Dallas Bragg was invited to share his sobriety story at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting, then rejected when they learned he wasn't a member. He questions why NA bars non-members from speaking, arguing the exclusivity mirrors religious trauma, especially for gay men already facing marginalization.
I was asked recently to speak to an NA group until the person found out that, uh, I don't belong to NA, and then it was a quick, uh, rejection for me. Um, I'm not allowed to speak to an NA group because I don't belong to NA, even though I did do the 12 steps. Can someone help me understand Why we're perpetuating exclusivity in this community. Not just the sober community, but the gay community. Why are we— I understand, I think, following a doctrine, you want people to come in who follow what you're teaching. But don't you also want to appreciate other ways to sobriety? Don't you want to open up your mind and say, okay, this person Has a story, they have a proven record of sobriety, let's hear how they did it instead of immediately shutting them out because they don't belong to NA. And the reason was, well, we have a, you know, we have a doctrine that we follow, and if you don't follow that doctrine, then you're not allowed in to speak to us. What does that sound like? It's like religious trauma all over again for people, especially gay men who have it anyway. To say, you don't follow this book, then you're not allowed in with us. What is going on here? I'm just, I'm really asking, not in a place of I wanna cause trouble, but out of really appreciative inquiry. Somebody in the 12 steps, help me understand what we're doing here.
