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!

The cult (per)version of Step One

Our correspondent writes: 

“David B and Step 1. 

In the 1990's I attended the Vision For You cult group held in Eaton Square, London. This was when David B, founder of the cult movement in the UK, was still alive and holding court with his harem of young male sponsees (not for nothing was he called the Queen of Chelsea, but I digress). One thing I learned was that David B's definition of step one of the AA program was different from what is to be found in AA literature, and totally confusing to newcomers and others. 

David B emphatically said many times that (I quote) “if you don't do everything your sponsor says you do not have step 1.” He taught that “doing what you are told by a sponsor” is what step 1 was all about. Part of that blind obedience was doing 6 or more Daily Suggestions which he had printed out on a small card of similar size to the Just For Today Card. Note: he was making group fellowship depend upon a card he had made up himself without any consultation with other groups or AA as a whole: thus breaking the AA Traditions (Tradition 4 in particular), which still to this day is a continuing source of disunity and confusion within the fellowship. I recall a young man who attended the Visions cult back then who was given the nickname “6 Things” because he always shared he did the so-called 6 things on the Daily Suggestion card every day and that is what he thought kept him sober. One evening he failed to turn up for the regular cult meeting and returning some weeks later he informed us that he had been drinking and the excuse he gave was that he had forgotten to do one of the 6 things. A number of the more experienced members in the meeting smiled when they heard him say that. They smiled because they knew it was a pretty lame excuse of the kind alcoholics make when they really just want to carry on drinking anyway. As it says in the Big Book (page 132) “Outsiders are sometimes shocked when we bust into merriment over a seemingly tragic experience out of the past... “ “Mr. 6 Things” stayed sober for a short while longer, then he disappeared altogether. Sadly we heard he was drinking again. It's a shame I cannot remember his real name, just his cult nickname “6 Things”. Clearly this poor confused young man had no idea what AA's step 1 really was, other than the obedience nonsense David B had made up. One of the 6 things was to ring your sponsor every day and do everything he tells you. I'm 100% certain David B didn't do 6 things every day. He didn't have a sponsor, so how could he? So by his own definition he did not have step 1 himself. The irony of that did not seem to dawn on him. However many of his followers eventually woke up to his dishonesty and hypocrisy and left the Visions cult, went into mainstream AA, and grew up. But Mr. 6 Things came to AA and never really heard the true authentic message of Step 1 as described in AA literature where there is no mention of blindly obeying sponsors or following made up suggestion cards. Instead Mr. 6 Things was just another human guinea pig for David B's colossal ego. David B thought he knew better than AA and could concoct his own literature on a whim and dishonestly pass it off as AA to the newcomer. To this day the fraud continues within the cult groups that are descended from his sponsorship. His bad example with regard to breaking the Traditions by composing his own literature is now being copied and continued. The card itself mutates, getting ever more complicated, I saw one recently that had over 20 daily tasks for the newcomer to worry about. No more pretence of “six things”, it was a neurotics charter for imprisoning newcomers in the author's Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Not so much relax, take it easy, and easy does it (sayings to be found in the Big Book pages 86 & 135), and, of course “Keep it Simple” - but rather “Make it More Complicated and fret about it”. I feel sorry for newcomers who stumble in on these lawless cult groups. What they are encountering is not AA at all, but a dangerous warped mutation founded upon lies.

I doubt David B had step 1 at all in any real sense. It is known that he invited newcomers and sponsees to have dinner with him at his flat in Chelsea. Guests at these dinners noticed that there was always a bottle of red wine in his kitchen. He freely boasted that he added red wine to his recipes “to give it that extra something” in his words. Well, it certainly gave his dishes something extra - it's called alcohol. It is a scientific fact that in spite of cooking, even for a long time, a significant percentage of alcohol still remains after cooking.......

