Which Drunks Go to Jail

A.A. once had members deciding which drunks went to jail, and A.A. had never given them any view to carry. Bill W. (A.A. pamphlet P-17, p. 54): "A.A. members began to take us into politics. They began to tell state legislative committees — publicly, of course — just what A.A. wanted in the way of rehabilitation, money and enlightened legislation." Just what A.A. wanted. Nobody had asked A.A., and A.A. holds no view to ask for. Then: "Thus, by full name and often by pictures, some of us became lobbyists. Other members sat on benches with police court judges, advising which drunks in the lineup should go to A.A. and which to jail." A lobbyist is someone who works on lawmakers for one side. Now stand in that lineup. The drunk looking up at the bench sees an A.A. member helping decide his sentence. The one place that was supposed to want nothing from him has become part of the court. The long form says the groups "oppose no one" (Big Book, p. 565). Today the bench is a signature: a meeting that signs court slips and reports who attended has a hand in who goes back to jail. Test it tonight: ask who your meeting reports to, if anyone, and what happens to the man whose slip goes unsigned.