Alcohol Recovery Blog... Well, not so much any more. I've lost all of my support over the last several years obviously. Nobody wants to go head to head with the Anti/XAers anymore. Seems that most have jumped off of the A.A. "bandwagon" all together. I've lost my resolve as well. Still sober 20+ years though. So there is that.
I've been getting a lot of asian spam... comments with Chinese fonts.
I didn't think much of it until last night.
I noticed that sometimes the spam had some form of asian text in the name, but once in a while, they'd throw in a fortune cookie type saying or something... like subtlety is greater than force or some shit.
But all this spam was followed by these blue dots........... Now the blue dots were obviously some kind of hyperlink or something. I've tried to google them to find out what they were... safely. Some seemed to be nasty sites or something. Well last night, I couldn't delete the latest one from my comments recap on the top right of my blog. So I went to everyone that I'd left from the past, went to their site and reported them to Blogger as span or porn, and saved them for my own reference, and the last one went away. Don't know what these folks are up to, but I doubt it's any good. Now leave us the hell alone and go someplace else, thank you. You may get a notice from Blogger soon. You can thank me for that.
Things within the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous... and without... that bother me;
Lower your expectations.
We stay sober, one day at a time. All we have is today.
My disease is out in the parking lot doing push-ups. Yeah? And your brain is on the couch eating cheesy puffs watching porno, asshole. What the fuck's your point?
90 meetings in 90 days
Keep coming back.
What you hear here, when you leave here, let it stay here... hear hear. Yeah, right!
Just don't drink. Go to meetings.
Don't let the God talk run you out.
Hold onto your ass, because you're in for a ride.
Cotton.
Addiction.
Using.
Clean.
I'm an...anda...
Nobody gets here by mistake.
Powerless over my disease
I can't, God can, let Him. Let Him do what? Wipe my ass? Throw Sober Bolts at my whiskey bottle? How about this? RTFM. Read the Fucking Manual. DTFD.
Alcohol is a drug.
The Program works me.
You gotta change your playmates, playthings and playpens.
The only thing you have to change is everything. How about this? Life is like a diaper. Let someone else change it.
Think through the drink.
Let us love you until you can love yourself.
Steps? Oh, those are up there on the wall.
Get a sponsor. Tell your sponsor. What's your sponsor say? My sponsor says...
The short form of the 3rd Tradition.
There's nothing that can come to me today that God can't handle. Oh yeah? What if this is the day you die? I'm just sayin... look both ways.
But for the Grace of God there go I. What are you sayin? Look at that poor sap. Glad it's his dead ass and not me.
Journal.
Sick as our secrets.
How are you doing today? Oh, do you really want to fucking know? You got time? Or are you just making small talk? My life is fucked up but I'm seeking a spiritual solution. I'm sober today. And you?
You can start your day anytime. Oh yeah? Why not just start at the beginning?
We're not bad people. Were just sick people trying to get well.
Does anyone have a topic? Chair the fucking meeting.
When I came into my first A.A. meeting, I already did step one. Bullshit.
I do living amends by staying sober and going to A.A. Really? Most people I know outside of A.A. could give a crap. I get no points for doing what I should already be doing.
I've been sober in A.A. for XX years and I'm still recovering.
The promises. Oh, you love to read those, huh? How about the 10th Step promises for a change?
My worst day sober is better than my best day drunk.
I have a disease that tells me I don't have a disease. Not so fucking fast. Are you alky or not?
You're exactly where you're supposed to be. Oh rly? Well can I tear the Dr's Opinion and the next 43 pages out of my fucking A.A. book now? Is qualifying for A.A. as easy as your gf? Ooh... that was low.
Your best thinking got you here.
Nobody is too dumb for the program, but there's plenty of people who were too smart. O.K. I believe you. You are the poster child for that one.
If you want what we have... Just make sure old Charlie the Gimp doesn't greet people at the door with that one.
Be careful what you pray for. Oh really? Should I buy a Powerball ticket today or what? Come enjoy in my misery if I win. Yeah, right.
Sick and tired of being sick and tired. Oh, well I'm sick and tired of hearing that.
Wait for the miracle. Oh yeah? What happened to "my serenity being directly proportional to my expectations" and "acceptance is the key today"? Which one is it? You're confusing the fuck out of me now.
Jails, institutions, or death. Oh, the old FEAR motivator. Nice. Is that A.A. or N.A.?
Donald T. Quinn says "Sarah, I really appreciated your kind words. You made my day. Don’t let the buggers get you down. We’re with you all the way.
Mona Lisa says "You know, the majority of people I knew in my AA days were decent people. Misguided, full of fear, scared of thinking outside their little world, and fighting their nagging sense of cognitive dissonance…but for the most part well-meaning. The horrific, vile, profane, antagonistic, arrogant, bizarre invective issued by McG and his ilk is over the top, even for AA."
SoberPJ says "I was going to post over at McDog and then I read the AA supporters comments and realized ST is in a different league. And, IMHO, it should stay that way. My take is to ignore them and let them spew angry and profane rhetoric while they try to defend the indefensible. Over time, AA will wither but never die – it seems to be in the withering process right now. There will always be defenders of the faith, but it cannot withstand a constant barrage of solid questioning and astute observation. There is simply too much deceit and lack of evidence of efficacy for it to continue to thrive over the long term. Plus, it mimics a religion and this is an interesting video on how the Internet is a place for religons to come to die – some stupid youtube vid .The internet will cause the withering of AA too.
