A Dozen Steps

To The Point Of Real Absurdity

by Mark on August 27th, 2008

From “Indelible Humility” printed in the Grapevine Dec. 1990 and reproduced at Silkworth.net. (pdf.)

Thanks again Alex…

“No look at anonymity as practiced by AA can be truly complete without including the question: is it possible for an AA member to be too anonymous? Too anonymous for the good of the individual and the Fellowship? The answer is ‘yes.’ And there are more than a few examples of this: members who feel they must not tell their families or their friends or coworkers or doctors or ministers or lawyers that they are members of AA.

There have even been instances when members have sent requests for information to the General Service Office in New York and not included a last name or have sent checks to GSO - unsigned.

There is indeed such a thing as an AA member being too anonymous: where it can mean failure to extend the helping hand when the need arises; where it can mean failure to correct misconceptions about AA both inside and outside the Fellowship; and where it can stifle - even stop - the flow of AA knowledge and sobriety from one person to another.

This is anonymity at the personal level and can indeed be carried too far - in Bill’s words - to ‘the point of real absurdity.’“

It might be a thought to note that “they” made provision for misconceptions early - both inside and outside of the Fellowship. Yes, they exist.

Share This

Related Stories

The Blame Game
Nonsense Gods of Recovery
Morning Musings [I Was Debating With Myself]
Top Five All-Time Posts
My HP Loves Me Anyway!

POSTED IN: Did You Know, Pass It On, Principles