aihfl
Bluelight Crew
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2015
- Messages
- 2,834
I recently met a friend of a friend. He started an agnostic/atheist AA meeting in South Florida and recently rewrote the first 164 pages of the Big Book from a secular perspective and called it "A Secular Sobriety" (it is available on Amazon BTW). I highlighted this, and while I certainly don't have an answer, I think it's an interesting enough question to pose to people in recovery from a diverse assortment of backgrounds.
"AA in the United States is very white and very Christian. I've attended meetings that set out pictures of Jesus along with the posters of the 12 steps and 12 traditions. It's not my place to criticize a group like that if it helps them to stay sober. If that's what works for them, great! However, this kind of group must understand that visitors and newcomers may be very turned off by these things. The group may decide they don't care about visitors or newcomers. That is certainly their perogative. Every group is autonomous and should remain so. What I'm asking is that AA World Services and individual members begin to recognize and embrace all of the existing and future members' beliefs...Also, where are all the African-Americans? I'm sure that alcoholism affects them equally. I've been to meetings all over the United States. Is there a separate underground black AA I'm not aware of?"
I thought about the last meeting I went to, which is a small group not too far from where I live. I was arguably the most diverse person in the room and I'm not even sure I should count because Jewish people are basically counted as white. Not a single ethnic minority in a room of about 10 people. As my DOC was alcohol (prescriptions drugs; downers; were merely used to potentiate the sedative effects of the alcohol) I haven't been to a NA meeting in years, (not since a sponsor disastrously convinced me to cold turkey off my psych meds and I tried to kill myself but that's another post) so I can't say whether or not this lack of diversity generally carries over there too.
Interested in hearing what you all think.
"AA in the United States is very white and very Christian. I've attended meetings that set out pictures of Jesus along with the posters of the 12 steps and 12 traditions. It's not my place to criticize a group like that if it helps them to stay sober. If that's what works for them, great! However, this kind of group must understand that visitors and newcomers may be very turned off by these things. The group may decide they don't care about visitors or newcomers. That is certainly their perogative. Every group is autonomous and should remain so. What I'm asking is that AA World Services and individual members begin to recognize and embrace all of the existing and future members' beliefs...Also, where are all the African-Americans? I'm sure that alcoholism affects them equally. I've been to meetings all over the United States. Is there a separate underground black AA I'm not aware of?"
I thought about the last meeting I went to, which is a small group not too far from where I live. I was arguably the most diverse person in the room and I'm not even sure I should count because Jewish people are basically counted as white. Not a single ethnic minority in a room of about 10 people. As my DOC was alcohol (prescriptions drugs; downers; were merely used to potentiate the sedative effects of the alcohol) I haven't been to a NA meeting in years, (not since a sponsor disastrously convinced me to cold turkey off my psych meds and I tried to kill myself but that's another post) so I can't say whether or not this lack of diversity generally carries over there too.
Interested in hearing what you all think.