M.A. from Stinkin' Thinkin's Thought for the Day

Thought of the Day
Posted on February 5, 2010 by M A
Perhaps those AAs who are getting sober with the help of their Higher Power™ could “go it alone” for a few days so God can sort out things in Haiti.

Filed under: Deep Thoughts Leave a Comment »

I went to um... leave a comment, and it wouldn't let me for some reason. Last night, I was in like flynn. Oh well. Well since M.A. aka Shark Sandwich is with us over here now... I'd like to drop a response.

Well that sounds fair to me. I could give up God for a few I guess. I'll just pray to my cats for a few days, no problem. That will be cool. They get pretty spiritual when we give them catnip. Godnip.

Anywho... I thought God spoketh over there in Haiti about 23 days ago.


I added this bit thinking that I was being blocked from over there, but not the case... as it was just a temporary bottleneck.

mikeblamedenial, on February 6th, 2010 at 7:59 pm Said:

“M.A… you had a shitty sponsor. Let me help you with that next time, please.”

So did you, it would seem. If you are going to make offers of sponsorship, particularly when describing or commenting on 12-step concepts, I suggest you first get a dictionary, and a thesaurus, and do a little reading. Your repeated misuse of the word “amend” indicates a lack of understanding of its meaning,. The word only appears in the English language as a verb and its definitions do not apply in the 8th and 9th step applications.

“a·mend
a·mend·ed, a·mend·ing, a·mends
VERB: tr.
To change for the better; improve: amended the earlier proposal so as to make it more comprehensive.
To remove the faults or errors in; correct. See Synonyms at correct.
To alter (a legislative measure, for example) formally by adding, deleting, or rephrasing.
To enrich (soil), especially by mixing in organic matter or sand.”

The noun “amends”, which the 8th and 9th steps mention, always ends in the letter “s”. I would also submit that the definition of that word has been convoluted in your current 12-step application. It isn’t an apology, a confession of sin, a plea for forgiveness, or any other make-us-feel-good-about-ourselves-and-get-right-with-God nonsense. Here are some dictionary definitions from three different sources:

something given or done to make up for injury, loss, etc. that one has caused.

Recompense for grievance or injury.

Compensation for a loss or injury

Here are some synonyms to clear it up even further–amends: noun Something to make up for loss or damage: compensation, indemnification, indemnity, offset, quittance, recompense, redress, reimbursement, remuneration, reparation, repayment, requital, restitution, satisfaction, setoff.

As you can hopefully see, penance, sacraments, the pain of Jesus, the all-seeing Eye of God, Scientology, etc, while possibly worthwhile subjects of discussion, clearly are not within the intentions of the ninth step or the scope of any proper amends discussion between sponsor and sponsee. Yours is a good example of one of the basic shortcomings of sponsorship: inept leadership based upon indoctrination rather than genuine qualification to administer accurate, helpful information. Write your letter of confession and apology to the Eye, and send me a Paypal check (you have my email addy) as compensation for all those crappy things you said about me, then go ahead and continue to take personal inventory, promptly admitting when you are wrong.

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Jim, on February 6th, 2010 at 9:57 pm Said:
I agree. If an amend is done from a place of seeking to ease a guilty conscience and not from a sincere desire to set right a wrong, it only feeds the sickness from whence it came.

That being said, I’m glad I’m not famous because I screw up all the time.

They have a saying in AA that you can’t save your face and your ass at the same time.

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mcgowdog, on February 6th, 2010 at 10:10 pm Said:
Take you Funk and Wagnalls definitions and cram them up your pipe hole.

I have plenty of awesome experience on making amends. I do them and I finish them every year.

” It isn’t an apology, a confession of sin, a plea for forgiveness, or any other make-us-feel-good-about-ourselves-and”

“An apology won’t fit the bill at all.” So… no shit, Sherlock. What was your first clue? But showing contrition and sorrow is very important. But what part of my amend example did I say, “I’m sorry!”? No where.

What’s your experience making amends? We use the Sacraments of Pennance in our 8th Step. If you’ve done such a thing, we can talk about it. If not, I’m not interested in your opinion of which you know nothing about.

Paypal? I owe you money? Why don’t you go down to the soup kitchen and eat. Next time someone bumps into you at an intersection, come out grabbing your neck… go for the California Lottery. Oh, and please, go down to the bus depot and give out some free b-jobs and get your self esteem back. Quit being a victim. I owe you nothing. Don’t like my writings? Don’t read them.

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mikeblamedenial, on February 6th, 2010 at 10:51 pm Said:
Your hateful, vulgar, and generally unkind words are a stark contrast to your professions of sacramental adherence and the selfless dedication to helping others prescribed by 12-step doctrine. Once again, the word is “amends”, not “amend”. Repitition is the key to learning new information.

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AndyM, on February 7th, 2010 at 12:10 am Said:
Odd that so many online 12 step apologists manage to combine a claim of profound spiritual spiritual insight with a filthy (if sadly limited and misspelt) vocabulary. Suggestions that people who disagree with them shove various things up their rectums seems to be a popular theme with them for some reason. I do wish aa literature had been written in this robust , no-holds-barred, lavatory wall style of prose. For my money it would have given a more accurate picture of aa spirituality as seen in practice.

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McGowdog:

4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of everybody else in the room.

I expected nothing more from you whiny bitches.