652149933261/pdf 

'The SYNANON Self Help Organization and its Contribution to the Understanding and Treatment of Addiction.' Zafiridis Ph. (2011), Therapeutic Communities, 32(2), 125 –141 

http://www.selfhelp.gr/attachments/article/57/Synanon_eng.pdf 

“Retrospective Study of Similarities and Relations between the American Drug-Free and the European Therapeutic Communities for Children and Adults” Broekaert E, Vanderplasschen W., Temmerman I., Ottenberg D., Kaplan C., 2000, Journal of  Psychoactive Drugs 32(4) 407- 417 

http://www.ortserve.ugent.be/img/doc/definitiefpsychoactief.pdf 

“Thought Reform Programs and the Production of Psychiatric Casualties” Margaret Thaler Singer, Ph. D., and Richard Ofshe, Ph. D., 1990, Psychiatric Annals 20(4)  
http://www.nwrain.net/~refocus/mental.html 

“Attacks on Peripheral Versus Central Elements of Self and the Impact of Thought Reforming Techniques” Richard Ofshe, Ph.D. and Margaret T. Singer, Ph.D. 1986, Cultic Studies Journal, 3(1)

http://www.intervention101.com/2013/10/attacks-on-peripheral-versus-central.html 

“New York Notes- Are You Looking At Me”? Maia Szalavitz, 2013, Druglink 28(4) 29

http://www.drugscope.org.uk/Resources/Drugscope/Documents/PDF/Publications/DruglinkJulyAug2013.pdf 

(You may have to join the dots and book a holiday)

Cheerio,

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

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)

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