So, I watched this repeat of Intervention where this woman was an alcoholic. She had a great family growing up, mom dies at 15, she gets rebellious, etc, etc… Ends up getting it together, gets married, has 2 kids… Perfect situation. Then one day, decides she’s burnt out, and needs to go out with her girlfriends. She starts going out about once every 3 weeks, every 2, then every weekend, then every night. Leaves her husband, and moves, with the 2 kids, to South Beach. She’s been found sleeping, passed out, under palm trees next to bars, mugged. Been to jail. Left her kids home alone (They’re 3 and 5 years old), so she could go to the bar… Just craziness. But, she insists she doesn’t have a problem. Two days prior to the intervention, her roommate flipped on the TV, and saw that the show was on, and told the roommate “Marquel” that she was on that show, as they speak, and her family was going to do that to her in a couple days. So, when they show up, she splits. Anyway, in the end, she denies treatment, says she’ll “Quit on her own”, and is arrested 2 months  later for DUI, and is currently in jail.

Well, weirdo me, decides, I wonder what ever happened to her, and did a Google search. I come across this ET forum, that the title of a thread started by this dude, Deconstructor, was “Marquel showed some true courage tonight”. I thought, what in the heck is this dude talking about. Well, I read on, and I really wanted to blow my stack. He basically was saying that AA was just a plow to get people sucked into religion. That AA and all other 90 day programs are just an insurance scam, and that people are usually cured far sooner than that, but they keep you there so they can keep billing insurance. He also said that telling a person that drinks excessively that they have a “Disease” instead of a “Behavior” can be DEADLY. Not sure how, but that’s what he said. Oh, also said that the word “Denial” was an AA word that they use to suck you in. I’m befuddled.

So, I did this:

Deconstructor,

After seeing the repeat of the Marquel Intervention episode, since it was old, I wanted to do a search and see if there was an update on her, and came across some of your rants and tirades. Couple questions:

1) Since when is the word “Denial” part of AA? The word simply means, in that context, that an addict doesn’t not believe he/she is sick, or, “Has a disease”. Which brings me to my next question:

2) You say calling a “Behavior” a “Disease” can be deadly… Can you show me some data on that? How many people have died? Shocking that this is the first I’ve heard of it. It seems to me that if people were dying from calling a, what you say, behavior, a disease, a television show would have done their research, and be aware of that fact. After all, I’m sure they don’t want to put anyones life at risk… They are, in fact, trying to help people… Wouldn’t be right to subliminally try to kill them. I’m simply asking because it would seem rather inappropriate for someone that is spending so much time disecting everyones words and motives, that you’d at least have your facts straight.

3) What are your crudentials? What right do you have to disect all these recovery programs? Are you a doctor? Are you an addict? Recovering addict? I’d love to know what gives you the right to say some of the things you do. You’re clearly not just stating your opinion. You think that 90-day recovery programs are an “Insurance scam”. Seriously, dude, that’s laughable. A lot of addicts that are at the point of really wanting to recover, usually seek aftercare in a sober living facility, even after 90 days. What does that tell you? That even after 90 days, they STILL need treatment. That’s the ones that WANT to live sober. Not all of them do, but most that are truly serious about STAYING sober do. To even insinuate that 90 day programs are a just scams to charge insurance companies more is simply ridiculous. You’re obviously not a doctor, and probably not even an addict… You’re just a religion/big-business/government hater/conspiracy theorist who spends time trying to belittle anyone who stands up to your views. The title of your post was, “Marquel showed true courage tonight”. You act like she was taking a stand against the religious beliefs of AA. It was simply her “Disease” or “Behavior” telling her that she didn’t need it, and obviously she did since after the show they said that “Marquel said she’d quit on her own”, and that “2 months later she was arrested for DUI and was in jail. “But, according to you, kudos to her. I actually giggled when I read that you wrote that (Alcoholism; insinuated, as that is what Marquel is) “Was a behavior considered inappropriate my some parts of society.” Who says things like that? You basically said, “Being a heroin addict is considered inappropriate behavior by some parts of society. Actually, it’s ALL of society, except the addict, of course. You must be an alcoholic… It’s kind of all making sense now. You’re not gonna have your family, society, or God tell you what you can or can’t do, right? Seriously, what’s more important, Marquel’s sobriety, whether it comes with a religious belief system or not, or her being in jail, abandoning her kids and family, and rotting in jail, because she’s acting childish and self-absorbed? The chance she would be in jail for that DUI would have been a HELL of a lot lower had she gone to rehab… Even AA. Again, what’s more important? But, you’re probably cool with those kids’ mother being in jail, just so those AA religios freaks didn’t get another client, right?

4) If you are/were an addict, and you’ve figured out a way to get and stay sober, good for you, but why on EARTH would you ever try to bash an organization, whichever it may be, for trying to help people get clean… Whatever that program may be? You don’t have to go, or attend, any program you don’t want to. No one will ever force you to attend a meeting, or be a part of their program, I promise you that. Are you that anti-religion/christianity that you wish people to stay sick, rather than go there? Sorry, does saying they’re “sick” kill them, too? I assure you, nothing you say, or rant about, is going to sway someones decision to go there or not. I can also say, with some degree of certainty, that not many Athiests or Satanist’s are putting their name on the waiting list. With that being said, I’m thinking that most people that attend AA are of a God/Higher-Power-loving religion, whatever religion that may be, or just open to possibilities, and willing to use that avenue to fight their “Demons”.

I’m sorry, is calling it their “Demons” deadly? Or just offensive to YOUR ‘religion’, or lack there of?

Hit me up, I’d love to hear some of your responses, and in-depth theories on how big business and religion are so hurtful to addicts and how they could/should/should-not coexist with recovery programs.

-Chris
-crouvalis@yahoo.com