Primrose says Agree with Spj
Someone like anonymous of course is a better representative of aa. There is no point talking to someone who makes so little sense. It is a pity that mgd does not have a wider audience because he is proof to me of an extreme aa type, whose allegiance to the cult overtakes logic. I think that people from this site may be the bulk of his audience.
friendthegirl says Sarah, you have email… I’m going to reiterate a few things here that I emailed to you, just to put everyone in the loop.
First of all, like Donald sez, we all have your back. I’m not afraid to speak for everyone here when I say that. We have your back, and I have your back.
Second, I can’t stop anyone from pulling quotes from this blog. And if I had the ability to do so, I wouldn’t, because we routinely pull quotes from other forums in order to expose how AA members treat each other. I can ban someone from commenting, but I can’t ban anyone from reading or pulling text from the blog, and making an enormous asshole out of himself, and proving our point for us, for the whole world to see. (I can, however, ban someone because I feel like it, and I have no qualms about that.)
Third, if, upon reflection, anyone feels too exposed by anything they have posted here, I will delete your comment for you. Just let me know. You own your words, and I will honor your request.
Fourth, the message board seems to still be a little off the beaten path, but if people here would like a “members only” forum, which requires valid email address registration and membership approval, I will set that up. This will prevent anyone who is not registered (“guests”) from viewing your posts. It won’t prevent all abuse, if the message board grows beyond my capacity to recognize who’s who (which I don’t see happening anytime soon), but it will require a certain accountability, which a troll might be unwilling to accept.
Fifth, I haven’t read McGow’s whole post, yet. The man should put a seizure trigger alert on his masthead. I mean, it’s just an unreadable mess of neon text on a black background, completely unformatted and lacking any logical cohesion or flow (definitely a candidate for websitesthatsuck.com). But I will read it. And one thing I will tell you is that if Mcgowdog thought he could hold his own, or felt that he had a righteous position, he would have done so here. He responds here often enough. He knows he wouldn’t have been censored — he never has been, and has no reason to think he would — but he does know that he would have had his ass gift wrapped, with a nice big bow, and handed back to him, and he doesn’t have the cojones.
Sixth, At Stinkin’ Thinkin’, we front-page-post comments from AA members that we cull from their forums, in order to expose abuse. We don’t post comments from AA members who are in pain or who are vulnerable and then ridicule them. We cull for abuse, not for weakness. And McGowdog’s pulling quotes from someone who is expressing vulnerability and distress, in order to demean her from an AA position, is repugnant. And it reinforces the necessity of this blog and others like it: Expose AA ; Orange ; Blame .
violet says "talking about your cord made me wonder if you had a mac. i feel like all of us smaht anti aas have macs." Leave it to Violet to be off the wall spontaneous and free. Love this out of the blue comment.
violet says dear mcf-ckloser, you are just um, so far over my f-cking head, over all of our’s? what the? perhaps i did not read you correctly, um your black teenager-esque backdrop with purple font distracts me so, so very much. and well, what a creepy funeral for you. if only your uncle had gone to a meeting with you, he could have added some innocent aa chicks to his molestation list. gosh, i wish he woulda made it there, i am sure it REALLY would helped him. all i can say is, thank god i did not have to sit next to him or you, like eVAH."
That's ok. My cat still loves me;
My uncle was the one who had killed somebody in a drunk driving incident. Don't pin molestation on him too. Things are bad enough for him. But you sure do know how to take things out of context.
ok, i cannot take thedoghouse seriously. the blog is such a joke. i feel mean. it is like making fun of a really, really socially awkward person who unfortunately has a mean streak. these people are best smiled at and ignored.
Yeah, like you ignored us over at Sober Recovery about 15 months ago.
violet says "I guess if I were to take that blog seriously, which I just can’t, I would say that this guy is really just off the mark and misguided. And actually this is a huge drag because people who prolly need the most support (in truth, that funeral he describes is pretty rotten, right?), are going to f-ing end up listening to doghouse in an AA meeting. the uncle, cannot you see him in AA. GROSS. i do not want to sit next to people ike that. I do not want them in my home, around my family, nada. ut education and compassion are really the only thing that could prolly transcend this framework. i do not have the compassion. just do not.
If you want to make comments about my dead uncle or dead acquaintences, fire away. The three examples I gave were all examples of guys I knew that committed suicide and I gave some insight as to why they might have ended their life that way; a drunk, a manic-depressive, and a meth head. Fuck off, Violet. I'll not darken your door anytime ever, so don't worry about that.
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So, going back to about April and even March of 2009... you guys started this Cut and Paste from the Sober Recovery forum and used our posts as your fodder... for your anti/XA cult blog. Yet, someone takes your posts and sheds a little bit of light on it and you're offended.
You want to come over here and kick McGowdog's ass, huh? You better eat a few more sides of beef. You'd also better start flailing about the ground because in the dirt is where you're gonna go.
You don't like my blog format? You don't like the Purple on the Black background? I don't care. It's my style, my way of separating my thoughts from y'alls.
Like I said on the last post, there are about 38 of you and one of me. You done ran off Jim and Rob and you banned Karl and Tony J. And you have the gall to call my/our morality and ethics into question?