Alcohol content after cooking – see highlighted column
Source: USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors 

….....Remembering that alcoholism is an illness of physical allergy and mental obsession, one has to consider how a man, who was an alcoholic himself, was not only experimenting with wine in his own food at the very least, but also feeding it to other alcoholics who came to him for help and trusted him. This, combined with his nonsensical and unfounded claims that step 1 was all about obeying sponsors (i.e. him) and doing tasks on a card he made up himself in defiance of AA Tradition and protocol, It seems conclusive to me that not only did he have delusions of grandeur, and was a selfish narcissist who did not truly care at all for the welfare of others (all symptoms of alcoholism), but, as a compulsive alcoholic, what really mattered to him was feeding and playing around with the prime object of his obsession, namely alcohol. And this was the founder of the AA cult movement in the UK.” 

Comment: There is NO safe level of alcohol for an alcoholic .. 100% abstinence is what AA is about ….. So much for the recovery 'experts'!! They'll end up killing you!

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

PS Thanks to our correspondent 

See also A new campaign

“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

The Art of Chivalry

From our correspondent: 

“Picture this: a crusader Knight, clad in medieval armour, helmet & chain mail; proudly riding his trusty steed. Sword by his side, Banner in hand. Is he off to fight a new crusade ? Or perhaps on his way to rescue a damsel in distress imprisoned in the lofty tower of a far-away castle? Or maybe he is off to do some jousting with the local chapter of the Knights of the Round Table?

Well, no, actually. He is more likely to be heading off to his local AA cult home group - call it Joys of Recovery or Road of Recovery, either title will do. You may wonder what on earth this is about. Well, this is based upon the latest brainstorming idea of cult guru David C (aka the Icon).

You see, David C, like Wayne P, is preoccupied with “promoting chivalry and the ideal of the catholic gentleman”. Is it coincidental that David's website article on chivalry appeared the day after aacultwatch posted (on the 13^th July) an article on Wayne P's hypocrisy in presenting himself as a Catholic gentleman entitled to lecture us all on personal conduct, in spite of his own adulterous caprices? What we know for sure is David C has produced an Icon (below) of a knight with a horse; a sword; and catholic prayer book (lying on the ground for some reason); and an article intended to inspire and inflame our hearts and minds to acts of chivalry and true masculinity.

Tally-ho Sir Knight! And …..Alleluia !

All this could be laughingly dismissed as the harmless musings of an eccentric buffoon living in a fantasy world. However David C has a track record of imposing his prurient and fundamentalist catholic beliefs upon unwary AA newcomers and sponsees. All done (falsely) in the name of “carrying the message and working the AA program”, For example he made it quite clear to an AA acquaintance of mine, that practicing artificial birth control (i.e. condoms, the pill etc) was “not on the program”. The ultimate reason given was that the “Holy Father” (aka the Pope) disapproves of it, It would seem that, in David C's mind, the Roman Catholic Pope should have authority over AA members and how they run their lives and work their programs. So much for our Traditions, and our AA Preamble which talks about not being aligned to any sect or denomination. And notice also how David's self-justification is always based upon an appeal to authority, either his sponsor's or the Pope's. True to this fallacious and lazy mindset he also abhors sex before marriage. Indeed sex of any kind should only be for the procreation of children within the context of heterosexual marriage. And masturbation? Another heinous heresy! Strictly forbidden in accordance with true catholic dogma. And please don't even mention same sex relationships. And as for saunas.... don't ever go into one! They are to be avoided like the plague for fear of encountering the “disorder” of homosexuality. Get on your knees and say a pious prayer in a church instead. David C's fanatical prurience and voyeurism in sexual matters reached a sordid climax a while ago, with the creation of his so-called “Big Book recovery” document and webpage, in which he commanded those who wish to do step 4 & 5 to relate, in a detailed and voyeuristic way, the most intimate and devious sexual practices, including sex with children, animals and bottles. I believe he removed this creepy demand only after being shamed by aacultwatch and others.

