Cursing and profanity in meetings
I am sure members who use filthy language as they share are not spiritually connected, however, I am still reading and cannot find any Bill's or Bob's writings about this.
We are not familiar with any writing by AA's founders that would support the notion that uttering certain sounds causes or demonstrates a lack of spiritual connection. However, we know that Dr. Bob was known to tell people that they would be more effective in carrying the message if they moderated their language. From
Dr. Bob and the Good Old Timers page 224:
And if he were sitting at a meeting and a man used bad language Dr. Bob would say "You have a very good lead young man, but it would be more effective if you cleaned it up a bit."
Typically, the idea that a word can be "bad" or "filthy" is based loosely on religious ideas of the sacred and the blasphemous but AA has no ties to any religion or sect and has no opinion on swears, curses, vulgarity, etc.
If Bill or Bob had an opinion on the subject it wouldn't change what is proper or permissible in AA - it would be just another member's opinion - and we all have opinions.
If the language used in a meeting proves bothersome then a person is free to take it up with the group and the group as a whole can decide how to deal with it. As with most issues in AA it is entirely up to the individual group to decide and groups will differ in approach.
vulgar vulger cursing swear swearing dirty filth