You love to say, "Let them speak. They are our biggest advocates against A.A. that there is." Bullshit. When you speak of A.A. you pull of the slogan of the week and use that to judge why A.A. didn't conform to your secular/atheistic world view. Some of us are into the teachings and experiences in that book and it works for us. Your Agent Orange induced rhetoric is old and tired now.
You need us. You need the constant friction and attention for your existence as you are but parasites feeding off of the crumbs of others. You look with vociferous attention to any story that you can spin to put A.A. in a bad light. For us, it's entertaining at best. But if you ever came close to hitting home, we would step back, agree with you that A.A. has some problems and we would set out to fix things or at least find the truth in our own exerience in the thing.
With our hardcore/hardlined approach to the A.A. program, not much of what you speak of is our reality.
Of all of you that commented on the "Suicide" post, hardly anyone came in with a disagreement to your ramblings and A.A.s supposed link to suicide. I saw that Ray corrected ftg on a word and she changed it to say "Mortality" rather than "Suicide". But nonetheless, look at your antiAA comments. You guys are the ones that are wacko.
You are resentful at A.A. and you would benefit to get over it. According to some of you, you had a hard enough time with sobriety that you got thrown into A.A., found out how bad it sucked... and 19 years later left A.A. and found that you could just stay sober on your own choice. So how is that not choosing to go to A.A. in the first place?
Why don't you go a step further and choose to drink normal? Wouldn't a Beck's Light go pretty good this weekend? Come on. Have a drink on me. Choose to be a successful drinker. If you can stay away from the first one without God, then surely you can stay away from the 5th one... or the 4th one... or the 3rd one. Drink two and stop. Then come back to A.A. and tell us about it so we can "tip our hats" to you.
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So what started all of this?
The offended poster at ST says,
FTG: I would like you to know that McGodCow has copied and pasted my earlier statement all over the web and ripped me to shreds for it. You say you want me to share here, and this is what happens. As for the board, I have posted there, and most do not bother to read nor respond. So, goodbye for a while as this is obviously not a safe place.July 23, 2010, 11:18 am
Holy crap! I didn't mean to single you out and the only name I took liberty to use was K. Unless by accident, that wasn't the point of my blog or any other comments from specific posters.
I just used the subject of "Is A.A. causing suicide" as something to counterpoint. That's all.
If you were offended by my immediate and spontaneous comments to your posts, I'm sorry. I don't know you well enough to make any educated statements. But you are posting in a nasty blog that has done some nasty and abusive things to my friends. Look back at my earliest blog entries.
It's the main reason I started this blog! I have a right to speak my mind, as y'all do. I may be banned from forums and put into the "Dunce" room, etc. But I will speak my mind and my experience.
And by the way, I'm not threatened by you atheists in the least. I've got some secular and atheist friends in A.A. and they get along fine. But they aren't your Starbucks-quality atheist like most of you folks are. They are the real deal. They don't believe in an Intelligent Guidance in the Universe or at least, don't think a Supreme Being is in charge. But they make A.A. work nonetheless. Either way, they are forced to choose.
Upon what we choose is what separates us.
I'm not really in agreement of your assessment of me over there. If you think I'm too vulgar, fine. I'll stay away. For you to discount me as some A.A. nutjob or wacko that's not even of use in A.A. interests me not. I'm doing well in my recovery. Believe it or not.
But make no mistake about this; I owe the existence of this blog and its style to you fine folks over at Stinkin' Thinkin'. You created me. You should take a bow. With all of the "Quotes of the Week" , "The Crazies over at Sober Recovery", and the labels to selective posts, you got my attention.
If you want to know the truth, I'd rather get away from this back and forth banter, but my pro-AAs have gone into the basement as of late. Things are quiet. Most folks are out enjoying their summer. We'll see things pick back up over the next few months. Someone made the suggestion that I take on other usernames? Violet? The only other name I use is SirMcGowington. Karl is Cuda is Leadfoot. Tony J is Tony J. The others don't post here much. It's not their style.
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Sarah, who also likes to bash the A.A. book and program on Amazon says, "I was not an unwilling member and I worked the steps OUT OF THE BOOK for over a decade! McGowdog, I hope you rot. Why does no one on this site care what he does to people who are already hurting?
I know about him and his friends. My point is: Why is he allowed on here again when the only reason he's here is to copy, paste, and slander?
Well I don't think it's very nice that you want me to rot. See, you've gone from suicidal to homicidal. I guess that's sort of improvement. you've gone from shame and apathy to resentment.
I don't care if you get me banned. I've been banned before. It's a small world. We'll meet up somewhere. You'll be bashing A.A. and I'll be praising it. Why? Because that's been my experience in A.A.
When you bash A.A. and claim that it's a dangerous cult that leads to suicide, I take note. I consider it for a second. I really do. But I see that what you say is bullshit. If you thought A.A. was wrong for you or you got no results after a set of steps, much less 12, why didn't you leave way back then?
What about the people for whom A.A. is successful? You say "good for you if A.A. worked for you" on one side of your mouth and you say, "A.A. is a dangerous cult" on the other. I don't buy it. You bought the victim card long ago and A.A. offered you freedom. Too bad it didn't work for you. I shouldn't even be defending A.A. here. It needs no defense from you or your "ilk". I saw plenty of people on your Amazon comments that dispelled you as a whack-job.
