Cult proofing

30/05/08 

Cult-proofing card format

In response to enquiries relating to the actual card employed at the cult-proofed meetings in West Kent we have decided to include it below. The rationale behind the card and its conformity to the Traditions, Preamble and other Conference Approved Literature (ie the booklet the AA Group) are explored in Musings of a Medway Moron . A more detailed account of the measures that an AA group may take to ensure its autonomy both with respect to other AA groups and to cult infiltration is contained in the section Cult proofing below.
 
Most importantly it should be noted that the cult-proofing policy works!
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THIS AA MEETING

Re: ‘A Vision for You’ and ‘Road to Recovery’ Groups


At a recent group conscience meeting the following was agreed on:

1. Anyone ‘with a desire to stop drinking’ is welcome to attend our meetings.

2. However, any member of the above mentioned groups or anyone who promotes or advocates these groups shall not be allowed to:-

a) Chair a meeting.

b) Take the position of secretary our group.

c) Take any other service position within our group

d) Vote at Group Conscience or attempt to influence voting.

e) Exchange telephone numbers with newcomers before, during or after meetings with the intention of promoting the above-mentioned groups.

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2/10/07

Cult proofing

In response to requests from groups and individuals about how they might protect themselves from the influence of the cult groups and cult members the following suggestions may be considered. All of these can be implemented without breaking any tradition.

This is a fairly detailed account and each group must make its own decisions on whether and how to implement it. The tactics that each group employ are best decided by that group given local conditions. We are quite sure that you have the resources and imagination to handle anything that is not outlined below; adaptation is the key to survival. We hope our ideas helpful.

Firstly it is important to identify if in fact you are unfortunate enough to have a cult group in your area. The information on the site communicates quite a lot of detail on the kind of stuff that they get up to eg. inappropriate advice on medical matters, exclusivity, steering committees, promotional tactics, (food after meeting, free Big Books, “we’re the ones who carry the TRUE AA message” etc), maligning other groups, members and sponsors (“they’re sick, they’ve lost their way, theirs is not the TRUE message” etc), dogmatic and dictatorial sponsorship styles (rushing people through recovery programme, assigning them sponsors, dictating what service positions they should hold, interfering in their private lives eg. sex, employment, child rearing, finances, medical matters, marriage guidance, religious beliefs etc), focussing on newcomers (getting them to give their phone numbers out, ringing them up and using mind control techniques, telling them which meetings they should be going to etc), non-Conference approved literature (the 6 point card, edited readings in meetings that deviate from mainstream AA literature), “trawling” local meetings and “poaching” newcomers and so on. Again you should be careful not to jump to any premature conclusions and be sure that the group and individuals in question correspond substantially to the above points. When you are quite sure then it is a relatively simply matter to cult-proof your group (and eventually your intergroup and region and finally AA itself).


The following are suggestions:

1) You need to work together on this so it is important to ensure that a group conscience is held to make everyone aware what is going on and agree on the action to be taken. The above points need to be raised so that everyone is clear that a cult group is operating in your area. The cult uses infiltration as a means of taking over other meetings in the area. If you already have cult members who hold office in your group you are quite entitled to remove them from their positions. In the same way as a group approves someone to hold a position they are equally entitled to remove that person from that role. This does not amount to banning someone from a meeting – the fundamental principle: “The only requirement for AA membership is a desire to stop drinking” is not broken here. These individuals are still entitled to attend the meeting – but not to hold office in it, be a member of the group (as opposed to being a member of AA) and vote in group consciences. By this means they are no longer able to influence the group conscience.

