My review of the 12 & 12 was posted

[Guest guest]

Hello gang. My weekend mini-terrorist act worked. Here's the review I

wrote of the Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions which was posted on

Amazon.com. Yes, I'm " " .

Apple

Coughlin from New York, NY , October 24, 1999

The never ending Stairmaster of guilt and shame

I suppose thinking of oneself as insane and defective,

and getting humble may be good advice for someone with an overblown ego

--

someone who is a pompous megalomaniac. But what about

those alcoholics who feel lower than pondscum and need to be uplifted?

The 12 steps do a good job of deflating a persons sense of self worth,

and instilling feelings of guilt, shame and inadequacy.

(certainly good treatment for self-absorbed guiltless sociopaths,

but that's not everyone!) The steps instruct the alcoholic to correct

all

past actions and harms that were done TO others, but what about those

things which were done TO the alcoholic? Well, those are

never addressed. The alcoholic should just " let it go " , not feel anger

and forgive. Great! Let's let remorseless child abusers receive our

prayers while their victims are further punished in 12 step groups!

The 12 steps clearly contribute to low-self esteem and a lifetime of

eternal nitpicking over one's personality. As if problem drinkers are

so different from the average person that they somehow need a

lifetime of guilt and shame inducing listmaking and daily moral

invetory just to live a normal life. Thank goodness there is a growing

public awareness about the harm caused by the 12 step ideology...

There are a lot of good, deserving people in the rooms of AA... I

hope they leave soon.