One Day at a Time

Instant Oldtimers

What if you had stopped drinking without AA - say, ten twentythat AA was a support group for alcoholics and the group therapy was free? years ago, then tonight walked into an AA meeting because your shrink told you

You would be an INSTANT OLD TIMER!
 A freakin' celebrity!

I know some AAs who have done exactly that. They are some of the most despicable of "Meeting goers".

They cannot truly be called AA's - because in fact they are not - even if they say-so. They are interlopers.

They have already solved their drinking problem – heavy and hard drinking, through human aid – something that  real alcoholics cannot do.

No one as far as I know has EVER recovered from a malady they did not actually HAVE - and these types can’t recover from alcoholismbecause no one ever recovers" because they haven’t GOT alcoholism. They cover THAT base by saying things like, "I'll never recover

- which of course is totally 180 degrees from what the Big Book says - and my experience as well.

They identify as "alcoholic" when all they are are people who drank too much - too often. Then they tell newcomers – some who may be real alcoholics – that they can “Put the plug in the jug” or that the solution is “Just don’t drink”. This of course is how they solved their particular kind of drinking problem but to the real alcoholic, this is a deadly bit of advice.

Real alcoholics cannot “just not drink” – if we did, we wouldn’t need the AAs twelve steps. Then to boot – since they don’t drink anymore, and have come into the fellowship with accumulated sober time – they masquerade as AA “Old-timer” with creditability unearned. Little men with big egos and and a place to go - despicable bastards they are! And in my view – sick, sick killers of us real McCoys.

That's why it is so important for newcomers to be careful of who they listen to in meetings. Many people giving advice and "sharing" about how they "did it" are giving advice that will and DO KILL the real alkies like me. I've buried too many already.

There should be a fellowship created just for these types: AA2

Peace,

Danny S

* Tradition Three: "Our membership ought to include all who suffer from alcoholism. Hence we may refuse none who wish to recover. Nor ought A.A. membership ever depend on money or conformity. Any two or three alcoholics gathered together for sobriety may call themselves an A.A. group, provided that, as a group, they have no other affiliation."
® Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.