Even Bill and Dr. Bob had different views.......
From Box 459 - News and Notes from the General Service Office of AA - Volume 58, Number 3 / Fall 2012
When is Breaking Your Anonymity Not an Anonymity Break?
While much has been written in A.A. literature about
anonymity, including in a General Service Conference-
approved pamphlet called “Understanding Anonymity,”
communications coming into the General Service Office
from members of the Fellowship suggest that there
remains a great deal of misunderstanding about this
“spiritual foundation of all our Traditions.” What follows
are just a few examples of the types of inquiries that arrive
through phone calls, e-mails and letters, and some of the
responses from A.A. literature.
Q.
“We have a member who moved here from some-
where else and he is using his last name in meetings. What
should we say to this person who is breaking the Tradition
of anonymity?”
A.
A.A. co-founder Bill W. wrote in The Language of
the Heart (p. 15) that “It should be the privilege of each
individual A.A. to cloak himself with as much personal
anonymity as he desires. His fellow A.A.s should respect
his wishes and help guard whatever status he wants to
assume.” It is thus up to each individual to decide how
anonymous he or she wishes to be, at any level below that
of the public level. Giving your last name in an A.A. meet-
ing is not “breaking” A.A.’s Tradition of anonymity.
In fact, the author of an article in the February 1969
Grapevine magazine attributed the following to A.A.’s
other co-founder, Dr. Bob, regarding personal anonymity
and the Eleventh Tradition:
“Since our Tradition on anonymity designates the exact
level where the line should be held, it must be obvious to
everyone who can read and understand the English lan-
guage that to maintain anonymity at any other level is
definitely a violation of this Tradition.
“The A.A. who hides his identity from his fellow A.A.
by using only a given name violates the Tradition just as
much as the A.A. who permits his name to appear in the
press in connection with matters pertaining to A.A.
“The former is maintaining his anonymity above the
level of press, radio, and films, and the latter is maintain-
ing his anonymity below the level of press, radio and films
— whereas the Tradition states that we should maintain
our anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films.” (Dr.
Bob and the Good Oldtimers, pp. 264-65)
---------------------------------------------
I found this interesting as well:
In his discussion of the Twelfth Tradition in Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Bill Wilson said: “ . . . in the beginning, anonymity was not born of confidence; it was the child of our early fears. Our first nameless groups of alcoholics were secret societies.” But Bill went on to add: “Our growth made it plain that we couldn’t be a secret society . . .”
And there is more to AA’s not remaining stuck in a “secret society” interpretation of anonymity than the mere factor of growth. AA experience has proved that there exists an additional and a far higher basis in principle for the practice of anonymity. Fear may rule the new person’s desire to be anonymous. But it is humility — the refusal to take personal credit for the results of God’s mercy — that should guide the successfully recovered AA member in his determination to remain anonymous.
As for my own personal opinion.....I never try or hope to be anonymous to anyone in recovery, anyone who wants to be in recovery, nor anyone who wants information on recovery.