Missed Opportunities

Thursday, August 31, 2006 - dr.bomb

Sometimes you find yourself facing down the aftermath of a rude awakening: "What if the alternatives are in on the scam?" It's one of the questions I found myself pondering while exiting from the online-based groups where I learned a simple fact the hard way: All groupers are the same.

Some explanation is necessary: In regards to my site's history, The ARID Site was originally going to be a one-stop information source on all organizations in opposition to Twelve Step Facilitation (TSF) and the religious movement disguised as self-help organisations known as Buchmanism. The flawed assumption was that these "alternatives" were anti-addiction.

In the last couple years since my site's inception I found myself bad-vibed out of that movement. It was only when I started actually thinking about what transpired from the secular alternatives that I found, in their own words, these people engaging in the same deplorable behavior as Buchmanites. Such a discussion is worthy for an upcoming Article but not without more research, as always.

The key thing I noticed was that it appears that the people who comprise the "alternatives" have a shocking lack of reading comprehension. There were countless times where I found myself just writing more and more just in a futile attempt to state the obvious within their online E-mail groups when I should've just unsubscribed right there. I probably have about a dozen drafts in which I found myself wondering how to rephrase what was written just so that maybe one or two of them would go, "Aha!"

Other times I'd find myself shocked to find these very same people who claimed to be against TSF only to quote news articles (for example, from the About.com alcoholism site) and other "facts" as true when not realizing that they are nothing but PR from the Recovery Group Movement (RGM) and its business arm, the Addiction Treatment Industry (ATI). Other shocking things, such as finding Stanton Peele claiming to be against the disease mythology of addiction while aligning himself with Lindesmith (need I not mention me catching him telling lies about his uncle), an organization which does embrace the disease mythology, further fueled my doubts.

But the most shocking thing of all is that the alternatives are sitting on mountains of data and hard evidence which renders the entire RGM/ATI obsolete. Instead of taking that invaluable insight and abolishing the system outright its followers have let its own cowardly neoliberalism to soften each blow. In the end, there is more infighting within the "alternatives" as the Buchmanites, marching lockstep in Unity, have nothing to fear.

What occurs are numerous squandered opportunities for change; opportunities when capitalized upon would render the need to recruit anyone, whether religious or secular, as the waste of time that it is. As an example of the numerous missed opportunities of the So-Called Anti-A.A. Movement (SCAAAM), known online predator Donald Lee is still attempting to lure the uninitiated (mirror here) into his paranoid web of lies. Unfortunately, the suggestions made at his new URL have already been accomplished long ago (his site text is blockquoted in italics):

THE HISTORY OF THE 12 STEP GROUPS, and the history of all the methods of addictive behavior treatments, from the earliest, to the present.

This has been already taken care of through the exquisite work of Charles Q. Bufe, Ken Ragge, Secret Agent Orange and numerous others.

COURT CASES, which invole coercion, abuses by drug rehabs, town governments. Why the need for more legislation, in areas of addiction treatment, including medicaid funding for treatment of addictions. What is the validity of these or any decisions, finding that the 12 step groups are religious in nature, or religious?

Stanton Peele already covered the court rulings on the religiosity of Buchmanism, including its ineffectiveness and rampant malpractice. Besides, more legislation, laws and other nonsense is not necessary. The entire RGM/ATI can collapse as simply as when people decide to walk out for good.

ALTERNATIVE METHODS OF RECOVERY, other than the 12 step based methods of treatment.

As I have learned the hard way, drunks and junkies only have two options: To continue or to quit. Everything else is a complicated form of procrastination. Besides, addiction is neither a disease nor a mental "illness". It's simply a choice to engage in pleasurable behavior against one's own better judgment which says to KNOCK IT OFF!

STEP CULT DEPROGRAMMING, cult data base site http://www.rickross.com/ holds a wealth of information to chose from.

To call educating oneself about the lies of Buchmanism and its apologists "deprogramming" is nothing more than a act of overcomplication. When one understands how the Big Lie operates one can easily defeat it.

First, trust yourself! Next, a good start would be to read a few quality Articles, books and websites. Likewise, one shouldn't be ashamed in questioning anything (beware of those who are evasive in their answers, though). That's how one learns the truth of Buchmanism and does away with its nonsense.