See? Insults and judgement work both ways. You ought to get a life. Have fun over at Stinkin' Thinkin. It fits you.
Another blog is running a thread about whether or not A.A. is the culprit for so many suicides and not the nature of the "fatal malady" itself.
"I think that some people might find that the connection isn’t between AA and suicide, but between alcoholism and suicide, and that highlighting the correlation is specious. What is your take on that?" Specious; having a false look of truth, deceptive attraction. The writer claims to not know much about the topic of "suicide" but wants to learn more about it by opening the topic up to the predominantly anti/XAers... see if they can't form an outline of sorts. Yeah right. She cites the Vaillant Surveys; Now we're going to see some personal testimonies and comments on the topic;
_ says I’d bet it’s both. Sure, alcoholism is dangerous and depressing and can lead to suicide. But the 12 steps are depressing and defeating and seem to facilitate “benders,” so I’d say they exacerbate the suicide rate. Hmmm. Not my experience in the steps. I've found them to be very freeing actually. I have seen a lot of people in A.A. who do everything but steps and repeat the same drunkalogues over and over again. I wouldn't say their total life is a waste. I would say they could do better in a spiritual sense and I wonder why they stay in A.A., but who knows? Maybe I'll be in their shoes one day. I could see myself just walking away from A.A. at any given time. But right now, I see a bunch of hope and a bunch of cool folks enjoying themselves in A.A. For most, it's not a death sentence.
A reference to a blamethenile vid... _ says, "This is undoubtedly the worst problem of the AA faith, and their promotion of the concept of “powerlessness” which when combined with the AA faith’s promotion of telling people they have a progressive, incurable, and terminal disease, leads people to hopelessness. This misinformation is promoted by people that have NO credibility."I'm not even going to watch that stupid video. I can imagine how they manipulate the data and the goings on at meetings. Which is it, a religion, a cult, a place to get 13th stepped, or a place to commit suicide? Get real for just a minute. Not my experience. If it was, it would make me look pretty bad for just being a part of it. That's exactly what you will jump on next; McGowdog... bad dawg!
_says, "In October of 2000, I attempted suicide. I was drunk and took a whole bottle of tranquilizers. I knew what I was doing–I wasn’t in a blackout. I grew up in AA. My first meeting was at age 15. I would relapse and leave about every six years, thinking my only way out of the program was to drink, just like the group told me. I was a naive and impressionable girl. The women who 1st-stepped me–all I can remember now (I have blocked out most of my early days in AA) is they said something like, “Listen to these people and learn.” So I did listen. I was indoctrinated young. Eventually I started thinking, day and night in cult-speak. It made its way into my creative writing; my conversations with non-program people; and it dominated my thinking for over 20 years. I was desperate–with that one little shred of my mind I wouldn’t let them have–to get away from these people, but I was so afraid that I would relapse (which would happen anyway) that I kept coming back for more brainwashing. I have finally gotten away from the program to the havens of this blog and the orange papers and Rational Recovery. I truly have only begun to deprogram my mind from this lifeblood-sucking cult. Had ONE person in treatment or a therapist in all of my years of therapy told me there are options, I might have been spared so many wasted years. But in the 80s, I don’t know that there were too many other options. Anyway, in 2000, as I was desperately trying to stay sober for thirty days while going to the program, I relapsed again. Obviously something (I do believe it was not me) was “honestly” not working. As I contemplated my choices of jails, institutions and death or AA, I became increasingly suicidal. I have depressive tendencies anyway, but I felt the walls were closing in on me, in terms of the either/or rhetoric that was fed me. After three days I woke up in a hospital bed, and as soon as I was stable: one guess as to where I was sent. Yet more brainwashing. I had been around for a long time by then, had seen some pretty amazingly unhealthy and downright twisted behavior, and just couldn’t believe I was destined to mix with crazy people in a crazy cult. All I wanted was out. I had been through graduate school by then, majoring in English and having acquired critical thinking skills. I have finally gotten sober. I haven’t been sober long and am some days barely hanging on. I am inspired by this site, and inspired seems a funny word since many of you are atheists. It doesn’t matter to me. Many of you are sane and make sense, and I can’t thank “Mr. Orange” enough for what his online book has done for me. I am new here, and wonder if you all have any non-12 step suggestions for a fledgling former cult-er who is trying very hard to stay away from the all-too-seductive lure of AA and /or booze. Peace." You... are a certified nutjob. You are/were socialized in A.A. You are a drama queen and should seek outside help.
_ says "I have lost several friends to AA’s self fulfilling prophecy of death. One hung himself with chain after a meeting, another drank himself to death in front of a steak and glass of wine like in the big book story, and another took some pills and went to bed. All these and many more were my favorite people to hang out with. They were uncommonly fun, enjoyed road trips, eating out, etc. They all went to AA, accepted the indoctrination, and died due to a modified belief system. This is what I hate about AA. AA’s need to teach others that there are many ways to quit or moderate drinking instead of teaching they have the only cure." You know... I think that the removal of all the MOTR and slogan shit would go a long way to resolving a lot of problems in A.A. When stuff gets added in and people try to hustle others into A.A. just because it worked for them... I could see where it could cause problems. Hope I don't partake in such BS. If I was harming people inside or outside of A.A., my life would suffer. Why would I want that? I do have a conscience, you know? Most of us do. We are not the Hells Angels and meth dealers and puppy killers.
