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Wanna spam my blog? Fine.

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But guess what? I'm not linking to your blog. So there.

Some yahoo (read: over-the-top fundamentalist) from Australia spammed my last post, the one about Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis.

How do I know it was a spam? Because this was his comment, verbatim (and yes, he yelled at me):

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS IS A CULT!

Uh huh.

What, exactly, does that have to do with a gentleman diagnosed with a chronic, horrible disease? And what, exactly, does this have to do with being suicidal? Ok, granted, if you've ever been stuck in a conversation with the newly AA anointed, you FEEL like committing suicide by the end of it. But other than that...

So I got all "This-is-MY-blog-and-don't-be-spamming-ME-you-silly-little-prat-from-Down Under" on him and deleted his comment.

Except.....

It's an interesting thought, the bastard. One I've considered many times before.

Here's the definition of "cult" via Merriam-Webster:

1: formal religious veneration : worship
2: a system of religious beliefs and ritual ; also : its body of adherents
3: a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious ; also : its body of adherents
4: a system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator cults>
5 a: great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (as a film or book) ; especially : b) such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad : the object of such devotion : c) a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion

Here's a lengthy read I found on the matter.

I think the argument can easily be made that AA is a quasi-religion. My problem with it as a treatment philosophy is that it is a black-and-white approach, and life, I'm afraid, is anything but. Another (huge) issue I have is that it seems to be the only philosophy that any treatment setting applies to recovery and frankly, AA isn't for everyone. (But you're in denial if you say as much to a True Believer.)

That being said, when I deal with addicts on the job, I always ask the about their own relationship with AA. If it they go to meetings, I encourage them to continue. If I have to, I research meetings online and provide printouts with information about said meetings. I'm not going to try and reinvent the wheel. Although I will say this: I think oftentimes, attending AA meetings just becomes the new addiction.

What do you think? Is AA a cult? ->