Alison, your thoughts are very well placed. I believe that you'll find that recovering alcoholics who work hard on their sobriety won't be too concerned about bullshit comments from others - the harshest criticsism will come from their own feelings of guilt and (often) perfectionism. Learning to grow again is one of the greatest benefits of being sober.

I'll leave others to assess the effect of bigotry and prejudice on those more vulnerable. At the end of the day however becoming clean/sober and maintaining that state is a personal matter and often a life threatening one. Let's not make it any harder for sufferers to achieve that goal.

As I understand it AA welcomes visitors to many meetings around the world if anyone wants to experience this part of the real world close up. The Alcoholics Anonymous phone number should be in your local phone book.

Regards, John