OK, so you have some anecdotal evidence. I can visit a group at noon with at least 50 anecdotal examples of AA success, and another meeting at 1, another at 5:30, and 6:30, and a men's meeting at 8:00, and more tomorrow and Sat and Sun, and Monday...... You made a claim and cannot cite any evidence for it.
That's a true statement for most alcoholics. If an alcoholic says he can cut down, manage his alcohol intake, drink "normally," chances are he's lying. People that CAN manage their drinking aren't, you know, alcoholics and don't have a drinking problem. Those folks don't come to AA just for fun or in case at some point in the future they become unable to manage their drinking.
Furthermore, it's more than will power - it's a physiological addiction. Quitting abruptly can and does kill people - sent me to the ER twice. It's been shown to run in families and therefore has a genetic component to it. Etc.
Not my experience, and I've been doing it for several years. I can go months without a meeting, and really don't have any withdrawal symptoms or believe that if I miss, say, 90 days or more of meetings (which I've done) that I'll have a drink. Others go once or twice a week like I typically do. Few in for any length of time go daily, but some do. It varies, like people vary.
And the thing about "one drink and can't stop" is sort of true, but that's because
most people who are alcoholic have learned through bitter experience that moderation isn't an achievable goal. The most tragic
example is the founder of a group called Moderation Management.
She apparently did fine with moderate intake, until she got drunk and killed someone with her car.
Finally, it's a self help group, not a cult.