Of course, all this is in stark contrast with the clear and simple message of AA as found in the Big Book, and other AA literature. Which wisely cautions us not be be the arbiter of another's sex conduct (Big Book page 69); to follow our own conscience in spiritual matters (ibid pp 95 & 132) - not someone else's (e.g a sponsor's), and not to lecture or talk down from a spiritual hilltop (ibid pp 18 & 95). And to choose carefully who we share with – allowing more than one person if necessary, an AA member or an outsider, to hear our story (ibid p 74 ff). Believe it or nor, we in AA are also allowed the freedom to follow a Higher Power OF OUR OWN UNDERSTANDING, and spiritual expressions AS WE UNDERSTAND THEM (ibid p 47) – which may not be the same as David's narrow understanding. (In my case, and in many others, it will never be the same). It seems David C,, Wayne P., and similar cult clowns and dunderheads, have great difficulty in grasping and understanding the simple and liberating concept of spiritual freedom and practice as suggested in the AA Big Book.

Back to our noble Knight. Think of chivalry, and maybe, like me, you think of good manners, courtesy, tolerance, respect and defense of the weak and down-trodden. Not so cult “chivalry” David C's “chivalry” in his homeland of England is remembered with disdain. Examples are too numerous to mention here. But it will suffice, perhaps, to relate just a few to give readers a flavour of his so-called “chivalry”. Some years ago, in a “Vision for You” cult meeting in Eaton Square, London, he cross-shared and silenced, in front of the entire meeting, one young lady who had begun to share about a painful personal experience regarding her young son who was ill in hospital. Oh dear! No emotional or “negative” sharing allowed in David's pure and knightly presence! The end result was the lady left the meeting, sobbing, never to return. On another occasion I recall a young lady was sharing her experience of Step 9, describing how she had made her amends to her mother, who, in turn, had received and accepted the amends very well. No sooner had the young lady finished sharing her lovely story, when our Sir chivalrous Knight David C came charging in, cross-sharing just about everything she had said, and making it clear that, in his opinion, (first taught to him by his sponsor, the sponsorless David B), she had NOT done Step 9 properly. After the meeting ended, David C skedaddled out the door as fast as he could. And well he might. The young lady in question was hurt and tearful, having been shamed and humiliated by him in front of an entire meeting. Yes, such is David C's “chivalry” and gentleman like manner. To date, there has been neither apology, amends, nor even an expression of remorse or regret from the self-appointed chivalrous Übermensch. You see, as far as David C and Wayne P are concerned, they never do anything wrong. It is the rest of us, the 99.99% bog standard AA members who are always wrong. We have long been judged as the “walking wounded” and the 'do nothings” no matter how long we are sober, or how much service we have done over the years. However, reality and practice reveal the exact opposite. And if we replace the word chivalry with hypocrisy and humbug, we have the true picture of David and Wayne, and all their co-dependent cult groupies and sock puppets.

Chivalry may exist somewhere at some times, but cult chivalry is well and truly dead. In fact, it never existed in the first place. “

Comment: None needed

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous …. and far too liberated to engage in archaic and irrelevant romanticism)

PS Thanks to our correspondent

Threats!

Every now and then someone decides to post threats directed against someone they suppose to be the instigator of aacultwatch. Labouring under the misapprehension that we are some kind of sinister conspiracy cooked up by a deeply embittered and resentful 'lone wolf' they desperately cling to the belief they know who's behind it all. Well who is behind aacultwatch? Quite a few AA members it would seem judging by the feedback and contributions we receive. So good luck with finding the 'ringleader'! But then anyone who follows the blog will know precisely what we do when we come across such conduct. We expose it! Who'dve of thought!

We received the following notification via our Twitter account (the offending account has already been reported and blocked):

“John Doe @aacultwatch I would strongly advise you remove the 2 pictures of me or there will be consequences. You have been warned!”

