Old 09-14-2016, 06:25 AM
  # 22 (permalink)  
KAD
Left the bottle behind 4/16/2015
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: NC
Posts: 1,416
I've hesitated to respond to this because I can see it from both sides. On the one hand, we don't want to "ban" anyone from whatever meeting he/she wishes to attend. That flies in the face of the principles of AA. On the other hand, if someone is being disruptive or especially threatening, we don't want, by association, to discourage those who feel threatened, real or imagined, from attending the meetings either. In a couple of the meetings I attend, there is this one man who obviously is dealing with some secondary issues. He has been known to become physically violent on occasion. He was banned from attending meetings at a certain club. Technically, that club is not affiliated with AA, meetings are just conducted there. So, the members of the club, who also happen to be members of AA, decided to ban him from returning because he started a fist fight there some years ago.

It's a tough call at times and my instinct tells me it has to be considered on a case by case basis. How much of a threat is someone? I'd say if the line of threatening, or certainly inflicting, bodily harm on someone is crossed, then it becomes a safety issue. If those being threatened aren't being protected, it's likely they won't return. It could also cross over into legal action being taken by the victim(s). But in the case of the OP of this thread, the individual is being verbally disruptive. I'd agree with what another poster said and simply start by asking her directly to tone it down, as opposed to just kicking her out.
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