I doubt if anyone wishes to flame you.
I think one main difference between this board and your meeting is demographics.Your meeting,like many others has that core group of people with a lot of recovery.Here there are an overwhelming number of people who are very new to all of this.
For many,this is their first contact with Al Anon.So naturally there is often a high level of desperation and despair.And there is the natural camaraderie that you find amongst shipwreck survivors.
Another difference is a simple matter of numbers.You get a small handful of newcomers at any meeting.They arrive one or two at a time,and sometimes weeks go by without a new face in the familiar crew.Here the newcomers arrive by the dozens.Some stay and some don't,but they keep coming.24 hours a day,7 days a week,they keep showing up.What else but hope would draw them here?
I spend a lot of time greeting people on the Newcomers forum.I steer the vast majority of them to the Anon forums.Usually they are confused and scared and hurt.We give them all we can.But it's all too often like putting a band aid on a bullet hole.
Maybe you don't see the hope here,but we do.Many of these walking wounded will find what they need to patch themselves up.The healing will begin,and most will move on,maybe finding a home in a meeting like yours.And a few will stay and keep the lights on and the welcome mat out for others
phoenix