The big book is always right.  If it’s not in the big book it’s not true.   No graduates, you are a cultist for life.   Cult-speak, slogans, mantra, dogma.   Group-think, unity of the cult comes first, not the member.   Personal attacks on critics.   Denigration of competing sects, cults, religions.   Indoctrination of members. 90 meetings in 90 days.   Instant friendship. Love bombing.   Surrender to the cult and its ways.  Confusion, contradictions, hypocrisy, and out-right lies.  Personal testimonies of earlier converts.  Creates a sense of powerlessness, fear, guilt, and dependency upon the group.   You need the cult or you will die.   Black and white thinking.   Thought-stopping language, thought-terminating clichés slogans.   Disturbed leaders and mentally ill followers...old-timers.   Mentoring /sponsoring from unqualified members.  Bind faith.   Insistence the cult is “the only way”.  The cult and its members are special.    The cult implants phobias.   Confession sessions.   The cult takes over the individual’s decision making process.  

You will hear and see all of the above in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings on a nightly basis. These characteristics sound just like all the other cults past or present using mind control. Numerous high level courts have already ruled that AA is a religious organization that follows the guidelines of a cult. The web is a powerful tool. Try doing your own research if you have any doubt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lMJLSajuhw

“If you want what we have and ready to go to any lengths...” Look around the room; take a good honest look, not an inventory. Look at each person. Don’t compare. Remember, progress not perfection. He/she doesn’t own a car, he/she doesn’t have a steady job, she/she has a criminal record, he/she doesn’t have a driver’s license, he/she is there get laid, he/she has 2 outstanding warrants for his arrest, he/she doesn’t pay his child support payments, he/she doesn’t have a permanent place to live, he/she is court ordered into the cult, he is a pedophile, she/she has 5 DUI convictions, he/she has no health insurance, he/she has very poor hygiene, he/she hates anyone who speaks the painful truth and counters only with big bookisms and step logic, he/she has relapsed 7 times, he/she  believes in the dogma, he/she doesn’t believe in God, he/she is severely depressed, she/she is on probation, he/she twice filed for bankruptcy, he/she rides a bicycle, he/she is a convicted felon, he/she is miserable, he/she still lives with mom, he/she has no credit, he/she has no bank account, he/she is bi-polar, she is a cougar, he/she are psychopaths, he/she is suicidal, he/she has no money, he/she is not responsible, he/she has no true friends, he/she are members of a religious cult, he/she only speaks programese, he/she is severely  depressed, he/she suffers from chronic fatigue and takes 30 vicodin a day, he/she preys on the sick and weak in the rooms, he/she hates anyone who speaks the painful truth and counters only with big bookisms and step logic, he/she is a sexual predator, he/she is a liar and a fraud, he/she has been divorced 3 times, he/she is on food stamps, he/she collects unemployment and works for cash paid under the table, he/she is a con artist, he/she drinks every day before the meeting but "keeps coming back", he/she admitted he/she is insane and he/she admitted they are powerless to change on their own. It’s not your fault; just blame it on your alcoholism. And all of the above rolled into one could be your sponsor that you ask for advice and guidance. No wonder that the 12 steps have a 97% walk out rate according to the last survey done by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services. Good luck working the 12 steps with your well rounded sponsor.