_ says, "I saw one friend die in a similar fashion, though I don’t believe he actually meant to commit suicide. He had been forced into the 12 steps and just couldn’t get it……..and was told the fault was his. Whilst he “moderated” his alcohol to a degree, his guilt made him him look elsewhere and he died injecting heroin. I’m sure from speaking to him just before he died that his failure to work the steps was the main factor, in his mind though certainly not mine. I always told him to “get out more”………..live life, see people and stop the self pity, but he had too many people from within AA telling him he was weak, diseased and going to die. It’s a disgusting programme for some folks who don’t need bullying. I would love to take issue with this guy and the way he was “abuse works on most everyone – being vulnerable to it is not a character defect or the result of a dysfunctional background. Isn’t there some recovery program based on having more fun in life, instead of on becoming sober and gloomy? pushed” to his death but there’s no point in AA." Bullying? Really? If someone tries to force you into doing something ... inside of A.A. ... a person ought to be able to stand up for themselves and just say "No". It may get you "fired" as a sponsee, but who gives a fuck? I give thou personal power to not be victims and to run your own life... inside and outside of A.A. It works for me. And I really really want it to work for you too. I hate the slogan, "But for the grace of God there go I." I hated it before you stupifucks brought it up. I was told to not cuss so much. Oops.
_ says, "Yes, well, it’s like being sent to one of those Khmer Rouge style reeducation camps, at the level of the mindfuck. Of course it drives people off the cliff. And I’m not joking!" A.A. drives people off the cliff? That's believable.
_ says, "... and I think that you can use your experience in AA as a springboard to help a lot of people deprogram from AA and find an exit strategy." Exit strategy... "What are you doing tonight? Going to an A.A. meeting?" Hmmm. No. Not ever again. They kill people and entice them into suicide. Think I'll watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer instead."
_ says, "AA can pour huge amounts of shit on people. None of it is worth dying for." Lots of shit... Shit happens, but it usually doesn't get poured on people. No?
_ says, " Sure, suicide is selfish, AA is a selfish program. Those that I have known who did it did so because there was no hope. They believed they were bodily and mentally different from their fellows as AA teaches. AA had taught them that there were no other options for serenity other than an AA recovery. They kept coming back even though it didn’t work for them. They killed themselves because they could not take the pain any more. I did hear this one good platitude about suicide in AA: Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Tell it to someone who can’t take the pain anymore, they probably can’t even hear you?" You know enough about A.A. to be dangerous. Ever heard that one? I've heard some nasty mean shit in A.A. come to think of it. I usually laugh. But I'm twisted. And a lot of people know me, so... they are not threatened by me! Hell, I know most of the people in A.A. meetings. If there was a new person, I/we certainly wouldn't want to run them off or run them off a cliff or run them into suicide! You fucksticks are amusing yourselves at our expense, no?
_ says, "The thing is, AA would teach you that there is no hope – but that doesn’t mean it’s true. Things will get better (especially if you leave AA and get some real help for your addiction and/or suicidal feelings). For the record, I know a person who attempted suicide as a direct result of steppers telling her that she was powerless and defective and would inevitably die a miserable alcoholic death as the result of one lapse. AA teaches despair to vulnerable people who need real help. That is why they should be stopped, or at least be made publicly accountable. Or at the very least be required by law to get some proper qualifications before they are allowed to “counsel” impressionable addicted people and foist their misanthropic and hopeless world view upon them." There again... you know enough about A.A. to be dangerous to yourself and others. Accountable? People in A.A. are accountable for everything they say and do.
_ says, " I am older and wiser now, and I have recognized the AA program for what it is: a cult that lures people in with its false promises of a better life. I really do believe it is a cult, but how could I have known any better as an impressionable young teen?" Back to the professional and institutionalized XA member.
k says, "The main reason why I am a critic if AA is based on my observations of 2 people sharing in a meeting their suicidal thoughts, one of which actually attempted suicide the other I am not sure about. Their shares incuded the blanket derogatory name calling of themselves as alcoholics about them being selfishness, egotitsical etc. straight out of the big book. They wondered why other people, like their guru sponsor could get it and they couldn’t. They didn’t have any of these traits, the big book had convinced them they had and because of the promises hadn’t come true and they were still depressed they felt like a failure aswell, probably dishonest as thats what the big book says of people who fail the program. The modern perspective on treating the majority of people with depression is to raise self esteeem and not try and smash it like the big book of AA does. I repeatedly posted similar stuff on SR until I got banned (woohoo). The AAers response was that it was an outside matter, they must be spiritually unfit."(oh k! Join the club! Except the rest of us are and will continue to be sober. You're not.)They fail to grasp that becasue AA believes people are suffering alcoholism even years after not drinking!What are its symptoms, well for a start the promises describe a person going from being depressed to being happy. So understanbly people think their depression and desire to drink to self medicate is alcoholism, rather than depression. Alcoholism involes drinking alcohol it can cause depression and depression can cause alcoholism but they are different things The AA program, the big book seems aimed at narcissists and people of a deviant nature. Not all people who drink alcoholically fit into these stereotypes of alcoholics. Hello K. I saw that one coming. It's too bad too. Some of the folks from the Sober Recovery 12 Step Subforum fillet'd you like a fish and skinned you like a dear whenever you went stumbling into there. You've found a good home. Hope you can maintain that sobriety and keep that victim card handy.
