Common assault! (contd)

Further to our previous entry “Common assault!” we have been sent further clarification on what actually took place (our thanks to the members who provided the info).

Firstly the meeting in question was Uxbridge Friday night. See below:

Apparently this locale has become a focus of a “Big Book fundamentalist cult” (possibly Primary Purpose - and see here) which has infested the Uxbridge, Slough, Ruislip and Harefield areas (you will note the name Richard E crops up … more on this particularly nasty piece of work later)

The cult members in question introduce themselves as recoverED (as distinguished from those who are merely 'recoverING', an inferior species, something which is made clear in the formers' sharing which is generally arrogant and “belittles the rest of the fellowship as being useless etc”). According to our correspondents the woman in question (whom we will refer to as the 'assaultee' as opposed to sponsee, and her sponsor as the abuser) was herself a rather unappealing character (not that this justifies the assault in any way) who shared that should she fail to phone her abuser at the precise time the phone would be slammed down on her. Moreover her abuser did not make suggestions but rather issued “rules and orders”. The woman's subsequent sharing was “littered” with numerous quotes from the Big Book whilst the general impression given was of someone who had been thoroughly “brainwashed”, her voice even being described as sounding “like a robot”. When time came for other members to 'share back' as is customary the assaultee made a point of ignoring those who were 'not on message' and instead ostentatiously read her Big Book while they were sharing. Clearly common courtesy does not constitute part of the cult curriculum.

Our correspondents add:

“But it does look like cult violence is on the up in AA. There is a thug who goes to the Friday Hampton Wick cult meeting called Richard . And he has apparently threatened to "punch the lights out" of anyone who openly challenges his supreme sponsorial authority. And he is sponsored by another nutter called Rupert who has set up yet another cult meeting in Surrey somewhere. A friend of mine attended it recently and said it was sickening. This is what happens when the prisoners run the prison, and the lunatics run the asylum. People come to AA to try and stay sober, not to fight endless battles with criminal gangsters and sociopathic loonies”.

Richard's hobbies (apart from threatening to punch people's “lights out”) include verbal abuse as well as a general liking for getting “physical”. Apparently he was a gangster in a previous incarnation. Seems like not a lot's changed there then! An altogether sick and twisted specimen!

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anomymous)

PS More to follow on this …....