AA Service Manual Page 69

69

AA Service Manual

Sounds like some kind of mafia talk (for such a ‘voluntary’, ‘live and let live’ organization!):

“Privately, however, we can inform Tradition-violators that they are out of order. When they persist, we can follow up by using such other resources of persuasion as we may have, and these are often considerable.”

“This combination of counter forces can be very discouraging to violators or would-be violators. Under these conditions they soon find their deviations to be unprofitable and unwise.”

“Feeling the weight of all these forces, certain members who run counter to AAs Traditions sometimes say that they are being censored or punished and that they are therefore being governed….Some deviators have suffered rather severe personal criticism from individual AA members, and this is to be deplored…It can be said in all fairness that the difficulties of those who contravene the Traditions are chiefly troubles of their own making.”