# When AA says I should turn my life over to a higher power I don't think they meant you. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 13, 2012, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-aa-says-i-should-turn-my-life-over-to-a-higher-power-i-dont-think-they-meant-you/615639 "2012-03-13T12:57:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-aa-says-i-should-turn-my-life-over-to-a-higher-power-i-dont-think-they-meant-you/615639/21 "2012-03-13T19:21:44Z")
> [@Billy\_Baroo](#): > > The alcoholic’s mind is like a bad neighborhood: don’t go there alone. I’m not. I just have a bunch of other people I’d rather go there with than him. Saw a cute definition of AA’s “God” for atheists: “Group of Drunks.” The club is that, a group of people with differing backgrounds but similar experiences that they overcame and whom I can turn to for help. > [@EmAnJ](#): > > (I like the discussion and stories the most. I enjoyed hearing about how other people overcame their issues and what they were currently struggling with.) Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![dzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@dzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzero)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-aa-says-i-should-turn-my-life-over-to-a-higher-power-i-dont-think-they-meant-you/615639/22 "2012-03-13T19:33:48Z")
> [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > Yeah, not really much to add to him being an ass, which he undoubtedly is. The thing is, even if he was right, it’s precisely that sort of attitude that will probably hurt some new people. Imagine a situation where a guy struggles to finally go to AA, maybe already made a few small but difficult sacrifices, then this guy demeans the progress he’s already made by telling him all this extra stuff he has to do, all these extra commitments and sacrifices. I could very easily see someone in a fragile state being overwhelmed with thinking he needs to do so much more and just giving up. So I’d actually be more bothered by the possibility that he wasn’t just an ass but that he might actually set some people in the wrong direction. Good advice - IMVHO ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-aa-says-i-should-turn-my-life-over-to-a-higher-power-i-dont-think-they-meant-you/615639/23 "2012-03-13T19:41:08Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Speaking of someone in need of a 12 step program, here he is. No point. The “higher power” has steadfastly refused to shut him up. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-aa-says-i-should-turn-my-life-over-to-a-higher-power-i-dont-think-they-meant-you/615639/24 "2012-03-13T20:44:29Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > A+ for the title alone - nicely done. That said, this guy is so over-the-top that I hope you can eventually get past your anger and annoyance and then, _laugh your ass off at him._ Bonus consolation prize: you now have the knowlege that you will never in your life have to be him. Every morning, he has to be him. Jesus, no wonder he drank too much - I’d drink too much if I had to be _around_ someone like that, let alone _be_ someone like that. Preach it brother! As for the Anonymous Asshole, when I run into AA nuts I ask them to please refrain from taking my inventory as I hadn’t asked them to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-aa-says-i-should-turn-my-life-over-to-a-higher-power-i-dont-think-they-meant-you/615639/25 "2012-03-13T20:52:29Z")
You should thank him for his help and concern. Send him a nice bottle of Single-Malt Scotch. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-aa-says-i-should-turn-my-life-over-to-a-higher-power-i-dont-think-they-meant-you/615639/26 "2012-03-13T20:54:24Z")
Reminds me of the first time I went to an Al-Anon meeting and was told that I would marry a man who was an alcoholic like my father. This was, by the way, from a woman with a history of marrying alcoholics. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-aa-says-i-should-turn-my-life-over-to-a-higher-power-i-dont-think-they-meant-you/615639/27 "2012-03-13T20:59:10Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Let’s go to the quarry and throw stuff down there! Do shut the fuck up. You say your retarded little catchphrase just means lol, so why are you shitting up threads by just dropping in to say nothing but lol? Is it because you have no dick? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-aa-says-i-should-turn-my-life-over-to-a-higher-power-i-dont-think-they-meant-you/615639/28 "2012-03-13T21:16:28Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > [T]his guy is so over-the-top that I hope you can eventually get past your anger and annoyance and then, _laugh your ass off at him._ Bonus consolation prize: you now have the knowlege that you will never in your life have to be him. Every morning, he has to be him. Jesus, no wonder he drank too much - I’d drink too much if I had to be _around_ someone like that, let alone _be_ someone like that. I want to turn this into a viral Facebook status. ---
**Author:** ![dzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@dzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzero)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-aa-says-i-should-turn-my-life-over-to-a-higher-power-i-dont-think-they-meant-you/615639/29 "2012-03-13T22:15:00Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Preach it brother! > > As for the Anonymous Asshole, when I run into AA nuts I ask them to please refrain from taking my inventory as I hadn’t asked them to do so. Damn it. That was the quote I’d meant to use. :smack: Thanks for giving it the recognition it deserves. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-aa-says-i-should-turn-my-life-over-to-a-higher-power-i-dont-think-they-meant-you/615639/30 "2012-03-13T22:50:50Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > A+ for the title alone - nicely done. That said, this guy is so over-the-top that I hope you can eventually get past your anger and annoyance and then, _laugh your ass off at him._ Bonus consolation prize: you now have the knowlege that you will never in your life have to be him. Every morning, he has to be him. Jesus, no wonder he drank too much - I’d drink too much if I had to be _around_ someone like that, let alone _be_ someone like that. QFT. You will run into many, many people in the rooms who will serve as examples of what not to do. If I had a nickel for every one of those people I ever ran into… Congratulations on your new-found recovery! Robin, who got her 19-year medallion last night. It can be done, ODAAT. