The reason for this blog is made in reaction to a streak among (particularly in the Liberal press) to post "hit pieces" unfairly critical of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). For example, when Dr. Dodes recently published a book critical of AA, summaries of the book were posted among various left-wing websites, including this sample chapter of his book reproduced in Salon:
http://www.salon.com/2014/04/05/debunking_alcoholics_anonymous_behind_the_myths_of_recovery/
Articles like this bring out the anti-AA trolls out of the woodwork. These trolls make the same falsified claims:
- That AA is a "cult". This is an emotional claim and not an objective fact.
- That AA has no better of a recovery rate than spontaneous remission. There is, to the extent of my knowledge, no peer-reviewed science supporting this assertion
- That AA encourages predatory behavior against newcomer women. The majority of AA meetings encourage men to stay with men and women to stay with women, and for women to not date in early sobriety. Indeed, that practice is called "13-stepping" and is strongly discouraged at pretty much every AA meeting I have been at.
- Many other claims which I will discuss in other blog entries.