That "Quote of the Day" where tiburon88 was being called out by an SR poster. I've got a tiburon88 post in here somewhere, if you want to see where that troll is coming from.A postback here to tiburon88 from SR. He's the one who says he walked into an A.A. meeting... sober, and said, "I hope you all relapse in here." Part of me think that's funny, but part of me would have been shoving my boot up part of tiburon's ass if he'd have said that in my meeting. Don't commit suicide though. Just go away.
_ says, "The other problem is that AA as a baseline encourages thinking that is extremely conducive to feelings of intense shame and moralizing. Someone I know actually hung himself after he got clean. It was after really having time to think about it and his behavior on meth, that he felt irredeemably evil. Suffice it to say, he was most certainly not.Suicide is complicated without addiction thrown into the mix. Throw in addiction and it gets exponentially moreso." A.A. does not teach shame, you idiots! It teaches surrender, courage, acceptance, forgiveness, reason, love, joy... Suicide is about apathy! Shit! If you're gonna kill yourself, go fucking drink instead. How many times have I said, "I'd rather have a bottle infrontofme than a frontal lobatomy"?
_ says, "Actually, I would guess that AA suicides are not usually “selfish” at all. The program is designed to instill fear, hopelessness and powerlessness – and often involves a huge amount of psychological bullying too. Sometimes the only control over his or her life that a person feels they have is the decision to end it." Surrender is the path to integrity. With surrender comes power. It's a mere matter of changing course. When people come into A.A., they aren't usually looking for suicide prevention. They are looking for help on getting sober. Duh!
_ says, " I learned not only to recognize my right to get angry, but the fact that it’s completely normal for people to get angry from time to time.(Like many people, I was brought up to believe that getting angry was always bad.) It’s interesting that AA has an open policy of telling people they are not allowed to feel or display anger – ever – even if they have very good cause. This in itself is almost bound to lead to depression, and that can possibly lead to suicide, because people will continue to feel anger but will repress it and beat themselves up about it. There are plenty of AA-ers posting very angrily all over the internet, though. I wonder if they pretend to be serene when they’re with their AA pals?" Having anger and dealing with resentments are two different things. I can get mad any fucking time I want to bitch! See? I don't act any certain way amongst those in A.A. If I'm in a meeting, I state my current experience on the topic. I tell the fucking truth. If I feel like cussing, I cuss. We cuss. WTFuck?
_ says, "says To find the smoking gun on AA and suicide, you only need to look at conference-approved AA literature. They admit AA members contribute to suicides in their conference approved pamphlet, “The AA Member — Medications & Other Drugs”. Page 13 states “AA members and many of their physicians have described situations in which depressed patients have been told by AAs to throw away the pills, only to have the depression return with all of its difficulties, sometimes resulting in suicide.”http://www.aa.org/pdf/products/p-11_aamembersMedDrug.pdf" Here's one I want to look into further. I think it's possible that these claims are true and are a problem. Don't play fucking doctor in A.A. If I see someone doing it, I'm going to piss in their wheaties and tell the victim of it to not listen to such bullshit. My manic depressive friend is an example of this (the current one whom is still alive). I told him to listen to his doctor, find another meeting, and he did.
_ says, "_ says _, have a look at NICE on AA. And tell me what you think might be done.I think that AA has played a sort of big con trick on everyone, even those who don’t come into contact with it. They are just universally admired for their bravery. Therefore lots of people drink themselves to death rather than submit to it." IDK. Maybe you're right? What do we do about it? Maybe your secular programs will help people from commiting suicide once you get off your XA Cult Blog and go start some meetings for these folks to get some f2f attention... kind of like A.A., but less suicidal.
_ says, " I have struggled with anxiety and depression as far back as age 11. That’s why I drank–to feel better. That’s why I ever drank. I had been through treatment all through my teen years and AA as well. My emotional/mental (not intellectual) growth was severely damaged both by drinking and the brainwashing I got in AA. It really did a number on me. I had been hospitalized for suicidal ideation several times before I actually attempted it. I learned that talking about it=mental hospital and more steps. As I have said, it is or APPEARS to be a selfish act, but when you’re in the other person’s shoes, you can surely understand he or she is not capable of thinking straight. I had one focus in mind. I wanted the whole thing simply to STOP. I wanted to stop drinking; I wanted out of AA; I wanted out of my mental disorder, etc. I wanted my life back from all of these mental health bastards who had their hands all over it. I wasn’t living. I was simply existing, and I wanted out, end of story.It has taken ten years for me to regain control over my life, and while I am still on medication and seeing a therapist, I feel so much better to be free from AA and the sickness it perpetuates. I am soooo glad to have stumbled upon this blog and the orange papers, I can’t tell you how freeing that is. Peace." A.A. is not a babysitting service. Get a shrink.