DO FAITH BASED TREATMENTS WORK? I had heard at a SMART meeting that it was not necessary to have a God in your life for addictions treatment to work, although it might not be a bad thing, it is not a necessity for treatment to work, as is the almighty confession or preoccupation with your past life

No treatment works simply because that addiction is only ambivalence and cannot be "treated". One can decide to be addicted or not. It's the system which claims that one who is addicted has no choice and must engage in such nonsense, posing as "treatment", which may go against one's own conscience.

Anyway, a very good article on the ineffectiveness of faith healing is available from the Quackwatch website.

STORIES OF PERSONAL ABUSES, TO YOU, in the rooms or out of the rooms, behind the scenes, violations, by steppers, sponsors, families, other agencies centered around the treatment industries. How you survived or got away. How you became independent, or faced it alone. Has anyone harassed you, because of your anti step beliefs?

I certainly wouldn't share any information about oneself with a confirmed SCAAAMer who has "some mental health issues". The best advice I can give to someone wanting to share their story is to put up their own website. If that is too complicated then look elsewhere.

Besides, a very good anthology concerning stories of abuse from within Buchmanite cults already exists.

CULTS, What defines them/ What makes the 12 steps CULTS? How did they arrive at this point in reality, rather than stay if they ever were, a healing institution.

Again, Secret Agent Orange scores big time with his be-all and end-all to the question of whether Buchmanism is a cult through his exhaustive Cult Test. In fact, it's much better than Bufe's. Also, Jack Trimpey has a huge article available regarding if A.A. is a cult. If you like that, read Devin Sexton's and L. Allen Rangels's commentary.

THE ACTUAL STEPS THEMSELVES, as they are written. What makes them a poor program for addictions treatment.

This is already taken care of: I've already detailed ALL of the lies within the beginning of the Fifth Chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous, including what the Twelve Steps actually accomplish. A key fact: There is NO Step within the Twelve Steps containing a directive to simply KNOCK IT OFF! The truth is that it is nothing more that religious cult indoctrination.

But then, isn't that the entire point? The RGM/ATI wouldn't exist as long as people keep coming back. That fact ensures information on permanent planned abstinence is deliberately suppressed.

THE AMA, and its acceptance of the disease concept for a definition of addictive behavior.

The AMA is nothing more than a lobby for the medical industry. Its interests are not with the patients. It has never been a scientific organization of any kind.

ANTI STEP LITERATURE. have you written any anti step books, or alternative methods of recovery books?

I've done better: I've created my own big ol' website.It provides nothing but the truth concerning the ENTIRE RGM/ATI, including its cowardly apologists posing as "alternatives" who simply want a piece of the action instead of providing Informed Consent regarding one key fact: The majority of people who were addicted quit for good without any bureaucratic nonsense.

With that in mind, I'd be suspicious of anyone who proclaims "There is some truth and logic in the written words, throughout the 12 steps" yet claimed to be against Buchmanism within the context of ending addictions. Such people are not on the side of freedom and liberty.

ATTRACTION RATHER THAN PROMOTION, why this concept is preached not practiced.

This slogan has already been effectively deconstructed within The Buchmanese Lexicon.

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE STATISTICS, which relate to the step groups and other treatments for addictions.

Secret Agent Orange already has a ton of stats, quotes and more relating to A.A.'s ineffectiveness on his website. Besides, programs don't work. People do by choosing between either continuing or ceasing whatever behavior got themselves into trouble in the first place. The emphasis regarding the very idea of personal responsibility should ALWAYS be on the individual and not others.

Can there be a "LIFE AFTER 12 STEP RECOVERY?" This statement I made at a meeting chaired by an acquaintance in a drug rehab hospital. My ideas about step recovery were being changed even then, and steppers didn't like it, or any deviation from program party line..

Yes. It's called quitting. After that, one's life is whatever one wants without any of that addictive nonsense. The tragedy is that some folks would rather make their life into one where they peddle the Big Lie again and again for personal profit. In other words, engaging in unethical and immoral behavior.

What amazes me is that all I used was just the basic information on my own website and within the Links list to complete all of the suggestions. Which leads me to wonder: Why don't the apologists at large see the obvious?

But then, that's the missed opportunity: They're in on the scam too, each and every one of their SCAAAMy carcasses. The information is already out there. Either they can do something with this information or continue their childish pranks (mirror here), fully deluded into believing that they're actually doing something productive against the cult.

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