The dangers of mingling with a potentially seedy crowd seems to come with the territory of being in recovery. Let's face it: all of us who have attended AA meetings have seen some sketchy characters. The sad thing is, in the back of the general public's mind, many are thinking: "well, that's what they get for being alcoholics". Even worse, we believe them.
As alcoholics, we have learned that we don't deserve to meet outdoors or in nicely decorated public spaces; instead we gather in small church basements under the cover of darkness and anonymity. Even in our own minds we believe that we don't deserve to expect safety; we should just be happy that anyone still wants our company. And that ain't right.
While this particular case probably won't go anywhere (and I tend to agree with most on this thread that this lawsuit doesn't seem to hold water), it does bring to mind a recent movement brought to life by the film "The Anonymous People", feature documentary film about the over 23 million Americans living in long-term recovery. The basic premise is that the longer we continue to hide in church basements and the back rooms of the YMCA, the longer we continue to feed the notion that AA and other recovery programs are only for the downtrodden and desperate.
We in recovery deserve better. We are people with bright futures, people who have rights. We are the future of recovery programs, the mentors to those who come after us. Shouldn't we stand up and make things better for those that face similar challenges down the road? I hope that as a community, we can start holding our chins up a bit higher. We should not continue to simply accept the fact that we deserve to be sentenced to a life in the shadows. We need to start raising our own expectations. Being in a safe environment while working on our recoveries isn't that much to ask for. The majority of us are damn good people. We deserve better.