Wyoming MassResistance Forces Out RINO Pro-LGBT Commissioner

 

Taking it to the politicians: Wyoming County Commissioner resigns after pressure from MassResistance parents over obscene library books.

He had compared local parents to Nazis. Railed about parents’ “ignorance and hate.”

An arrogant pro-LGBT liberal who got elected in a conservative area.

A new pro-family Commissioner has been voted in to take his place!

February 9, 2022

 County Commissioner Daniel Reardon stares at parents and compares them to Nazis during Aug. 12, 2021 meeting, because of their adamant objections to the pornographic books for children and young teenagers.

When it comes to arrogant anti-family public officials, parents don’t have to just sit and take it. But they have to be willing to take a very strong stand and be persistent.

Like most areas in Wyoming, Campbell County is quite conservative. But unfortunately, liberals and RINOs have been elected to key positions. Last summer, local MassResistance parents began complaining to their County Commission about the pornographic and obscene LGBT books for children and teenagers appearing in the public library. Some of the graphic homosexual books for young teenagers are sickening even for adults.

This Book is Gay
by James Dawson
In library's Teen section

SUMMARY: This book is pornographic and truly obscene. All forms of “gay” and “lesbian” sexual practices and perversions are endorsed and celebrated with graphic instructions for teenagers. It promotes medically unsafe behaviors and perversions and is filled with false information.

Read sample pages here. (CAUTION: obscene material.)

The Library Board, which the County Commission controls, is run by leftists. But the five-member County Commission was stacked 3-2 against doing anything to challenge the Board.

A particularly hostile Commissioner

One County Commissioner, Daniel G. Reardon, was particularly hostile to the idea of shielding children from obscenity and LGBT pornography.

On July 13, Reardon sent an email to a constituent smearing the parents who had objected to a “transgender” performing for young children at the library. He wrote, “It is a sad state of affairs where we regress back to the Matthew Shepard days because of ignorance of hate.” When this became public, parents were livid.

Then on August 12 during a County Commission meeting, Reardon suddenly launched into an angry rant against the parents in the room.

He started out by defending library staff and their bureaucratic “processes that are in place” for selecting the books and allowing for parents to fill out forms to “challenge” books. He said that the Commission’s job is to support the Library Board.

He went on to say that “censoring” LGBT books (i.e., homosexual pornography) was equivalent to censoring books on guns, the military, blacks, or religions other than Christianity.

Then he really went off the rails. It’s the parents who are not doing their jobs, he said. It’s the parents’ fault for not supervising what their children are reading in the library. He said that parents need to “stop talking about censoring, taking books out, burning books, and going back to the days of the Nazis.”

An audience member angrily yelled back at Reardon that he was lying about the parents. Reardon had a Sheriff’s officer escort the man out of the room. He then looked right at the parents and scolded them, “Don’t tell us we’re not doing our job. We are doing our job.”

 After the audience member yelled back at Reardon, the sheriff's deputy immediately came to eject him from the room.

Parents fight back!

Reardon clearly intended to intimidate and silence the Wyoming MassResistance parents. But his tirade had the opposite effect.

Our activists made sure that the community heard about Reardon’s offensive remarks. They got the message out on social media.

They leafletted the community:

They continued to come to every County Commission meeting and Library Board meeting to demand that the local children be protected from the library staff’s promotion of obscenity and pornography. Though the Commission’s 3-2 majority refused to do the right thing, they were clearly being worn down.

In October they voted to ban all public comment to keep the parents from being able to complain at the Commission meetings. Of course, this just riled the parents up even more.

Reardon announces his resignation

On January 5, 2022, without prior notice, Reardon delivered a letter of resignation to the Campbell County Commission.

His “official” reason was that he had moved to another community (Cheyenne). However, as he told the local newspaper, his family had moved to Cheyenne some time earlier, and he had rented an apartment in Campbell County and was spending more than half of his time there. (It’s not required to live in the County to serve on the County Commission.) He also cited his fear of COVID, though did not elaborate. Reardon said that he had “intended to serve his full term” through 2022, but changed his mind and decided to resign now.

