PART 11 - The Response of the Area Meeting and the Annual Conference
Well, I had sent a letter to the Area Delegate asking that she raise the issue of my being banned from Al-Anon under the "Area Highlights" section. This was a part of the conference where the various Area Delegates met to discuss issues and concerns in their various Areas.
The Area Delegate read out my letter at the Conference and the other Area Delegates discussed it.
I can honestly say that the current Area Delegate is the only person in Al-Anon who has shown any kind of sympathy or compassion towards me for my plight. It is people like her who enable me to maintain some faint glimmer of hope that if, I mean IF, the ban from Al-Anon is ever lifted I may be able to obtain some sort of recovery.
Anyway, apparently it had been discussed at the previous year's Conference. This intrigued me (like everything in Al-Anon, there are so many sneaky moves and counter-moves, and there is always a hidden agenda) so I obtained a copy of the previous year's conference summary from GSO. This was obtained from the General Secretary as none of the other staff at GSO were permitted to speak to me (I had begun to catch the staff out on incorrectly understood protocol and procedures but the General Secretary was quite quick-witted, although I did eventually gain the upper hand - but more on that later ...)
The previous Area Delegate, a rather lazy, pampered, spoiled woman, who had given no help whatsoever to the current Area Delegate when she took over, had informed the Conference that I had been persistently disruptive at all Al-Anon meetings (a damned lie if ever there was one). This was discussed by the other Area Delegates and it was recommended that an emergency group conscience was called during the next time disruption occurred (well, that was never going to happen because I was not going to be disruptive) and the disruptive member (ie allegedly disruptive) could be reminded about The Traditions. So the Conference had been lied to that I was disruptive thus setting the scene for the discussion at the Conference the following year. As it turned out, all the groups held group conscience meetings (in my absence) and banned me outright and The Twelve Traditions were just urinated over.
Well, the current Area Delegate advised them that I had been banned from the groups. Discussion ensued and the recommendation of the Area Delegates was that I go to the groups I "was welcome at". Now the point is, and this is important for the victims of alcoholism, the Area Delegates were informed I had been banned, that The Twelve Traditions had been broken, and not one single person had said that it was wrong, that it should not have happened and that the matter should be resolved immediately.
Not one single Area Delegate raised any objection to The Twelve Traditions being broken. As you know, gossip clubs do not function according to The Twelve Traditions. Gossip clubs are a law unto themselves.
How could I go to the groups I was welcome at if I was banned from all groups in my local area and did not own a car?
When I told the low-IQ Regional Trustee about this he told me a sob-story about some Al-Anon member who lived in the middle of nowhere and had to take a train for 50 miles once a month in order to get to an Al-Anon meeting etc etc. But the point is, and this is important for the victims of alcoholism, Al-Anon has only one purpose - TO HELP, and I could travel to plenty of Al-Anon meetings locally - the problem is I am banned from all of them! "That's not my problem", snorted the Regional Trustee.
The matter was also discussed at various Area meetings (held every six months). I managed to obtain some of the minutes of the Area meetings (I had not been able to get to the Area meetings - but more on that later...) The minutes were very vague, and if you did not know the situation you would not know what it was about. Basically, the recommendation of Area was that the groups hold group conscience meetings and refer to The Twelve Traditions. So the groups held group conscience meetings, urinated all over The Twelve Traditions, and continuously voted to ban me. I am not sure if they are still holding group conscience meetings...
By the way, I later obtained a copy of the summary of the Annual Conference during which my letter had been discussed. It stated that I had been banned from two groups. Yes, yet another lie... but hey, this is Al-Anon. What do you expect from a pig but a grunt?
Well, by now I was practically hysterical with rage and frustration. Thankfully, I have since had counselling which has helped me to recover (slightly) from Al-Anon.
Eventually, I was able to get to some Al-Anon meetings outside my local area. How did I manage that? Did some Al-Anon member feel compassion and offer to give me a ride in their car? Oh, come on - this is Al-Anon. Of course they did not.
I was able to get to other Al-Anon groups outside my local area because...