Of course it was the exclamation mark at the end of this piece of advice that really set our knees a-trembling! As you will see from the following images

this fellow has been handing out sundry bits of advice (and rather colourful accusations .. kiddy fiddling, drugged up etc (yawn)) but mostly so far for the delectation of his 2 followers (makes our own little collection look positively gigantic by comparison!). But he's only a neophyte. Only 14 tweets in all that time!!! Interestingly he 'outed' our supposed ring leader back in September 2009 giving some poor chap's full name!

But the reference to “2 pictures” awakened the suppressed sleuth buried deep within our hearts. It's only recently that we've put any such photos on the site which means there are relatively few candidates who match the profile. We could use this as an opportunity to run our Rogues Gallery past your eyes once again but then realised there's only such much suffering our readership can take. By a process of elimination we've narrowed it down to two. David B doesn't figure …. because he's rather dead!. Similarly Clancy (who's been dead for years but hasn't yet realised it) is excluded because he can probably spell the word “sponsor” what with him being so fond of the whole sponsorship thing. But rather than spoil the fun we'll leave it to you to figure out who it might be (answers on a postcard sae). Of course it's always possible the outburst reflects yet another cult member's 'wet dream'! Some of them will do anything for a bit of notoriety!!!!!

Cheers 

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous .. and masters of the exclamation mark!!!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!! …. and also EXCESSIVE CAPITALISATION BY THE WAY!!) 

PS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here 

PPS 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

Conference questions not quite up to par! (contd)

43. 
Would Conference consider updating the guideline on bullying and conduct in AA, as how AA members should best deal with being bullied or abused anonymously on the internet by AA members?

Background

There are public internet websites in the UK run by UK AA members which regularly name people in the UK fellowship who are identifiable to all members in their regional area. The current guidelines do not cover this eventuality. Members attacked in this way are in an unfortunate position as the internet is not only regional, but national. Also the attacks are by anonymous people so there is no recourse for response. This seems to be an area not covered by the guidelines but one which is causing great upset to a number of members, and disunity on a local and regional level. This is not a local issue as the websites are usually not written by AA members in a different area to that of the people they are bullying. There is national input into these websites, and national distribution.

Terms of Reference No. 7 There have been several submissions covering this topic and a question has been selected that encompasses all areas of the subject matter with appropriate background material.

Comment: As always there's a simple solution! If the bullies, abusers and thugs who regularly appear on our blog discontinue their activities then they will disappear from our site. If not we will continue to publicise their names (and conduct) as widely as possible.... even internationally! We are referring of course to Jon F, Alexis K, Wayne P [Road to Recovery cult group Plymouth], Wally P [Back to Basics franchise, con merchant], Wayne B [Step'n Ahead/Last Mile Foundation .. or whatever it's called these days .. another con man], Harry K [aka Batman – coke head and control freak hailing from CA], Harry A [aka 'the Handbag', 'pill-head' and control freak, East Kent], Richard E [coke head and thug also hailing from CA], Billy [the Kid, thug and control freak, Hampton Wick Friday, Esher Saturday], David B [deceased – but not forgotten – founder of Joys of Recovery and various offshoots – control freak, tried to manipulate his way on to the General Service Board - failed. See also The Fix, AA Cults I Have Known], David C [heir to David B, bigot, control freak, co-publisher of various cult websites, sponsor to Happy Dennis ['fruitcake in residence' Ealing]], Chris R, Myers R [US, both run the Primary Purpose franchise with a sideline in book-binding flogging upmarket Big Book covers to the undiscerning punter], Joe and Charlie [self-proclaimed recovery 'experts' whose extremely patchy (whatever did happen to Chapter 7?) 'Big Book study' has been misinforming AA members for years], Clancy [US, another control freak, Pacific Group 'guru', did a regular 'turn' at the Bristol Reunion, and 'anti beard' for some reason!], Mike Q(uinones) (US, Midtown deceased – good riddance! Sexual predator, control freak etc)... the list goes on.....We're sure we've missed a few other assorted predators, abusers, paedophiles, perverts etc along the way but be sure to mail us and we'll be happy to publicise your activities on the site. We think you get our drift!