This came just weeks after the Library Board Chairman had also suddenly announced her resignation, although she will continue to serve as a regular Board member.

A new pro-family Commissioner gets voted in!

Since Reardon was technically a Republican (though an insufferable RINO), the process for replacing him was for the local Republican Central Committee to nominate three people, and the Commissioners would vote to accept one of them.

The Commissioners apparently got the message from the outraged parents. At the Jan. 27 Commission meeting, they selected Don Hamm as the new Commissioner. According to the parents who met with the candidates, Hamm was right on their wavelength regarding the library problems.

 Don Hamm (center) is congratulated after becoming the new County Commissioner. [Gillette News Record photo]

To start with, the parents are now expecting the Commission to repeal the offensive ban on public comment, when one of the family-friendly Commissioners also becomes the new Chairman this month. And there’s talk of even bigger changes.

Final thoughts

We may sound like a broken record, but we’ll say it again: These people running our libraries and the politicians who support them have neither morals nor conscience. They know what they’re doing to children and are proud of it. Too many conservatives more interested in appearing reasonable and polite than standing up for the truth. But this gains them nothing. The best way: Be resolute and don’t give up.

   

Please help us continue to do our uncompromising work!

Our successes depend on people like you.

Donate to MassResistance

Your support will make the difference!

Wyoming MassResistance: Standing Up to Rude, Abusive Library Board

 

Wyoming County Library Board passes hostile (and illegal) public comments policy, then uses it to terminate meeting

Board shuts down citizen’s appeal vs. inappropriate children’s book. Claim speaker was "disrespectful."

Follows resignation of Library Board Chairman – after months of Wyoming MassResistance pressure

Board members continue to side with Library Director against parents

Community pressure continues

February 1, 2022

 New Library Board Chairman Charlie Anderson (center) reads aloud his proposed "public comment policy" at the Dec. 20 meeting.

These days, radical public library officials will do almost anything – even break the law – to intimidate and discourage citizens from attempting to stop their abuses against children. In Campbell County, Wyoming, MassResistance community activists have been relentlessly taking a stand to stop their public library officials from foisting LGBT pornography and other inappropriate books on young children and teens.

But our activists are learning that relentless pressure pays off.

Library Board chairman steps down

On Dec. 20, 2021, the Campbell County Library Board opened their meeting with a new chairman, Charlie Anderson.

His predecessor, Dr. Hollie Stewart, had abruptly resigned as chairman soon after the November meeting but continues to serve as a Board member. According to people we spoke to, she had been complaining bitterly to members of the County Commission about having to run Board meetings with the ongoing anger from Wyoming MassResistance parents over the offensive children’s books.

 Left to right: Library Board members Mandy Steward, Miranda Finn, former chairman Dr. Hollie Stewart, Nancy Stovall, and new chairman Charlie Anderson.

Odious new “public comment” policy

Anderson’s first action as new chairman was to introduce a new restrictive “public comment” policy. This high-handed tactic is being used across the country by public officials to insulate themselves from the outrage brought on by their arrogant actions.

Anderson read his proposed policy aloud. (See our transcription here.) It states that public comment at meetings is not a legal right, but a privilege granted by the Board. The policy was developed after (supposed) “personal attacks directed at this Board.”

The policy bans “inappropriate comments or behavior.” Inappropriate behavior is defined as “attempting to engage individual Board members in conversation” and “insults.”  It also lists “obscenities, or profanity and/or physical violence or any threat thereof” as well as “attacks against any person in their personal capacity” (which is unclear). But to imply that concerned parents would engage in profanity, physical violence, or threats is absurd.

The policy outlines a series of steps for enforcement: (1) The chairman rules the speaker out of order. (2) If the behavior continues, the speaker will be asked to leave. (3) If inappropriate conduct continues, the chairman may “entertain a motion to end public comment and adjourn the meeting.” It also limits speakers in public comment to three minutes, an absurdly short time for that kind of body.

