[Magdalen] More Clergy DWI

[Jim Guthrie]

From: Susan Hagen

>I'm finding this conversation especially interesting since I've recently
>seen two articles questioning the effectiveness of AA.

http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/03/the-irrationality-of-alcoholics-anonymous/386255/
http://aeon.co/magazine/health/the-aa-is-out-of-step-with-research-on-addiction/

Thank you Susan -- most interesting!

I'm going to add that one group of people (myself included) have or had a 
penchant for getting rousingly drunk -- crime beat reporters. Covering murder 
and mayhem -- especially in the days where such reporters had police radios in 
their cars -- and seeing several murders and beatings and DWI deaths every day 
tended to send reporters to the bar after work (sometimes 8 AM!) before going 
home to sleep it all off. Seeing murdered kids, battered women and people losing 
everything in a fire simply drove guys to drink. I got hired at a newspaper 
because I demonstrated my "professionalism" by being able to consume more 
alcohol than the Managing Editor in a job interview -- in a topless bar! (He 
eventually became the Editor in charge of Sports coverage at the Washington 
Times -- quite sober amongst the Moonies <g>).

But I have to say that most of these guys could write great prose, even in the 
midst of a terrible hangover. And the drinking reduced or disappeared when they 
went to another beat(after awhile).

And to a man, far to cynical to stop drinking through, say, AA. They just 
stopped after years of the nightly binge.

Cheers,
Jim Guthrie


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