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Friday, March 9, 2007
News NEWS: Guess Some People Aren’t Fans of Modern Drunkard Magazine
Posted By Karen Shugart on Fri, Mar 9, 2007 at 9:42 AM
Recently, I wrote an off-the-cuff article about things to do here for five bucks.
It was intended to give people genuine ideas as well as make a few jokes. Some were, well, not too realistic. Days later, I received an e-mail from someone offended by this suggestion:
Crash an AA meeting: On the classic sitcom Golden Girls, Rose is upset by her boyfriend's excessive frugality after Miles takes her on a succession of cheap dates, including an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting that he describes as "theater of the living." I don't know if this is a well-advised idea, but hey, when you only have five bucks you have to improvise. Just be as respectful as one can possibly be when crashing a self-help group based on anonymity.
It was a joke, obviously, but here’s what the e-mailer had to say:
“I just finished reading your Cheap Thrills article and would like to comment on your addition of "Crash an AA Meeting". Just because Golden Girls made it sound amusing doesn't make it an acceptable thing for people to do. And you even state that you didn't know if it was a well-advised idea, and you were right. That should have been the first clue as to why not to print it in your article.I don't think one can be that respectful when "crashing" an AA meeting. They aren't for non addicts to get their kicks off on seeing how some people's lives have been destroyed by this disease. It's for the people who have come to rely on this group for support in a safe setting. You may have now just made it a place where someone might be hesitant to seek help wondering if there is someone there who doesn't respect anonymity.
Bad choice for a cheap thrill for your readers. I am dissapointed (sic) in Creative Loafing for this disrespect and disregard for people.”
Most of us, myself included, know someone who attends or has attended AA meetings. That it helps many people is indisputable. But is joking about AA off limits?
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