Anderson said that he and Sean Brown, the (liberal) assistant County Attorney jointly put together the policy. (Perhaps they were inspired by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland’s memo casting parents who dare to speak up as domestic terrorists.)

The Library Board unanimously approved the policy.

Illegal under Wyoming Law?

It would certainly appear that this policy is illegal under Wyoming law. Wyoming statute 16-4-406 states that in the event of “disruption of public meetings” a body may (a) have the person or persons removed and continue the session; or (b) recess the meeting and reconvene to another location and continue with the agenda. It does not give the option of simply adjourning the meeting. But like most leftists, Charlie Anderson and Sean Brown decided to devise their own set of rules.

Using new policy to suddenly shut down the meeting!

On the Dec. 20 meeting’s agenda were appeals to the Library Board by local citizens. They sought to remove four books whose challenges had been rejected by the library staff.

We’ve already reported on the appeal of the first book Trans Mission, a sickening, pornographic LGBT book for teenagers that the Board nevertheless voted to keep in the shelves.

The other three books were being appealed by Kevin, the son of two great Wyoming MassResistance activists. Kevin got right to work.

His first appeal was on the book, The Babysitter’s Coven. Following the trend of anti-Christian children’s books, it is a slick teenagers’ introduction to occult and satanic beliefs and symbolism which encourages teenagers to explore further. (It’s no wonder so many young people are drawn into Satanism.) The plot also includes a man abducting girls and holding them in a basement. It encourages underage drinking and drug use (two issues affecting teenagers in Campbell County). This portrayal of repulsive people who do nasty things has no redeeming value.

Even the book cover is weird.

Kevin described how reviewers – which the library uses in their “collection” process – were not impressed by this book. He quoted one mainstream reviewer saying, “I am not really comfortable recommending a young teen to read this book.”

 Kevin begins his presentation of "The Babysitter's Coven" to the Board on Dec. 20 as local parents seated behind him look on.

A few minutes into Kevin’s presentation, some of the Board members were clearly getting uncomfortable. They rudely started interrupting Kevin. Charlie Anderson grilled him about Lord of the Rings, a book that was not relevant to the conversation. It seemed like a hostile cross-examination. Then Anderson started berating him for bringing up the book reviews. When Kevin started to answer him, Board member Miranda Finn suddenly jumped in:

Charlie Anderson: I was hoping you’d talk about the book that we’re here to discuss.

Kevin: That’s what I’ve been doing. I’m using data and sources to back up what I’m saying so I’m not just bubbling effervescent from my face here. I’m trying to actually use some facts here.

Miranda Finn: Mr. Chairman, we’ve reached the point where disrespect is being displayed. I move to adjourn the meeting.

Immediately then, Anderson called for a vote to adjourn. There were four “Aye” votes. (He did not ask if there were any “Nay” votes. Mandy Steward later told him that she was a “Nay” vote.) Anderson quickly declared the meeting adjourned.

A violation of the policy they had just passed

This was in violation of the policy they had just passed! Before adjourning the meeting, they should have first (1) ruled Kevin out of order, then (2) asked him to leave. They did neither.

Also, the basis of the adjournment was that “disrespect is being displayed” by Kevin. But “disrespect” is not part of their definition of inappropriate behavior. Kevin did not actually violate anything.

All this shows how contemptible and loathsome these people are.

At the January Board meeting Kevin was allowed to continue

At the January 24, 2022 meeting of the Library Board, the arrogance continued. But Kevin’s persistence clearly had them rattled, and he was not letting up.

At the beginning of the meeting, Kevin requested that they read the Wyoming statute on “disruption of public meetings” which clearly contradicts their new policy. Anderson asked one of the staff members to read it aloud. The staffer did, but the Board didn’t react at all and just continued with their meeting.