_ says, "I think your post hilights the vital importance of what is done by this small group of people. People do die, and they die alot, and they kill others in drunk driving accidents, due to the misinformation that is promoted by this industry. People are told, unfortunately by people that are given unearned credibilty, that they have a progressive, incurable, and terminal disease. They also have “powerless” instilled in them. This industry does have the facts against them. They also cannot control the internet, although I am sure they would love to. When I was in the spin dry (2007), there were no phones, TV, internet services, and the only reading material was AA approved literature. As I look back now it said “CULT” all over it. It was in NO way medical treatment. Out of the other “inmates” I was “incarcerated” in the rehab, that I have remained in contact with, I am the only one that actually did stop drinking. I do feel it is vitally important to try to educate others about the con game the recovery industry is. It is great to see sites like this, and see others confront the industry. The industry does not have the facts behind it, and they crumble under intense questioning. That is why sites like Dr. Phil are so highly censored. We can change peoples thinking. It is a massive undertaking, but I am a firm believer that we save lives by what we do. I am just incredibly thankful that Agent Orange took the time to create his masterpiece." So, A.A. causes people to drive drunk too? Wow! Nice to have a scapegoat.
I had a friend who went into her car in the garage with her 2 older dogs turn on her car and killed herself and she said because she couldnt do the AA way and felt so much guilt. Then this girl at the furneal said and I quote” she couldnt follow a simple program” wow she blamed her and of course not AA/ AA blames you shames you. Alot of people who relapsed all the time felt like a failure in the rooms and killed thereselves. AA is not a program of thinking on your own. You are not allow to think on yourown remember you best thinking got you there. You are not allow to depend on you own thinking –AA insisted if you leave AA or dont get AA you will DIE. AA kills no doubt about that. AA people do not trust themselves and heavy dependency on there program, endless meetings . Abuse and lots of milious gossip. AA is self-center narrcisstic to the max. Every single person I have met in those rooms was NPD. I get sick when I think about the shame they induce on you. AA is a destructive-abusive… Leaving AA is the best thing that ever happen to me. I am sober and clean because I made a choice to do so. In the 4th step when you have had abuse as a child phycially-sexually you are to look at your part. bullshit. Trauma is not a light matter and a person (sponsor) telling you to see your part. is so FU. AA has been around for a long time due to them using the word God. AA is far away from true God. The enemy is clapping here not God. Dick B will burn in hell for trying to cram AA as christian roots. If he so christian then why not defend the bible and help christians through the bible. AA thinks its the bible. AA is false. Bill or Bob had a mistress-smoke like crazy and left some of his roylaties to her. He was never a christian he was antichrist. His big white light experince was because he was doing LSD. How can AAers overlook that. So many are decieved. The bible is strict that you cannot serve 2 masters nor idiolize or have any gospel you choose. It pisses me off when I hear AA say its christian roots BS. I really think that a book should be wrote more than one on there experinces of horror with AA. The truth will come out again its only a little amount of time. When I have heard in the rooms oh i Church it didnt work BS again. You mean you tried Jesus and didnt work. AA for me was the most fucked up program i have ever attended and that includes the people . SELFISH -extremly easily mind control. " Here we go again with the fucking preaching. Talk to my born-again Southern Baptist brother. You can save each other. We'll all go to hell together too. It'll be fun. So long as you lead the fucking way. I'd rather drink than hear your preaching.
_ says, "Plus they will tell you its divinely inspired and that they still cannot think on there own 20 plus years later.. still having a sponsor to think.. its very sad , very sad that AA kills your spirt and your God given right to think on your own and be empowered. AA is defeat no win they believe there are never to blame" Some of us have found something that works for us. Where should the blame come in? Blame is a weak demonic force that is conquered by Step fucking 1! Merely surrendering to some power greater than yourself will enable you to have a smigeon of hope, or at least seek it... then if followed up some action, you'll be so fucking beyond the forces of death. Now... if you're a certified loon or a chronically depressed individual and need some outside help, get it. In A.A., we're gonna talk about God. Deal. Cope.
_ says, "I remember AA largely as a tawdry melodrama. Sudden deaths of members through drink, drugs or suicide were just grist to the gossip mill or anecdotal illustrations to self-serving 12 step sermons (“There but for the grace of God, blah, blah, blah….”)It doesn’t surprise me that there is a high rate of suicide in AA, given that so many people have co-occurrring mental problems such as depression and they meet with so little understanding from those immersed in the AA dogma. Many, as k mentioned, drank to self-medicate an underlying mental health problem. I did." I didn't. I drank because I rather enjoyed it... the sense of comfort and ease that proceeded a few drinks and all. Call it dogma all you wish. If you want to start another program from the ground up or do something besides A.A., I give you my permission.
_ says, "I remember one guy at a step meeting saying that he wouldn’t go to a funeral of his friend who died alcoholic because he didn’t get the program, he wouldn’t do it.He also said in another meeting calling counsellors, other none AA based help." Well I guess he was a sick fuck. That's not very nice.
