Politics in meetings

[get the red out]

It's started yet again, politics reared its ugly head in my homegroup last night. Sigh, this is not appropriate. Someone was sharing, a newer lady, and she was talking about how she was trained to people please from an early age and at work as an adult ended up crawling into a bottle over it, nothing out of place there but she just happened to use the word "redistribution" in reference to her taking care of people at work in her share and here come the obviously politically motivated mumbles, groans and moans from the extreme "Jesus-y" Republican crowd, especially an old-timer lady I know (who is dependant on social security and medicare, but you know, JEUSUS=REPUBLICAN!).

I guess my HP was taking care of me since I happened to be sitting by the nice, calm, Buddhist lady. (Note to HP, THANKS!)

I just needed to vent a little, I didn't carry this episode as long and angrily as I carred the ones that popped up four years ago when by election day I looked around and the Democrats were literally on one side of the room and the Republicans on the other. But I really am not comfortable with people assuming that because this is Kentucky you can just vent your politics in an AA meeting whenever someone trips over a Fox News dogwhistle and expect EVERYONE to fall in line with you like slobbering dogs coming up for a treat. It just shows how far the brain washing of right wing outlets go.

Note to self: Next Thursday night, change seats, LOL.

[NMDemDist2]

1. i hear ya and feel the same pain

[raccoon]

2. In SC, I've encountered something similar. Do you think you could have a group meeting

with some of the core members and place a ban on talking politics in meetings?

(Which, of course, people aren't supposed to do anyway--but sometimes they do.)

[get the red out]

3. If it happens again

I will certainly bring it up! Ironic that I'm chairing in October.

It is just such an out of place thing, as if the folks who were triggered on one word last week just expected that everyone would agree with them. We will see how this turns out.

[raccoon]

4. In my case, this man was complaining about the protestors, who opposed the upcoming invasion

of Iraq by the US.

I think he also just expected that everyone would agree with him.

I was one of those protestors.

[progree]

5. I'd mention Trad 5 - "but one primary purpose" and Trad 6 and Trad 1 (A.A. Unity) and ...

Tradition 10 - no opinion on outside issues ... Anyone else have something from the literature about this?

Good luck with chairing in October.

And please don't say something like "I'm handing out some literature" (or whatever) - handout is a bad word (LOL). Even "I'm passing around the calendar" sounds suspiciously communitarian. And don't just "give" a medallion, rather stress how the person EARNED the medallion through HARD WORK and RIGHT THINKING and all that.

[font color = blue]Note to self: Next Thursday night, change seats, LOL.[/font]

I hope you keep that "nice calm Buddhist lady" next to you.

For Al-Anon members, Tradition 5 is even blunter: "has but one purpose". Not one primary purpose, but one purpose, period.

[get the red out]

6. Another irony

And don't just "give" a medallion, rather stress how the person EARNED the medallion through HARD WORK and RIGHT THINKING and all that.

There will be two medallions handed out in the second week of October, one is mine (HP willing)

Thanks for the suggestions on language, that will be a definite help! I hadn't thought of that, but it's a very nice plan. And I think I'm starting to get a topic idea from that standpoint, that we freely give of ourselves even though the messages in life/our old way of thinking were often to just do for ourselves and forget about others. That could develop into something!

[progree]

7. Big congrats on the medallion earned through hard work and CORRECT (not "Right") thinking

[font color = blue]Thanks for the suggestions on language, that will be a definite help! I hadn't thought of that, but it's a very nice plan. And I think I'm starting to get a topic idea from that standpoint, that we freely give of ourselves even though the messages in life/our old way of thinking were often to just do for ourselves and forget about others. That could develop into something! [/font]

Yes indeed ... Bill W. was a communitarian and socialist by the standards of today's RepubliCON politics -- concepts like our personal Step 12 work never being paid; and that (to a rightie) jibber jabber about the "lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose" in Tradition 6 (isn't everything supposed to be all about money? What other purpose for anything could there possibly be? LOL). Tradition 2 on service, not governance... and then all that "we" stuff, so contrary to "rugged individualism".

No suggestions in the literature about selling access to the calendar at free market rates (highest bidders getting first access of course), or selling copies of the phone list for a quarter, or buying one's way out of service work ...