They allowed Kevin to finish his three book appeals. The other two books were A Quick and Easy Guide to Queer and Trans Identities and Music from Another World. Both books intend to draw young teenagers into homosexuality. They portray homosexual relationships and sex as normal and very desirable.

This time the Board let Kevin finish his presentations. Immediately afterwards, the Board allowed the Library Director to deliver a “rebuttal” to Kevin’s appeal. Much of that was the boilerplate text from her previous rebuttal in December.

Then, to no one’s surprise, the Board voted 4-1 to reject all of Kevin’s appeal, with Mandy Steward being the holdout.

And then came public comment - parents blast Board!

The Board was not in the clear yet. They got pummeled during the public comment section.

Citizen after citizen got up and blasted the Board for doing nothing to get rid of the terrible books, and the staff who have been selecting the books. One woman pointed out that the efforts of the Wyoming MassResistance team are inspiring other people around the country to press forward, demand answers from their local libraries, and get harmful books removed. At one point, a woman who identified herself as a retired librarian pointed out that the local newspaper has applauded the Library Director. Kevin got up and reminded her that the newspaper differs from the community on most issues, including this.

 This woman talked about being part of Wyoming MassResistance and travelling around the state, and that people knew about this battle: “I hear some positive stories and it’s so exciting. Because of us, people have taken on their own libraries. And they’re getting things done! Books are being removed!" she said.

Final thoughts

Decades ago, most states across the country passed laws exempting schools, libraries, and museums from laws banning obscenity (as harmful to minors). This was done in the interest of protecting legitimate artwork that sometimes portrayed nudity. But now, radical staff members and public officials are using that as cover to push pornography onto children in schools and libraries. (Attempts to overturn these laws in some states have been strongly opposed by teachers’ unions and LGBT groups.)

Regarding the issue of “disrespecting” officials: In a famous 1964 case (New York Times v Sullivan) the US Supreme Court opined that America has a "profound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open, and that it may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials."

When public officials declare that they and their actions are above criticism by ordinary citizens, we all need to get very upset. These people have no morals and no conscience. They deserve parents’ disrespect. We will certainly not be intimidated by them.

There’s a lot more to come from Campbell County, Wyoming!

   

Please help us continue to do our uncompromising work!

Our successes depend on people like you.

Donate to MassResistance

Your support will make the difference!

Contact CA State Assembly: NO on AB 1400! No Taxes, No Healthcare for Illegal Aliens

 

TAKE ACTION!

OPPOSE A.B. 1400 “Government-Run Health Care For All” A.B. 1400 will ban private healthcare insurance for all Californians and create a universal single-payer healthcare program across the state. This program, funded by increased taxpayer dollars, will cover citizens and non-citizens alike. A.B. 1400 ultimately removes the freedom of citizens to make their own healthcare coverage decisions and places the healthcare system under government control.   According to the California Policy Center, A.B. 1400 will: Increase income taxes on Californians making more than $149,509 a year Add new income and payroll taxes for California businesses, including a 1.25% payroll tax on employers of 50 or more people Impose a new excise tax on businesses of 2.3% of annual gross receipts over $2 million Add payroll tax on wages for California workers earning over $49,900   Removing long-held freedoms, eliminating private healthcare, and significantly raising taxes will be detrimental to Californians and the economy.

ACTION STEP Contact the office of the California Assembly Appropriations Committee TODAY and urge the committee to vote "No” on A.B. 1400. (Hearing scheduled for 1/20/22.) CA ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: PHONE: (916) 319-2081 (If no one answers, leave a message.) EMAIL: Click here

