Originally Posted by Chops
Maybe not you per say but there is this, " the 10% who actually work the program and the rest of AA" always getting thrown around on here.
As I understand it, Chops, this is the root of your bad feelings and distaste. You feel like I, or somebody else, lumps you into the category of 'the rest of AA' because you don't necessarily like the BB and the Steps? I agree that the idea of 'a select, elite few of us actually do the work, while the rest of you are missing the boat' sounds pretty insulting.
First, in your case in particular, you've done the work, right? You've had a spiritual awakening as the result of the Steps. So maybe you get lumped in with the 10% instead.
Second, it doesn't matter what I, or anybody else, thinks of your recovery. My experience in AA works very well for me. The promises are true in my life. Nobody, and I mean nobody, can take that away or lessen that experience for me in any way. It's my life, and I live it every day, and it is exactly what it is. It's not under any threat today from anybody's opinion of it.
Third, is the statement even true? How many AA members, or people that attend AA regularly, actually do the program of recovery suggested in AA? I really don't know. And then, if we figure that out, if it is a true statement (crudely put, 10% of us and then the rest of you), is that statement an insult or just a statement of fact?
I don't know the answer to the first part. In my home group, every person in the room has had a spiritual awakening as the result of the Steps, or is new and is in the process of the Steps.
As far as other groups go, I just don't know. Well, I do know about the people I'm close to, but that's a limited group as well. So, a judgment has been made about who is living by the suggested spiritual AA principles based on words and actions.
I would say, for me, I would make the assumption that somebody is not working the program of AA when they say things like 'just don't drink and go to meetings', 'think the drink through', or some other thing that blatantly contradicts the experience contained in the BB.
Shoot, as I'm writing this, I realize that I can leave judgment of someone's actions (known by the fruits they bear) completely out of this. Just based on the statements alone in the meetings, I'd be confident saying that far fewer than 50% of the people are sharing recovery solutions that are compatible with the BB.
I'm just thinking out loud as I'm typing. So yeah, I think it's a true statement. Whether 10% or some other percentage, a minority of people in the rooms of AA are sharing about a recovery solution that coincides with the BB. I think that's a very true statement.
Is it insulting? Obviously it is to some. And that's what I'd love to hear more about from those that are insulted by the truth of that statement.