kerouwack

I was in a meeting the other day and someone was sharing and remarked that AA in Southern California was "regimented and militaristic." I only know meetings from Ohio and Kentucky. Does anyone know what she might have meant about SoCal and any other regional slants on the program. For some reason, I find this fascinating. Thanks.

onlythetruth

That was likely a reference to the Clancy ("Pockets of Enthusiasm") meetings, which center around LA but have also spread to NY and other areas in the US. That likely is not true of ALL SoCal meetings, of course, since meetings do vary even within the same city.

kerouwack

What's a Clancy meeting?

onlythetruth

Clancy I, founder of the Pacific Group out in LA. The PG is the main "Clancy meeting" but there are lots of clones around.

Clancy is kind of a controversial guy. People either love him or hate him. The PG is, like your friend mentioned, very militaristic and structured; I have a friend who went to the NY satellite for a while (appropriately enough it's called the Atlantic Group) and was yelled at for not introducing herself as an "alcoholic" (she does both SMART and AA and doesn't use the label) and not dressing up for the meeting.

You can probably find out more by googling "Clancy I" "Pacific Group" and "Midnight Mission". He has quite the facebook page too.

UpperbucksAAguy

AA is a direct reflection of the community around it. Meetings reflect the community and personalities of the people in it. Some are better than others.

aeo1313

All the meetings I've gone to here are pretty relaxed. I am going to Lake of the Ozarks next week and will hit up some meetings while on vaca. Excited to see how other meetings are run.

Hexipuff

Be interested to know how AA Meetings differ from country to country? I am UK based.

UpperbucksAAguy

Here in the states they run the full circle of extremely organized to anarchy.

Some are suit and tie meetings where the speaker is expected to dress for the podium. We also have classroom style meetings ( not a fan of these) where it is very much like being in school.

We have some meetings where if they run a minute over the scheduled hour members will start grumbling.

We have meetings here in PA where people need a break halfway through ( this was a tradition even before no smoking laws were enacted)

Some meetings have a Q&A session. This can be alot of fun if you have the right crew. Years ago we actually had a meeting that emulated a TV show from the 70's ( The Gong Show) That was loads of fun but not what many would call a healthy meeting

Music

AA is the same. People are different.

CarolD

My non judgemental expereince....I've been to many meetings in lots
of different areas of the U.S.

Yes..the format differed..the room size changed..accents varied but
I always felt the hamd of the fellowship welcomed me...

sugarbear1

The history of AA documents how meetings were run slightly differently every time a new one began. I love how meetings vary. The message is still the same; to carry the message to the alcoholic who still suffers.

miamifella

I have become aware of many regional differences. I went to a meeting in PA where someone shared for 35 minutes about how to clean up dog poop from your yard which is a sign of sobriety. Then there was a 30 minute share, then a break! I had never heard of a meeting going longer than an hour and never with a break. Everyone ran off during the break (I had no idea where).

Here I read about meetings where newcomers get a lot of attention and my experience was that you had to prove yourself and get through a few of the the steps before anyone would talk to you. I think that is because Florida has a number of rehabs and a transient population so there are always new people who may not stick around.

People ARE the program. I left 12-step groups because I was having real problems staying clean and sober, but was told that to discuss such things in meetings or with other group members was "living in the problem" and that what I should be sharing was "solutions." I needed to be able to talk to people openly about problems I had in recovery, so I left AA and NA.

Reading here, I have often thought I might have been helped by AA, NA, etc. in a region where it was practiced differently.

The regional differences are significant and do change how effective the program is.

miamifella

Upperbucksguy--

What do you mean by a Q&A? Do you mean that people ask questions of a speaker? Of each other?

miamifella

Are "tests of willingness" common in other areas? I mean when sponsors ask sponsees to quit their job, throw out clothing of a certain color, park on a particular street, clean out the sponsor's garage, etc.

I thought this was b.s. and would not take part, so that cut down on my options for sponsors considerably. What kinds of tests are given to newcomers in other places?

UpperbucksAAguy

yes- We have a beginners meeting where we encourage the newcomer to ask questions at the meeting. Sometimes we do it direct, sometimes we do an ask-it basket ( people write a question in a basket and the secretary draws them out randomly)

aeo1313

My sponsors have asked nothing from me- except to call them every day.

UpperbucksAAguy

Are "tests of willingness" common in other areas?

Yes- it is unfortunate in some respects. But it does serve a purpose to let the sponsor know who is willing. I prefer to just work the steps

Jfanagle

AA in So. Cal. is as varied as the population of the area. Been to many Pacific Group meetings i.e. "Clancy" types. They are great for those that want what he and his followers find valuable. I know many very sober members, including my first sponsor.

I got sober in So.Cal 13 years ago and after a few of the Pacific Group meetings I decided to attend other meetings. I stayed sober and have tried to be of service to others that I have sponsored over the years. Believe me So. Cal meetings are "laid back" just like our area’s reputation if you go to the "laid back" meetings. The point being that with perhaps more meetings or at least as many as any other location you can find just about anything you want. The meetings are autonomous and therefore quite different one from another.

I have attended meetings in over 30 states and 3 countries and as long as they use the Big Book and respect the individual's anonymity they seem to work for me.

I will note that we clap after someone shares in the So. Cal meetings, and to my chagrin I have identified myself as a Californian a few times by clapping when attending other regional meetings.

It is all good and I love the diversity of AA.

Best wishes,
Jon

onlythetruth

In my area, "tests of willingness" are common but certainly not universal. I have heard of sponsors requiring sponsees to pick up their drycleaning, quit jobs, take jobs, etc. but the most common thing seems to be deciding who their "we" should be (i.e., the "we" of the program can only include those program members approved by the sponsor).

I'm no longer an AA member, but even when I was, I did not participate in this sort of thing, either as a sponsor or as a sponsee. I would have immediately fired any sponsor who asked such things of me and as a sponsor, I also refused to control anyone else's life. Fortunately there were enough people who agreed with me on this point that I was not excluded and my decision to leave AA had little to do with this particular issue.

Retread59

I hear about this sort of thing, but don't ask these things of my sponsee and I've never been asked this sort of thing by my own sponsor. My PERSONAL opinion is that such demands are more about control issues that the sponsor has than about what is good for a sponsee, and I also would flee instantly from anyone who suggested I quit my job, divest myself of possessions, or take any other drastic and life-altering actions.

The sponsor's job is to take you through the steps, not run and control your life. That level of controlling behavior amounts to emotional abuse. Sadly, there are some very emotionally sick people in AA (as there are everywhere) and certain types of sickness will create this kind of controlling behavior. Again, my personal opinion, but I would run as fast as I could away from any sponsor to behaves like this or any group which seem to, as a whole, condone it.