In addition, if your assembly member is sitting on the Appropriations Committee, please call and email him or her TODAY as well. ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Assembly Member Chris R. Holden (Chair) Phone (916) 319-2041 EMAIL: Click here Serving Altadena, Claremont, East Pasadena, La Verne, Monrovia, Pasadena, Pomona, San Dimas, San Pasqual, Sierra Madre, South Pasadena, Rancho Cucamonga, San Antonio Heights, Upland. Assembly Member Frank Bigelow Phone (916) 319-2005 EMAIL: Click here Serving Alpine County, Amador County, Calaveras County, El Dorado County, Madera County, Mariposa County, Mono County, Placer County, Tuolumne County Assembly Member Isaac G. Bryan Phone (916) 319-2054 EMAIL: Click here Serving Culver City, Inglewood, Ladera Heights, and the following Los Angeles cities: Baldwin Hills, Century City, Crenshaw, Leimert Park, Mar Vista – partial, Mid-City, West Los Angeles, Westwood, View Park-Windsor Hills. Assembly Member Lisa Calderon Phone (916) 319-2057 EMAIL: Click here Avocado Heights, East La Mirada, Hacienda Heights, Industry, La Habra Heights, La Mirada, La Puente, Norwalk, Santa Fe Springs, South El Monte, South San Jose Hills, South Whittier, West Whittier-Los Nietos, Whittier Assembly Member Wendy Carrillo Phone (916) 319-2051 EMAIL: Click here East Los Angeles, Los Angeles, including: Chinatown, Cypress Park, Eagle Rock, Echo Park, El Sereno, Glassell Park, Highland Park, Lincoln Heights, Montecito Heights, Silver Lake. Assembly Member Megan Dahle Phone (916) 319-2001  EMAIL: Click here Magalia, Susanville, Alturas, Grass Valley, Nevada City, Truckee, Colfax, Kings Beach, North Auburn, Portola, Quincy, Anderson, Redding, Shasta Lake, Downieville, Loyalton, Dorris, Dunsmuir, Etna, Fort Jones, Montague, Mount Shasta, Tulelake, Weed, Yreka. Assembly Member Laurie Davies Phone (916) 319-2073 EMAIL: Click here Aliso Viejo, Coto de Caza, Dana Point, Ladera Ranch, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Las Flores, Mission Viejo, Rancho Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano and Trabuco Canyon. Assembly Member Vince Fong Phone (916) 319-2034 EMAIL: Click here Serving Kern County, Bakersfield, Bear Valley Springs, Oildale, Ridgecrest, Taft, Tehachapi. Assembly Member Jesse Gabriel Phone (916) 319-2045 EMAIL: Click here Serving Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Canoga Park, Encino, Northridge, Reseda, West Hills, Winnetka, Woodland Hills, Tarzana, Bell Canyon. Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia Phone (916) 319-2056 EMAIL: Click here Serving Brawley, Calexico, Calipatria, El Centro, Holtville, Imperial, Westmorland, Bermuda Dunes, Blythe, Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Center, Desert Hot Springs, Indio, Mecca, Thermal, Thousand Palms. Assembly Member Marc Levine Phone (916) 319-2010 EMAIL: Click here Serving Belvedere, Corte Madera, Fairfax, Larkspur, Mill Valley, Novato, Ross, San Anselmo, San Rafael, Sausalito, Tiburon, Cotati, Petaluma, Sebastopol, Sonoma Assembly Member Bill Quirk Phone (916) 319-2020 EMAIL: Click here Serving Ashland, Castro Valley, Cherryland, Fairview, Hayward, San Lorenzo, Sunol, Union City. Assembly Member Robert Rivas Phone (916) 319-2030 EMAIL: Click here Serving Greenfield, Gonzales, King City, Salinas, Soledad, Hollister, San Juan Bautista, Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Watsonville. Assembly Member Akilah Weber Phone (916) 319-2079 EMAIL: Click here Serving Bonita, Chula Vista, La Mesa, Lemon Grove, National City, San Diego.

For more information about A.B. 1400, CLICK HERE.

Truths to Counter the AA Cult #13: Make Believe "Gods" Cannot Help You

 

From the Orange Papers

You can't just make up any kind of a "Higher Power" or "god" you want, and then worship it like some Golden Calf, and expect it to perform miracles for you and grant all of your wishes, including making you quit drinking. That is the worst kind of superstition and idolatry.

