Who Is That Masked Man?

Anonymous: With no name known or acknowledged.

I like that definition. Short and sweet, razor sharp in its focus. There are no wasted words.

I'm not sure why we complicate the concept of anonymity so ferociously in A.A. , except that we love to complicate everything. That's why all of our slogans have three or four words. Makes it harder to complicate 'em, although that doesn't stop us from trying.

The concept of anonymity -- the spiritual foundation of all of our traditions -- was put into place to protect the Fellowship, not the individual. The alcoholic, as a general rule, is splayed out in the public square for anyone to inspect. Anonymity in A.A. is to make sure that no egomaniacal drunk, who might be a politician or celebrity or big-shot business person, can dominate a group. In a meeting, we're all equal. Nobody has any more authority than anyone else. We value quality of sobriety. We don't use the yardsticks that society does to take the measure of a
person.

And isn't it funny that we get all uptight about who knows that we're drunks. I used to pull up at 3AM, Black Sabbath rattling the windows of the entire block, park in the middle of the street, take a leak on my neighbor's petunias, and stagger inside, dropping beer cans and wine bottles and drug paraphernalia on the way. I knew one guy who left his door open and the engine running all night. Another friend was awakened by a neighbor who wanted him to move his car. It was parked in the wrong driveway. He couldn't even hit the right driveway.

Then we sneak across town, incognito, heavily disguised with fake beards and wigs, wearing ski masks just because we don't want someone to spot us at an A.A. meeting. We forget that if they do spot us,that they're at the meeting, too. Subtleties like that escape us. That being said it is wise to keep a lid on your recovery in some circumstances, particularly early on. The anecdote about vomiting on the shoes of the cop who was handcuffing you for urinating in a public place, in broad daylight, might get a big laugh in a meeting. It won't get a big laugh in a business meeting or PTA meeting.