This documentary stresses the need for advocacy for the disease of addiction. If addiction has been established as a "chronic brain disease", the various recovery groups need to band together to have a collective voice and political power so that addicts can have treatment, not jail sentences. Also, more funding for research, treatment, and follow-up care is crucial.
The film refers to the public advocacy efforts of the gay community which greatly reduced the stigma of HIV/AIDS,and led to expanded funding for research and treatment options.
Our anonymous traditions keep us from having a unified front. For example, I couldn't pass out flyers for the film at my 12 Step meeting because it is not an official event of that fellowship. A local 12-Step clubhouse does not allow meeting lists for "the other fellowship" on premises, as that would break a tradition. But a sign on the wall refers people to the other fellowship. Few people have heard of other recovery support groups such as Women For Sobriety. If we weren't so anonymous, we could change the stigma still attached to addiction, and especially to relapse. Our collective voice,and our vote, would be at least 23.5 million strong.
Bill Wilson himself spoke before a Senate committee in 1969. In 1976, celebrities in recovery, including actor Dick Van Dyke and astronaut Buzz Aldrin, publicly supported recognition of addiction as a disease (Operation Understanding). This progress was sadly lost in the "War on Drugs" of the 1980s, when incarceration of drug addicts spiked enormously. To this day, prisons are primarily populated with addicts. The Anonymous People covers these points with excellent historic footage.
The film does not bash 12 Step groups. Actress Kristen Johnston is one person who says "I'm not going to hide in a church basement" (paraphrased). I heard one other "church basement" comment. Don't let those comments detract you from the point of the film. See it for yourself. It's about unity, advocacy, gaining a political voice and a public face to tell the world "We do recover". We will not be shamed by people who do not understand that addiction is a chronic brain disease. Diseases deserves empathy and medical care, not disgust and prison sentences.
The film refers to the public advocacy efforts of the gay community which greatly reduced the stigma of HIV/AIDS,and led to expanded funding for research and treatment options.
Our anonymous traditions keep us from having a unified front. For example, I couldn't pass out flyers for the film at my 12 Step meeting because it is not an official event of that fellowship. A local 12-Step clubhouse does not allow meeting lists for "the other fellowship" on premises, as that would break a tradition. But a sign on the wall refers people to the other fellowship. Few people have heard of other recovery support groups such as Women For Sobriety. If we weren't so anonymous, we could change the stigma still attached to addiction, and especially to relapse. Our collective voice,and our vote, would be at least 23.5 million strong.
Bill Wilson himself spoke before a Senate committee in 1969. In 1976, celebrities in recovery, including actor Dick Van Dyke and astronaut Buzz Aldrin, publicly supported recognition of addiction as a disease (Operation Understanding). This progress was sadly lost in the "War on Drugs" of the 1980s, when incarceration of drug addicts spiked enormously. To this day, prisons are primarily populated with addicts. The Anonymous People covers these points with excellent historic footage.
The film does not bash 12 Step groups. Actress Kristen Johnston is one person who says "I'm not going to hide in a church basement" (paraphrased). I heard one other "church basement" comment. Don't let those comments detract you from the point of the film. See it for yourself. It's about unity, advocacy, gaining a political voice and a public face to tell the world "We do recover". We will not be shamed by people who do not understand that addiction is a chronic brain disease. Diseases deserves empathy and medical care, not disgust and prison sentences.