TD> (DIATRIBE WARNING!)
 TD> In the past few days I have come to the conclusion that AA is
 TD> cult-like.
 Well I shared that opinion in my head at the first meeting I ever atteneded.
 But by the second week of meetings I was well over that thought.
 TD> One of the things cults do is destroy one's ability to think for
 TD> yourself. When is the last time someone in a meeting stood up and
 TD> said, "I believe that the ego deflation part of this program can
 TD> be deadly!"
 HL> Sunday morning.
 TD> Well I am saying it. I'll be giving the reasons shortly.
 TD> There is the the point of "Conference Approved" literature.
 TD> Well when was the last time anyone thought about on the
 TD> "Conference" that approves the literature? Is it some central
 TD> authority that defines for the "Member" what he/she can read
 TD> during one's indoctrination sessions err.. meetings?
 HL> You know, you shouldn't share pillow talk on a public echo.
 TD> Now that line is conjecture, I personally know of no local groups
 TD> that have given any money to World Services in a long time... and yet
 TD> what about the groups that did?
 HL> Yes you do...the Carroll Gardens group donates to Intergroup and GSO
 HL> every
 HL> month.
 TD> The society says to them "That they have lost true humility and
 TD> therefore perspective..." that in and of itself says to the
 TD> member that you
 TD> don't deserve redemption until you think the way we do..
 HL> Huh????
 TD> That concept coupled with the "outright mental defectives in full
 TD> flight from reality..." line from "The Doctor's Opinion" in the
 HL> other
 TD> "Conference Approved" literature denotes that the member is
 HL> defective
 TD> and the only relief is ego deflation and right thinking based on
 HL> said
 TD> "Conference Approved" literature.
 HL> Interesting point.
 TD> But that's not the point here. I personally know of quite a few
 TD> fellow sufferers that the "spiritual angle" will not work with.
 TD> The reason is very simple, they have no ego to deflate.
 HL> Ego deflation is not necessary for the spiritual angle to work,
 HL> however.
 HL> Unfortunately this doesn't seem to happen in meetings.
 TD> Now the program says very little if not nothing at all on how to
 TD> handle these fragmented personalities. That and the daunting task
 TD> of doing it exactly as written will probably put them over the
 HL> edge
 TD> and into oblivion.
 HL> Good point.
 TD> Faced with that choice they either become the chronic slippers
 TD> or the ones that never put more than 2 years together then
 TD> disappear.
 Unfortunately some people slip and slip until they actually reach
 their own bottom as that is what must be met....realized...and
 accepted before the recovery process can even begin. Also very
 unfortunately most people never realize their bottom and never
 enter the doors of AA as a whole. When one realizes just how
 fortunate one is, to have just walked in the doors of AA. Next time
 you go to an AA meeeting sit back for a second and look around the
 meeting say a meeting with about twenty people in it and try to figure
 out which one of those people at that meeting is going to dead from the
 disease in the coming year as the stats say that one will be and don't
 forget to include yourself in that thought as it well could be. I do
 that every now and then as it help to keep me focused on recovery as
 suggested rather than the way I want it to be.
 TD> On that front AA has failed them because AA fails to adapt to
 TD> it's changing membership.
 This is rather confusing....you say "AA has failed them because AA fails
 to adapt to it's changing membership."
 Now listen up I am only to say this once and I hope your are in
 accepting mood when you read it. AA stands for Alcoholics Anonymous.
 Meaning people that have a desire a stop drinking (according to Tradition 3)
 and want to remain anonymous. I really don't think that has changed at all.
 TD> It fails because it has been proven that "Conference Approved"
 TD> literature is horribly outdated in view of the current
 TD> 75% or more members that have used drugs in addition to
 TD> the main focus of drinking.
 Granted there is more duelly addicted people in the world today than there
 was some 50 years ago and these people have found their way to the doors of
 AA as well as NA for an example. But the bottom line is that whether they
 have more than one addiction they are welcome to attend AA meetings and 
hare
 their experiences and hope with all who attend those meetings.
 HL> It's horribly outdated in more ways than that, darling.
 TD> It fails because there are more minorities and women then ever
 TD> before
 TD> and yet the steps as written are tailor made for the upper crust
 TD> "off the wagon wall street types" who had a wealthy upbringing
 TD> and knew no abuse.
 You must have a different revision of the Big Book than I do.
 Your's isn't the Hazelton Edition is it? :)
 TD> It fails to meet the needs of people who have a dependency on
 TD> other people, only to encourage MORE dependency on said
 TD> Sponsor and a nameless god (Whom is invariably MALE and
 TD> christian)
 You have your opinion and I have mine and I think that AA releases
 people for the dependancy on other people and if a sponsor tries to
 control or get a sponsee to become dependant on them maybe that sponsor
 should re-evaluate their own position as in Step Ten to see how they
 are affecting the sponsee. No that is just my opinion just for today as I
 have no experience at all with sponsors as I have never had one and that is
 why as you have have mentioned I felt that they would try to control me from
 the start so I chose not to have one.
 "Now we come to another kind of problem: The intellectually self-
 sufficient man or woman." To these, many A.A.'s can say, "Yes we were
 like you---far too smart for our own good."
                                  Step Two
 Otis
 "Just For Today"
--- Ezycom V1.20
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