1. Nevertheless, that is just what Bill Wilson preached:

   Despite the living example of my friend [a sober Ebby Thacher] there remained in me the vestiges of my old prejudice. The word God still aroused a certain antipathy. When the thought was expressed that there might be a God personal to me this feeling was intensified. I didn't like the idea. I could go for such conceptions as Creative Intelligence, Universal Mind or Spirit of Nature but I resisted the thought of a Czar of the Heavens, however loving His sway might be. I have since talked with scores of men who felt the same way.
         My friend suggested what then seemed a novel idea. He said, "Why don't you choose your own conception of God?"
         That statement hit me hard. It melted the icy intellectual mountain in whose shadow I had lived and shivered many years. I stood in the sunlight at last.
         It was only a matter of being willing to believe in a Power greater than myself. Nothing more was required of me to make my beginning. I saw that growth could start from that point. Upon a foundation of complete willingness I might build what I saw in my friend. Would I have it? Of course I would!
         Thus was I convinced that God is concerned with us humans when we want Him enough. At long last I saw, I felt, I believed. Scales of pride and prejudice fell from my eyes. A new world came into view.
   Big Book, 3rd Edition, William G. Wilson, Chapter 1, "Bill's Story", Page 12.

   "I can choose any conception of God I wish.
   I can make God in my own image.
   It is only necessary that I believe whatever I wish to believe.
   Upon that simple beginning, I can build a whole new theology.
   Will it work? Of course it will, because I wish it to!
   Oh happy day! The scales are falling from my eyes. My prejudices are gone! I can see The Promised Land clearly now!
   I am convinced that God will be concerned about me, and take care of me, and grant all of my wishes, because I want Him to."

   Yes, Bill Wilson was stone crazy.

   And Bill was lying when he talked about his "icy intellectual mountain". That was just another phony act that Bill Wilson put on. Bill Wilson was a superstitious flunk-out, not an icy intellectual.

   Lastly, claiming that you are going to "Turn It Over To God" and "Let Go and Let God" is just a cop-out that makes matters worse. Abdicating personal responsibility for your actions, and just "Depending on a Higher Power" to solve your problems for you guarantees failure, because "God" is not going to do your work for you. And neither will Santa Claus or Cinderella's Fairy Godmother. And that is just one more of A.A.'s dirty little secrets.

Truths to Counter the AA Cult #12: AA Is Not the Only Way to Recovery

 

From the Orange Papers

There is no simple one-size-fits-all cure for alcoholism.

1. There is no panacea. There is no magic bullet. Mere sobriety will not solve all of your problems and give you boundless happiness. It will solve one huge problem, but you will still have lots of other smaller problems, because real life isn't so simple or so easy.

   Ebby Thacher caught Bill Wilson at a weak, vulnerable moment in the hospital, while Bill was detoxing and totally out of his head from alcohol withdrawal and hallucinogenic drugs, and convinced Bill that Frank Buchman's Oxford Group cult had a simple program that would be the answer to all of his problems.

   My friend promised when these things were done I would enter upon a new relationship with my Creator; that I would have the elements of a way of living which answered all my problems.
   The Big Book, 3rd edition, William Wilson, Chapter 1, Bill's Story, page 13.

   Alas, it ain't necessarily so. There is no simple panacea that will solve all of your problems. Bill's insistence that twelve simple steps are the answer to all of your problems is childishly simplistic thinking, outright lunacy:

   "Quite as important was the discovery that spiritual principles would solve all my problems."
   The Big Book, 3rd edition, William G. Wilson, Chapter 3, More About Alcoholism, page 42.