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

PS For AA Minority Report 2013 click here

PPS Plymouth Intergroup corruption

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

It's OK to have a bad day!

Extract from old aacultwatch forum: 

“Hello again.

There have been various versions of the so-called "six suggestions" or "six things".  

As they existed around the early 1980's (when I came into the fellowship) they were as follows:

1) Pray for obsession with alcohol to be lifted.

2) Get to a meeting today

3) Ring another alcoholic if you feel like a drink.

4) Write a "Thank You" Gratitude List

5) Read the Just for Today Card

6) Say Serenity Prayer - if feeling anxious, afraid or wanting to drink.

I have these written in abbreviated form at the back in my first  London "Where to Find" (from 1984) together with a few telephone numbers from my first meeting.    The "Where to Find" in those days was much thinner compared to what it is now. Also it was printed on glossy paper.

When AA first came to the UK in there was no literature and no Big Book available here, so the members at that time had to improvise. There were various lists of "Things to do" for the newcomer circulating at the time. 

Some of these recommended reading the just for today card and cultivating an "attitude of Gratitude" by writing a Gratitude List. I once heard a chair by Dartmoor Bill, one of the founders of AA in this country and 47 years sober at time I heard him. He used to share that his "Big Book" was the Just For Today card, as there were no Big Books around when he was a newcomer. Incidently he was an atheist and did not believe in the Big Book at all. He died 52 years sober. 

The "Six Suggestions" underwent revision and change  throughout the 1980's and 1990's  and became more complicated and elaborate, until they became six paragraphs of suggestions, or rules. The Wednesday Vision for You meeting at Eaton Square started printing these  elaborated suggestions on small cards. I attended that meeting around the time this started to happen. A number of people left the Vision group because they felt David B (founder of the Vision cult) was  violating Traditions by printing his own literature and presenting it to Newcomers as AA. The original "six things" were not good enough for David, so he  substantially changed them-  for example he added that people should have 2 home groups, and ring 2 newcomers, pray on their knees, and other modifications.  He also added the non-AA slogan "misery is optional" and the hype "if you do these you will never have a bad day" to the cards. 

There were plenty of perfectly good AA meetings around London at the time this was going on. Most people got sober, and still get sober, in the mainstream of AA.

In hindsight, it is obvious that David B was really cultivating power and prestige - attractive, yes, but, as the Traditions tell us, deadly dangerous for the alcoholic and the fellowship.  Thus he set up his competitive cult group ( the Vision), and he denigrated the mainstream of AA as "sick"  labelling them "the walking wounded" He called his Vision cult the"real" AA, exhorting attendees to "go for Gold".

He gradually isolated himself and his cult within AA. The focus of recovery and sharing at Vision shifted from working 12 steps, to doing 6 things; and from talking about God or Higher Power, to promoting sponsors and sponsorship.  I remember there was a young man who attended the Vision around that time who earned the nickname "6 things" because that is all he shared about - doing the six things. He drank again, by the way, and I haven't seen him since.  

I used to consciously do the six things ( the simpler version) up until about 11 or 12 years ago. I eventually  found them a pointless burden to be honest. Reading the Just For Today card every day became a meaningless ritual. Around 1999 I stopped doing them altogether because my conscience didn't sit well with them, and I felt some of them were just plain superstition, and I was doing them out of fear, rather than Faith.  If you practice fear, in whatever form, you cultivate it within yourself.  

Today I am of a strong …..... Faith, and my Higher Powers don't want me on my knees, so the first of the "David B-amended" six suggestions is definitely out of the question for me. The original six suggestions never mentioned kneeling.  Nor did they mention "never having a bad day" if you did them. 

In my experience the "never have a bad day" prestige spin-phrase clouds the primary purpose of AA as contained in the Preamble, and puts unnecessary pressure on members to share that they "feel good all the time" even if they don't. 