2) If your group is as yet free of cult members then it needs to ensure that it remains that way. The distinction between being an AA member and a “group” member is frequently misunderstood. As indicated above no one may be stopped from attending AA meetings if they have a desire to stop drinking. However groups are quite at liberty to determine who should become a “group” member. Up to recently this has been a fairly casual matter. Generally people can declare themselves a “group” member simply by turning up regularly at the same meeting over a period of weeks and months. They make no declaration of their view that they are a group member and no one else in the group seems to question this. That system worked well enough in the past although it has led to some abuses especially when it comes to votes in group consciences. However the new climate means that groups can ill afford to continue like this if they wish to remain free of the cult influence. So it is entirely legitimate for groups to insist that anyone who wishes to join their group assents to the group conscience on a range of matters. For this purpose it is useful to have a “written” group conscience which can be kept in a desk diary bought for that purpose and kept up to date by the Secretary of the meeting (or any suitable group member). In this can be stated the principles by which that group agrees to abide; generally these would include the Steps and Traditions. Also added to these would be the guidelines laid out in the Group Handbook (although we would argue that some of those guidelines quite clearly break AA traditions and therefore should be treated with caution); regular attendance, supporting the group conscience, attending conscience meetings, service in the group, upholding the Traditions and Steps may all be included as requirements for “group” membership. Importantly reference should also be made to one of the three legacies of AA; Unity. The cult groups through their actions and their message clearly demonstrate that they are a threat to AA unity (specifically through their self-promotion and “slagging off” of other groups and members). On this basis alone they may be excluded from group membership. If the new member agrees to abide by the group conscience then they may be proposed for group membership and the proposal seconded. But the same principle applies as for group officers; they can become a group member but they can also be removed from that position. This should apply to every member of the group – but the main point to be recalled on every occasion is that no AA member can be barred from an AA meeting if they have the desire to stop drinking. They can only be removed from “group” membership – not “AA” membership.

3) Once you have established your “cult free” group it is important to ensure that the group holds regular consciences to remind its members of what they have signed up for and to ensure that any visitors to the group are made aware of the group’s position on AA Unity. At this point it is useful to draw your attention to the cult’s policy of “trawling and poaching” other AA meetings. This usually takes the form of a couple of cult members coming to the meeting as “visitors” (not group members). Under the guise of twelve stepping they will seek to influence any newcomers there to come to their own cult meeting. They will attempt to swap phone numbers (usually seeking to obtain the newcomer’s phone number so that they can implement part of the “6 point card system” which is to contact two newcomers a day - this is a kind of “pyramid selling” scheme run by the cult). It is entirely legitimate for your group to include a statement at the beginning of the meeting stating your support for AA unity and indicating that the group will not tolerate any kind of “poaching” behaviour. Newcomers can be advised NOT to give their phone number out to anyone unless they have established some kind of genuine relationship with them. They can be told that if they are given a phone number they are under no obligation to ring it. If they do choose to ring this number they can use “call barring” to prevent that number being recorded by the other party. They can be advised that they are free to visit any group that they like but that they should be wary of members who seek to promote their own group or induce them to attend their own meetings – something along those lines. Additionally group members will need to be made aware if any cult group members are attending the meeting. This need not be done in a confrontational fashion – those who know who they are should point them out to other members and make them aware of that fact. Within the statement it can also be made clear that any member found to be ignoring this warning will be asked to desist and if they continue with their behaviour will be required to leave the meeting (for this to take place group members will need to take responsibility for monitoring any suspect behaviour which will usually necessitate two or more group members actually placing themselves in a position to intervene if they should witness any of the above poaching conduct. This should usually be sufficient to get the message across). However, as with a disruptive drunk it may be necessary to physically eject them from the meetings (in this instance it is better to use the services of the police or security (if available). It should be pointed out that this relatively drastic action does not usually need to be sustained for long. Once the cult has been challenged in this fashion they usually go elsewhere looking for softer targets. HOWEVER YOU SHOULD REMAIN VIGILANT.

4) Some of these techniques have already been successfully applied. If you wish you can make other individuals and groups in your area aware of your actions. It is important that groups co-operate here and communicate with each other – inside and outside the normal channels within the service structure. As indicated above the cult members will always seek out soft targets or individuals who are amenable to their influence (see Bleeding Deacons under Participants page on website). The more people who become aware of their activities the harder it will be for them to propagate their perversion of AA’s message. These same tactics can be equally applied in Intergroup, Region, the Conference, GSO and even the service Board. The cult has infiltrated pretty much all levels of the service structure. It is our belief that the most effective way of countering their influence is from the bottom up. Letters to GSO, conference questions etc all have a place but direct action by concerned members (and it does not have to be a great number of them) will quite easily halt their progress in AA, reverse it and then marginalise them within our Fellowship. It would be too optimistic to believe that they can be completely eradicated but they can be reduced to an insignificant factor quite rapidly.

Finally it should be remembered that ANYONE WHO HAS A DESIRE TO STOP DRINKING HAS THE RIGHT TO ATTEND AA MEETINGS – EVEN CULT MEMBERS.