   Nevertheless, in spite of all sanity and common sense, Bill Wilson insisted that his version of Frank Buchman's cult religion was The Big Answer to all of an alcoholic's problems:

   You say, "...I know I must get along without liquor, but how can I? Have you a sufficient substitute?"
         Yes, there is a substitute and it is vastly more than that. It is a fellowship in Alcoholics Anonymous. There you will find release from care, boredom and worry. Your imagination will be fired. Life will mean something at last. The most satisfactory years of your existence lie ahead. Thus we find the fellowship, and so will you.
   ...
         It may seem incredible that these men are to become happy, respected, and useful once more. How can they rise out of such misery, bad repute and hopelessness? The practical answer is that since these things have happened among us, they can happen with you. Should you wish them above all else, and be willing to make use of our experience, we are sure they will come. The age of miracles is still with us. Our own recovery proves that!
   ...
   See to it that your relationship with Him is right, and great events will come to pass for you and countless others. This is the Great Fact for us.
         Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to Him and to your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past. Give freely of what you find and join us. We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny.
         May God bless you and keep you — until then.
   The Big Book, 3rd edition, William Wilson, Chapter 11, A Vision For You, pages 152,153,164.

   And just what is the magic ingredient in Bill Wilson's cure for alcoholism? It is to confess your sins, all of your sins, every last little detail, to "God and another human being":

   We pocket our pride and go to it, illuminating every twist of character, every dark cranny of the past. Once we have taken this step, withholding nothing, we are delighted. We can look the world in the eye. We can be alone at perfect peace and ease. Our fears fall from us. We begin to feel the nearness of our Creator. We may have had certain spiritual beliefs, but now we begin to have a spiritual experience. The feeling that the drink problem has disappeared will often come strongly. We feel we are on the Broad Highway, walking hand in hand with the Spirit of the Universe.
   The Big Book, 3rd edition, William Wilson, Chapter 6, Into Action, page 75.

   Bill Wilson was delusional.

Truths to Counter the AA Cult #11: AA Falsely Shames Alcoholics

 

From the Orange Papers

1. The A.A. stereotype of alcoholics is untrue.
   

   A.A. creates a completely untrue negative stereotype of alcoholics, and then says that the Twelve Steps are the magic that will fix that standardized bad guy:

   Alcoholics especially should be able to see that instinct run wild in themselves is the underlying cause of their destructive drinking. ... This perverse soul-sickness is not pleasant to look upon.
   Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, William Wilson, page 44.

   Since most of us are born with an abundance of natural desires, it isn't strange that we often let these far exceed their intended purpose.
   (Whose intended purpose? God's? Mother Nature's? The Force of Evolution's?
   What happened to "A.A. requires no beliefs?")
   When they drive us blindly, or we willfully demand that they supply us with more satisfactions or pleasures than are possible or due us, that is the point at which we depart from the degree of perfection that God wishes for us here on earth. That is the measure of our character defects, or, if you wish, of our sins.
   Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, William Wilson, page 65.

   "Instinct run wild? Natural desires exceeding their intended purpose? Pleasures due us?"
   Pleasures due us from whom? And due us, according to whose ledger book? God's?

   Also notice how Bill Wilson just redefined "character defects" to mean the same thing as "sins":
         That is the measure of our character defects, or, if you wish, of our sins.

   That noticeably changes the meaning of Step Six --
         6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character
   — by adding a burden of guilt to the Step, making it into a begging session where we beg God to remove sins. Bill Wilson gradually morphed alcoholism from a disease to be cured, into a sin that must be removed by God. That is another Bait-and-Switch trick.

   The Sage and High Priest Of Alcoholics Anonymous, Bill Wilson Bill Wilson was all mixed up: Natural desires do not supply us with "satisfactions or pleasures". Natural desires are an itch, an urge, to go get some satisfactions or pleasures. Hunger, for instance, does not give us pleasure. It gives us a big pain in the belly that drives us to go find something to eat. Instincts are urges to do things like eat, survive, have sex, and care for our young. Such urges are extremely intense, because that's what works to keep the species from going extinct. (See the definition of "instinct" here.) But there is no "instinct" to drink ethyl alcohol or get high on drugs. You do not voluntarily chose to get hungry, crave sex, feel a drive to survive, or wish to care for your young. You do not allow those "desires" to "far exceed their intended purpose." You are driven by very strong compulsions to do what is necessary for survival and reproduction. That's just life, keeping life going, no matter what... According to Bill Wilson, God is a poor bio-engineer whose designs for instincts and desires are malfunctioning badly. They aren't working as He intended, and we aren't working as He intended. Gee, we aren't getting our wishes granted; God isn't getting His wishes granted; nobody is happy. It looks like The Creative Spirit Of The Universe really screwed up this time.