My primary purpose today is not about "not having a bad day", it is about not having a DRINK today. That keeps AA simple for me, and for the newcomer. Also my Program and sharing today should be about honesty, not about presentation and spin. It is my capacity to be honest that will keep me sober, not my ability to put on a prestige performance in a meeting.  Again that keeps it nice and simple for me. 

It also keeps me humble. I have learned over the years that true humility is not a morning "pose" or body posture (easily feigned), but it is about how I interact with others and how true I am to my Higher Powers and myself.

Why complicate a simple Program ? 

If you take the steps then you have everything you need to stay sober.  My focus today is on practising the steps in my daily life according to my understanding of God and my understanding of spiritual expressions. This gives me far more freedom and flexibility of action,  and unburdens me of an arbitrary  list daily tasks and quotas largely invented by an AA personality who really had no authority to impose them on anyone else in the first place.”

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

“The Things They Say” – or should it be “The Lies They Tell

Extracts from the aacultwatch forum (old)

“Think up your own conception of God, put it on a pedestal, kneel in front of it and ask it for a sober day"... Happy Dennis, Ealing.

This is the idiotic message the "happy one" of Ealing carries to all who have the stomach to listen to him.

Well folks, of course, real AA suggests we do no such thing. Kneeling in front of something that you have made up yourself is little short of narcissism. It is also idolatry.

It is well worth remembering that Happy Dennis (Dennis F.) has a long history of mental illness. I for one have no intention of following made up suggestions from such an individual, none of which are found anywhere in conference approved AA literature.

"You must get a sponsor who has a sponsor" - message carried by various cult groupies in the Ealing area.

Well, if that were the case, AA would never have got off the ground. Bill Wilson didn't have a sponsor who had a sponsor! Nowhere in the Big Book or any other AA book does it say that we must have a sponsor who has a sponsor.

It is interesting to note that the promoters of this non-AA message are descended from the David B line of sponsorship. David B didn't have a sponsor, so the whole house of sponsorship cards falls flat. This particular "sponsorship line" narrative ends in a lie.

What the Big Book and other AA books do suggest however, is that we acquire and develop a faith and trust in a Higher Power of our own understanding. That means of course that we have to reflect upon spiritual matters for ourselves and think about what we are doing, rather than constantly deferring to a human power.

"Don't think! Don't use your brain - it's defective!" - message heard in meetings in Richmond area, no doubt inspired by a sponsor who had a sponsor who was connected to David B who didn't have a sponsor!

AA says - THINK THINK THINK.  (official AA sign)

AA also says - "Just for today I will try to strengthen my mind I will study, I will learn something useful. I will not be a mental loafer. I will read something that requires effort, thought and concentration."

You can't strengthen your mind if you don't think!

Thinking is discouraged by the cult. Why? Knowledge is power and people who think cant be so easily manipulated and controlled by the cult sponsor. The Truth will set your free.

"My sponsor said he was sober 22 years and had never had a bad day because he always did everything his sponsor said"   - David C Icons.

Well now, when you sponsor yourself I guess you do everything your sponsor says! Lol

"David B tried to find a sponsor in the UK, but just couldn't find anyone who was sufficiently informed or on the program."  -  David C Icons circa 2000 sitting in McDonalds, Victoria, after a Vision meeting sucking on his strawberry milkshake.

OK lets get this straight - he couldn't find a sponsor good enough for him, but he did everything his sponsor said??  That just doesn't add up. Later on David B claimed to be sponsored by a guy named "Frank" in USA. However when this was investigated, the "Frank" in question was drinking and had no idea he was sponsoring anyone. Clearly David B could not be trusted to tell the truth!

David C Icons, however, swallowed David B's porky pies, hook line and sinker.

Dial D for Dumb... or D or Denial... or D for Dishonest. .. take your pick. All three apply.

"People call me God and I think they are afraid of me" - David B (founder of the cult movement in AA in the UK) talking to a Catholic clergyman (and AA member) outside an AA convention in Eastbourne circa the early 1990's.

No comment is needed.”

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

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