_ says, "AA is not interested in underlying and possibly fatal psychological issues that might drive people to drinking in the first place. They really do believe in divine interventionist miracles, and that praying to the god of AA will cure people, not just of alcoholism but of any other ‘spiritual defects’ – which is how they view psychological illnesses or disorders. I think we all have to recognize that we’re dealing with serious fundamentalist lunatics here. How often do convinced steppers stop to consider that other psychological issues might be anything to do with alcohol abuse, and how often do they advise newcomers to get some kind of proper help? (Answer: They don’t.) I even read McGowDog saying on another site that if people prayed more they wouldn’t get cancer (because someone he knows who smokes but prays hasn’t got cancer – yet). Apart from the obvious bollocks this is, it is incredibly insulting for people who have spent their whole life praying, have led a ‘spiritual’ life , and who still get cancer ( people like my mother, for instance. She led a damn sight more of a useful and ‘spiritual’ life than you ever seem destined to do, McDog or whatever your name is). Well, it’s hugely insulting and damaging to anyone at all, believer or non-believer."Who in the fuck are you to say that God isn't all. That God can't take care of other things? You can't tell me that a good doctor won't tell his/her patients to pray for their condition if they are a person of faith.
_have been a victim of a con trick. A horrible horrible brainwashing con-trick. It is indeed a version of hell to be an unwilling member says, "As for suicide in AA – I have seen it and I understand. People end up in AA because they can’t cope, and they are treated with methods that don’t help. As of yet, no one has the answer for the emotional agony that some of use used drugs and alcohol to cover up. They can get you clean, but then you’re just raw." Maybe what you were missing was power to live in the world and to have a happy satifying life. A.A. has a method to help you out... if you're a real alcoholic that is. If you've got other issues, you might want to table that and decide if you need/want A.A. or not. You can TRY to do A.A. to solve some problems and to feel good and comfortable and stuff. But you ain't gonna get comfortable is you do what's outlined. If after doing Step 7, you don't find some kind of renewed hope in your ability to have a great life, leave. Do something else or do it again and demand to find out what you missed.
_ says, "_, stick around. You . It is the people who have suffered who drive me to exposeaa. You are one, I am one. I used to read about extreme cults just in order to cheer myself up! I feel lucky that I found Orange before I got a sponsor, did a share, etc etc. Your rejection of aa cult dogma (it is a cult in my house, z!) is in fact incredibly mentally healthy in my humble opinion. " Welcome to your new fucking cult. Now go make vids about how guys want to do their own mother and describe which position he wants to get her in... that's real nice youtube entertainment. You guys are fucking liars and discredit yourselves with your over the top drama.
_ says, "By doing this AA handed me a “one size fits all” list of life problems to solve, taking the focus off of the real problems and creating new ones. I thought that these AA folks were the experts on addiction, and so I believed what they taught me about myself. I adopted all of the AA isms and started to believe that I was an inherently defective misfit who just couldn’t get anything right. The more I got involved in the steps… The deeper my depression became. I was looking at my past through the lense provided by AA and that made my future prospects seem much darker… That’s when I attempted suicide for the first time. I want to be clear… AA did not cause me to attempt suicide… AA did foster feelings of hopelessness and despair that contributed to my irrational decision. It’s pretty simple from my perspective. AA uses mind control and psychological manipulation to recruit new members.A small percentage of those who go to AA for help stick with the cult… A larger percentage never adhere and leave the cult without thinking too much about it… and a small percentage leave the cult in despair due to the self-defeatism they’ve learned as members… Many of these folks lose hope and commit suicide as a result. I can’t prove it, but my personal experience tells me that AA drives people to suicide."
_ says, "I think that kills this thread. Oh well… on to another." Is "one size fits all" the new anti/XAer buzz term?
Well, that solves it then. Anti/XAers pretty much think we in A.A. cause suicide. Bummer. I'd like to take some time going over these claims... treating them separate... considering some of them more carefully.
I didn't want to engage this topic over there. There are 38 of them and 1 of me.
I would like to jump ahead and address the mention of me in there. I don't remember specifically what I said about smoking and getting cancer or not getting cancer. I have been of the belief that people who smoke and don't worry about it seem to do better than those who smoke and worry about it or have a weak life-force. DRH said something about naturally grown tobacco correlated positively and those that use pesticides correlate negatively. IDK. I'm glad I've since quit all forms of tobacco and that my mom, a lung cancer survivor, has quit cigarettes as well. People who smoke stink anyway. Yuck.
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On a personal note; I know three people who commited suicide. My uncle...with booze, who had once committed a vehicular manslaughter and never lived it down, a guy who was manic depressive and I never saw it coming... very sad, and a guy who I used to work with. I'd partied with him at the bar many a time and eventually, after work some times. I saw him leave his family and shack up with women who would do coke with him and stuff. He got back with his family and I thought that was a very happy ending. He got hooked up with meth and soon thereafter, he hung himself. At the funeral, I discovered he had molested his own daughter.
That's what the fucking truth looks like, folks. It's not cause effect. You have to look at the full context of things. If you think that's psychobabble, it's not. I'm just so fucking far over your heads. Learn how to see the truth in stuff and quit blaming others for your miserable lives. Go help someone out. Go volunteer to Meals on Wheels or something. Get outta your negative heads.
Trying to discredit A.A. with this Orange-induced lunacy is... ludacris.
So, I'd like to welcome our newest follower... Paul.
Today (yesterday) was Paul's 1 year sobriety birthday.
Happy Birthday to ya! One year sober is a big deal. Good to see it.
I don't know much else about Paul, but... now might be the time for us all to take roll call and see who's here, how you're doin'...
I'm sober tonight and well. Wife is sick. Hope she gets over her allergies soon. I've got someone I'm trying to take through the steps. What's that called? I'm I a sponsor now? What if I get fired? The pressure's on.