   Bill continued his attack on the stereotypical alcoholics:

   Selfishness — self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles. Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate.   ...
   ... the alcoholic is an extreme example of self-will run riot, though he usually doesn't think so.
   The Big Book, 3rd Edition, William Wilson, Chapter 5, How It Works, page 62.

   Since defective relations with other human beings have nearly always been the immediate cause of our woes, including our alcoholism, no field of investigation could yield more satisfying and valuable rewards than this one.
   Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, William Wilson, page 81.

   So now alcoholism is caused by "defective relations"? Earlier, Bill Wilson declared that our self-destructive drinking was caused by our sins, moral shortcomings, defects of character, resentments, instincts run wild, instinct gone astray, self-will run riot, self-seeking, selfishness, desires that far exceed their intended purpose, and failure to practice religious precepts properly. What will it be next?

   
   People do not drink too much because they have big puffed-up strutting-peacock egos, or because they think they are the center of the Universe, or because they think they are too big and too good to need God, like Bill Wilson said.

   And people do not drink too much because they are examples of instincts run wild, or self-will run riot, or because they are sinners with moral shortcomings and character defects, like Bill Wilson said.

   People usually drink too much because they feel bad and are trying to feel good. They are often miserable, and just trying to "have fun."

   Just because alcoholics and drug addicts have brains that are deficient in L-dopamine or beta endorphins doesn't mean that they are all selfish, immoral, and unspiritual, like Bill Wilson said.

   Forty percent of all alcoholics and drug addicts were abused children who are now just trying to cope with their mangled emotional lives, damaged personalities, and shriveled cerebellar vermises. In addition, many more alcoholics and drug addicts suffer from emotional or mental illnesses that they are trying to fix by self-medicating. And there are even more people who are sick and in pain from physical illnesses, and they are just trying to kill their pain with drugs and alcohol. And last but not least, there are alcoholics who smoke and drink to kill the pain of being very sick from having drunk too much alcohol and smoked too many cigarettes for far too long.

   The numbers look like this:

   • Forty percent of all alcoholics and junkies were abused children. Sometimes the parents were alcoholics, sometimes dopers, sometimes just insane. Sometimes insane vicious religious nuts, or insane cruel alcoholic military sergeant fathers. Sometimes insane first, and then they used alcohol or dope to kill the pain of their insanity. Often, those abusive parents had been abused children themselves, and they were just passing it on. For whatever reason, they then abused their children, physically, or mentally, or both, and the children responded by using alcohol or dope to kill their own pain.
   • And, in addition, at least half of the people in prison for violent crimes were also abused children. Perhaps it's much worse than that — according to one survey, 85% of all violent prison inmates were abused in childhood.
   • Two-thirds of all teenage mothers were raped or sexually abused as children or teenagers.
   • Rape victims are ten times more likely than other women to use drugs and alcohol to excess.
   • In the U.S., at least one in ten women have been raped, almost two-thirds before the age of eighteen.
   • A recent survey reports that one-sixth of all rape victims reported to police are under the age of 12. (And this is the category of rape least likely to be reported.) One-fifth of these girls were raped by their fathers. They have been betrayed.

   Trying to make those people quit drinking or drugging by crushing their egos and making them feel guilty doesn't work, and usually does more harm than good. (They will just get stoned again, trying to obliterate the feelings of guilt and get back to feeling good. It is neither an accident nor a coincidence that involvement with Alcoholics Anonymous was seen to increase, not reduce, binge drinking.)