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-aa-says-i-should-turn-my-life-over-to-a-higher-power-i-dont-think-they-meant-you/615639/31 "2012-03-14T00:03:47Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > Robin, who got her 19-year medallion last night. It can be done, ODAAT. Well done! On behalf of friends and family of AA members, let me thank you for the gift of being present and sober that you make. It is really appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-aa-says-i-should-turn-my-life-over-to-a-higher-power-i-dont-think-they-meant-you/615639/32 "2012-03-14T00:40:42Z")
There is at least one in every crowd. Ask him if he has any idea what the 2nd and 3rd Traditions mean. [spoiler]Two: For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority—a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern Three: The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-aa-says-i-should-turn-my-life-over-to-a-higher-power-i-dont-think-they-meant-you/615639/33 "2012-03-14T01:04:38Z")
> [@bucketybuck](#): > > Do shut the fuck up. You say your retarded little catchphrase just means lol, so why are you shitting up threads by just dropping in to say nothing but lol? > > Is it because you have no dick? He went to the quarry and threw it down there. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-aa-says-i-should-turn-my-life-over-to-a-higher-power-i-dont-think-they-meant-you/615639/34 "2012-03-14T01:17:48Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > You should thank him for his help and concern. > > Send him a nice bottle of Single-Malt Scotch. NOOOO, don’t do that! Send ME the single-malt Scotch, I’ll appreciate it. Send the Absolute Asshole some cheap booze, that’s all he deserves. Or some Sterno. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-aa-says-i-should-turn-my-life-over-to-a-higher-power-i-dont-think-they-meant-you/615639/35 "2012-03-14T02:19:27Z")
> [@Billy\_Baroo](#): > > Kudos on the positive step toward living free **dropzone**. > > Re: the OP title – actually AA does mean him. > > As redefined by Bill Wilson, sanity is “living according to God’s Will, rather than one’s own.” Since God is silent, to become sane you’re going to have to let senior members, i.e. people with “time”, decipher God’s will for your life. That’s why you get pestered to get a sponsor. You need a fully indoctrinated guide to help feed you the dogma.It’s not drinking too much alcohol that makes you alcoholic. “Our liquor was but a symptom.” Alcoholism, as Bill sees it, is caused by sins, moral shortcomings, wrongs, defects of character, resentments, instincts run wild, self-will run riot, desires that have far exceeded their intended purpose, The Seven Deadly Sins, a willful and irresponsible ego, failure to practice religious precepts properly, failure to practice Step Five properly, selfishness, self-seeking, self-centeredness, defective relations, nagging wives, faith that isn’t accompanied by “self-sacrifice and unselfish, constructive action”, secrets, inherited genes, inherited sins, conditions that we couldn’t correct to our entire satisfaction… OP sounds willful and resentmentful. Surrender! Let go and let God. Are you trying to think? Your thinking is what got you here. The alcoholic’s mind is like a bad neighborhood: don’t go there alone. Are you being our steadfast reporter on actuality or are you pimping the religious component of AA? I can’t tell. I will say that I would honestly rather be an active, functioning alcoholic than submit to that BS dogma, results bedamned. If Homer Simpson can get sober without Ned Flanders and his God, then so can I. Oh wait, Homer never got sober. Doh! ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-aa-says-i-should-turn-my-life-over-to-a-higher-power-i-dont-think-they-meant-you/615639/36 "2012-03-14T02:31:01Z")
> [@Valerieblaise](#): > > In addition to AA, if you’re not already getting some individual counseling/therapy, I’d recommend calling Catholic Charities. They helped me get into counseling and the individual sessions helped me TONS - probably more than AA, although early on I definitely needed both. My property taxes are awful high, but the county is taking good care of me with this–and I didn’t even need to be arrested! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-aa-says-i-should-turn-my-life-over-to-a-higher-power-i-dont-think-they-meant-you/615639/37 "2012-03-14T02:55:40Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Are you being our steadfast reporter on actuality or are you pimping the religious component of AA? Neither. He’s being a dick. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-aa-says-i-should-turn-my-life-over-to-a-higher-power-i-dont-think-they-meant-you/615639/38 "2012-03-14T02:58:33Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Let’s go to the quarry… Come on, Bo, you’ve been told so many times, by dozens of posters, that this is thread-shitting. I can’t believe you’d come into a thread on AA and shit on a worthwhile cause. Why? Do you have no respect for people who are trying to turn their lives around… or maybe even _save_ them? Stop. It. And show your posts to a counselor. Seriously. Get an opinion from a professional that you’d listen to. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-aa-says-i-should-turn-my-life-over-to-a-higher-power-i-dont-think-they-meant-you/615639/39 "2012-03-14T05:17:15Z")
'Nother friend of Bill checking in. What everyone else said (well, minus the threadshitters). ODAAT. You’re doing great! ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-aa-says-i-should-turn-my-life-over-to-a-higher-power-i-dont-think-they-meant-you/615639/40 "2012-03-14T09:32:25Z")
I’m beginning to think that **Bo** has already seen someone and the admins know about it. It would explain both why an otherwise smart and erudite poster can get compulsive about posting the same tired joke everywhere (he’s nuts) and why the admins let him (they know he’s being treated for it and are making accommodations). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-aa-says-i-should-turn-my-life-over-to-a-higher-power-i-dont-think-they-meant-you/615639.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-aa-says-i-should-turn-my-life-over-to-a-higher-power-i-dont-think-they-meant-you/615639.md?page=3)