You raise some good points Hammer.
As for the mega males sounding off to impress, I find some of the ladies speak so low I may as well not be there. Maybe it's the acoustics.
I really see AA as a huge melting pot for troubled souls.
Twenty years ago, my first involvement, I just didn't get it
This year's return I hopefully have managed enough humbleness to just move along positively, without getting enmeshed in the obvious down side inherent in some human interaction.